Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) Commons. Their names are inscribed in gold leaf around the upper walls of Room C of the House of Commons Library. The three most recent Speakers have been notable for a series of firsts. Betty Boothroyd, elected in 1992, was the first woman Speaker. Michael Martin, elected in 2000, was the first Roman Catholic Speaker since the Reformation. John Bercow, elected in 2009, is the first Jewish Speaker. By convention, Speakers have traditionally been addressed in Parliament as "Mr Speaker", and their deputies as "Mr Deputy Speaker", regardless of their gender or their usual title. Betty Boothroyd was, at her
Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives the House, the speaker-elect is confirmed in office by the Governor-General. At the start of a term of Parliament, the newly confirmed speaker follows the tradition of claiming the privileges of the House. Each day, prior to the sitting of the House of Commons, the Speaker and other officials travel in procession from the Speaker's personal apartments to the debating camber. The procession includes the Doorkeeper, the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Speaker and the Speaker's Assistant. The Serjeant-at-Arms attends the Speaker on other occasions, and in the House; he or she bears the ceremonial mace that symbolises the royal authority under which