Several South American countries once granted lifetime membership to former presidents but have since abolished the practice.
Former presidents of the Republic, except for those who were impeached from office, are granted the speaking-but-non-voting position of senator for life.
[4] The Rwandan Constitution permits former presidents of the country to become members of the Senate if they wish, by submitting a request to the Supreme Court.
In a manner reminiscent of the British House of Lords, members of the Canadian Senate were appointed for life.
Although the current constitution of Romania re-established the bicameral Parliament in 1991, it did not reinstate the office of senator by right.
The senators of the Empire of Brazil (1826–1889) were appointed for life by the Emperor from a list of three, indirectly elected, candidates for each constituency.
For the list of senators, see pt:Lista de senadores do Brasil While the 1960 constitution of the Somali Republic (1960–1969) did not provide for a senate (the legislature, known as the National Assembly, was unicameral), it did grant lifetime membership in the legislature to ex-presidents of the Republic.
During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, New York delegate Alexander Hamilton proposed that all members of the U.S. Senate, which was at time appointed by state legislatures and intended to check the power of the popularly elected House of Representatives, be appointed for life as a safeguard against "amazing violence and turbulence of the democratic spirit."
[13] Larry J. Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, proposed establishing lifetime Senate appointments for former presidents and former vice presidents as part of a broad set of political proposals in his 2007 book, A More Perfect Constitution.