In Italy, a senatore a vita is a member of the Italian Senate appointed by the President of the Italian Republic "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former Presidents of the Republic are senators for life. Currently there are 6 senators for life.
Paraguay
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.
Russia
The lifetime senatorship appeared in the Constitution of Russia as a result of the constitutional reform in 2020. According to the new version of the Constitution, the President has the right to appoint 30 senators for services to the country in the sphere of state and public activity, 7 of whom can be appointed for life. In addition, former presidents become senators for life, but have the right to refuse this office.
Rwanda
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.
Former systems
Canada
In a manner reminiscent of the British parliament, members of the Canadian Senate were appointed for life. Since the Constitution Act, 1965, however, senators must retire upon reaching the age of 75. Though senators appointed before the amendment were grandfathered in by the legislation, there are no longer any lifetime senators present in the Canadian Senate. Orville Howard Phillips, the last senator for life, resigned his seat in 1999.
In France, during the Third Republic, the Senate was composed of 300 members, 75 of which were inamovible. Introduced in 1875, the status was abolished for new senators in 1884, but maintained for those already in office. Émile Deshayes de Marcère, the last surviving sénateur inamovible, died in 1918. Overall there had been 116 lifetime senators. In 2005, there was questioning about the status of former Presidents of the Republic. According to the constitution of the Fifth Republic, former presidents are de jure members of the Constitutional Council, which poses a problem of possible partiality. Some members of Parliament and commentators suggested that it should be replaced by a life membership in the Senate. This proposal was, however, not enacted.
Romania
The 1923 Constitution instituted the membership by right in the Senate for:
former presidents of the National Assemblies at Chişinău, Cernăuţi and Alba Iulia, which proclaimed their respective provinces’ union with Romania in 1918
The membership by right was maintained under the 1938 Constitution and it was abolished together with the Senate on July 15, 1946, by the Communist Party-dominated government of Petru Groza. Although the current constitution of Romania re-established the bicameral parliament in 1991, it did not reinstate the office of senator by right.
South and Central America
The constitutions of a number of countries in South America have granted former presidents the right to be senator for life, possibly recalling the entirely unelected Senate of Simón Bolívar's theory. Most of these countries have since excised these provisions as they are increasingly seen as antidemocratic. The Constitution of Paraguay still has such a provision. Former presidents are permitted to speak but not vote. Probably the most familiar case is that of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet whose parliamentary immunity protected him from prosecution for human rights violations until the Chilean Supreme Court revoked it in 2000.
In Nicaragua, the 1974 Constitution granted lifetime membership in that country's Senate to former Presidents of the Republic.
Brazil
The senators of the Empire of Brazil were appointed for lifetime. The emperor appointed the senator for each constituency from a list of three, indirectly elected, candidates. For details, see Senate of Brazil: History There were about 250 senators of the Empire of Brazil. For the list of senators, see :pt:Lista de senadores do Brasil
Peru
Under its 1979 Constitution, José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, Fernando Belaúnde Terry and Alan García Pérez were the only ones to hold that position, before the adoption of the Constitution of 1993, which eliminated the Senate and established a unicameral Congress.
Somalia
A variation of the "senator for life" theme existed in the Somali Republic. While the 1960 constitution did not provide for a senate, it did grant lifetime membership in the legislature to ex-Presidents of the Republic. Aden Adde was the only person eligible to hold this position.
