President of the European Parliament

President of the European Parliament
Logo of the Parliament
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Incumbent Roberta Metsola since 18 January 2022
European Parliament
Style	President[1]
Status	Presiding officer
Member of	European Parliament
Residence	Louise Weiss building
Seat	Strasbourg, France
Appointer	European Parliament
Term length	2.5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Paul Henri Spaak / Robert Schuman[2]
Formation	1952 / 1958[2]
Deputy	Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament
Website	the-president.europarl.europa.eu/en/

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The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for laws initiated under co-decision and the EU budget.

Presidents serve 2.5-year terms, normally alternating between the two major political parties. There have been 30 presidents since the Parliament was created in 1952, 17 of whom have served since the first parliamentary election in 1979. Three presidents have been women and most have come from the older member states.