The Senate of Madagascar (Sénat) is the upper chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Madagascar. The Senate has 33 members: 22 are indirectly elected, one from each of the 22 regions of Madagascar, and 11 are appointed by the President.

The Senate existed under the First Republic (1958–1975) and was a weaker body than the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. Only the National Assembly could vote on a motion of censure against the government. Two-thirds of the First Republic Senators were elected by provincial and municipal bodies, serving six-year terms (with half of the seats up for election every three years), while the other one-third were appointed by the government.

Under the Second Republic (1975–1993), the Senate was abolished, leaving the National Assembly as the unicameral parliament. Under the Third Republic (1993–present), the Senate was restored, with two-thirds of the Senators being indirectly elected and the other one-third being appointed by the President. As was the case during the First Republic, it cannot vote to censure the government, but it also cannot be dissolved.

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.

Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.

Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26, 1958) is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia.

Kaine was considered as a possible running mate for Barack Obama in 2008, but was not chosen.

On April 5, 2011, after weeks of speculation, Kaine announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat in Virginia that would be opened up by the announced retirement of Jim Webb at the end of his term.

Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Mary Kathleen (née Burns) and Albert A. Kaine, a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop. Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area and graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kaine graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in economics in 1979. Kaine was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He attended Harvard Law School, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Catholic missionary in Honduras. Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his year in Honduras. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983 with a Juris Doctor, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar. In 1984, Kaine married former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton. Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. Kaine and Holton have three children, Nat, Woody, and Annella.

Alejandro "Alex" Padilla (born March 22, 1973) is a California State Senator. He was elected as the state senator for California's 20th State Senate district in November 2006 and was inaugurated in early December. Prior to serving in the Senate he served 7½ years on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 7th District. First elected in 1999, he was elected council president in July 2001 and remained president through December 31, 2005.

Padilla is one of three children of Santos and Lupe Padilla, both of whom emigrated from Mexico before meeting and marrying in Los Angeles.

Padilla grew up in the community of Pacoima in Los Angeles and is a graduate of San Fernando High School in the northeast San Fernando Valley. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. After graduation, he moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.

He has served as president of the League of California Cities and was both its youngest-ever president and the first Latino to lead the league. He currently serves as chair of the Los Angeles Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association. Padilla previously was a staff member to United States Senator Dianne Feinstein and California State Assembly member Tony Cardenas.