The '''Senate''' is the [[upper house]] of the [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Egypt]] since its introduction in the [[2019 Egyptian constitutional referendum]] and the subsequent [[2020 Egyptian Senate election]].<ref name=ao23april>{{Cite news |title=Sisi thanks Egyptians for their 'dazzling' participation in constitutional referendum|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/330554/Egypt/Politics-/Sisi-thanks-Egyptians-for-their-dazzling-participa.aspx|agency=Ahram Online|date=23 April 2019|accessdateaccess-date=25 September 2019}}</ref>
==Background ==
The '''Shura Council''' ({{lang-ar|مجلس الشورى}}, {{IPA-arz|ˈmæɡles eʃˈʃuːɾˤɑ|pron}}, "consultative council") was the [[upper house]] of the formerly [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Egypt]]. Its name roughly translated into English as "the Consultative Council". The [[lower house]] of parliament is the [[House of Representatives (Egypt)|House of Representatives]]. The council was abolished by the 2014 constitution.<ref>{{cite web|title=What's in Egypt's proposed new constitution?|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/01/what-egypt-proposed-new-constitution-201411312385987166.html|publisher=Al Jazeera English|date=14 January 2014|accessdateaccess-date=27 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122010013/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/01/what-egypt-proposed-new-constitution-201411312385987166.html|archivedatearchive-date=22 January 2014}}</ref>
The Shura Council was created in 1980 through a [[Constitutional Amendment]]. The Council was composed of 264 members of which 176 members were directly elected and 88 were appointed by the [[President of Egypt|President of the Republic]] for six-year terms. Membership was rotating, with one half of the Council renewed every three years.
A legal challenge concerning the constitutionality of the Shura Council was to have been considered on 2 December 2012 by the High Constitutional Court,<ref>{{Cite news |title=HCC to address constitutionality of Shura Council 2 December|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/57460/Egypt/Politics-/HCC-to-address-constitutionality-of-Shura-Council-.aspx|agency=Ahram Online |date=7 November 2012|accessdateaccess-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> but the court postponed the verdict in response to protests.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Egypt Constitutional Court postpones all sessions indefinitely|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/59621/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-Constitutional-Court-postpones-all-sessions-.aspx|agency=Ahram Online |date=2 December 2012|accessdateaccess-date=2 December 2012}}</ref> Mohamed Morsi's constitutional declaration issued in November 2012 bars the Shura Council from being dissolved by the judiciary.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Politicians divided on Morsy's new constitutional declaration|url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/politicians-divided-morsy-s-new-constitutional-declaration|agency=Egypt Independent |date=11 November 2012|accessdateaccess-date=24 November 2012}}</ref> The constitutional declaration issued by Morsi in December 2012 allowed the Shura Council to be dissolved by the judiciary.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Referendum to decide Shura power|author=El-Dabh, Basil|url=http://dailynewsegypt.com/2012/12/10/referendum-to-decide-shura-power/|agency=Daily News Egypt|date=10 December 2012|accessdateaccess-date=10 December 2012}}</ref> The High Constitutional Court referred the lawsuit to the State Commissioners' Board, which is the advisory board of the High Constitutional Court, on 15 January 2013.<ref name="ahram15jan">{{Cite news |title=Constitution court refers Shura Council case to state commissioners' board|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/62565/Egypt/Politics-/Constitution-court-refers-Shura-Council-case-to-st.aspx|agency=Ahram Online|date=15 January 2013|accessdateaccess-date=15 January 2013}}</ref> The board of commissioners will review the lawsuit on 10 February 2013; after lawyers give the required documents, the board will create a report on the constitutionality of the election law.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Shura Council nullification lawsuit to be reviewed 10 Feb|url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/shura-council-nullification-lawsuit-be-reviewed-10-feb|agency=Egypt Independent|date=30 January 2013|accessdateaccess-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> The report was received 22 April 2013.<ref name="dne22april">{{Cite news |title=Court to rule on Shura Council dissolution in May|url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/04/22/court-to-rule-on-shura-council-dissolution-in-may/|agency=Daily News Egypt|date=22 April 2013|accessdateaccess-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> The formation of the Shura Council was ruled unconstitutional on 2 June 2013.<ref name="dne2june">{{Cite news |title=SCC deems Shura Council and Constituent Assembly unconstitutional|url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/06/02/scc-deems-shura-council-and-constituent-assembly-unconstitutional/|agency=Daily News Egypt|date=2 June 2013|accessdateaccess-date=2 June 2013}}</ref> As of early July 2013, 30 members of the Shura Council have resigned.<ref name="ei03july">{{Cite news|title=Thirty Shura Council members have resigned |url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/thirty-shura-council-members-have-resigned|agency=Egypt Independent|date=3 July 2013|accessdateaccess-date=3 July 2013}}</ref> The Shura Council was dissolved on 5 July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=BREAKING: Egypt's interim president dissolves Shura Council: State TV|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75786/Egypt/Politics-/BREAKING-Egypts-interim-president-dissolves-Shura-.aspx|publisher=Ahram Online|accessdateaccess-date=5 July 2013|date=5 July 2013}}</ref>
The amendments that followed the [[2019 Egyptian constitutional referendum]] made the parliament a bicameral body, with the Shura Council abolished in 2014 restored as the Senate, which would consist of 120 elected members and 60 appointed by the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/330089/Egypt/Politics-/Frequently-Asked-Questions-about-parliaments--prop.aspx|title=Frequently Asked Questions about parliament's proposed amendments of Egypt's 2014 constitution|work=[[Ahram Online]]|date=15 April 2019|accessdateaccess-date=17 April 2019|author=Gamal Essam El-Din}}</ref>
== Members ==
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==2008 fire==
On 19 August 2008, a huge fire seriously damaged most of the 19th-century palace that houses the Shura Council in [[Cairo]]. At least thirteen people were hurt in the fire, which destroyed the parliamentary archive room and several meeting chambers.<ref>{{cite news | title = Egypt's parliament hit by blaze | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 19 August 2008 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7571460.stm | accessdateaccess-date = 20 August 2008}}</ref>
According to the Egyptian Channel 1, 99% of the documents were destroyed in the fire. {{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}
