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This article traces the origins of one aspect of parliamentary procedure: the presidency of the French National Assembly, beginning with the Constituent Assembly of 1789. Eric Anceau first shows how the president's role was born in empirical fashion, between May and June 1789, when the first four presidents held the office and regulations were issued for it. Examination of the choice and election of the presidential office-holders and of their conduct in office leads to the institutionalization of the post by means of amendments to the governing rules between July and September 1789. Overall, the living experience of presidential practice affected the attitudes of contemporaries and served as a durable model for the future. The president imposed his will as arbiter of the debates, the representative of parliament, and the second person in the state after the king. However, in order to prevent him from becoming too powerful, he received limited powers, remained under the control of his colleagues and had a short period in office.
