<P> The Senate of Ceylon was the upper house of Parliament between 1947 and 1971 . During this periods, the Senate was led by a President . </P> <P> The President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago, who is generally elected from the government benches, chairs debates in the chamber and stands in for the country's president during periods of absence or illness (Constitution, section 27). A Vice-President of the Senate is also elected from among the senators . The current President of the Senate is Christine Kangaloo . </P> <P> The Vice President of the United States is assigned the responsibility of presiding over the Senate and designated as its president by the United States Constitution . The vice president, as President of the Senate, has the authority (ex officio, for he or she is not an elected member of the Senate) to cast a tie - breaking vote . Other than this, the rules of the Senate grant its president very little power (in contrast to the powerful office of Speaker of the House of Representatives). </P> <P> While vice presidents used to regularly preside over the Senate, modern vice presidents have done so only rarely, usually only when swearing in new senators, during joint sessions, announcing the result of a vote on a significant bill or confirmation, or when casting a tie - breaking vote . The Senate chooses a president pro tempore to preside in the vice president's absence . Modern presidents pro tempore, too, rarely preside over the Senate . In practice, the junior senators of the majority party typically preside in order to learn Senate procedure . </P>

Who acts as the president of the senate