The Senate is one of the chambers of the National Assembly. It has 12 members appointed for a five year term by the Governor General.

Senators are appointed by the Governor General in the following manner:

In practice, the party that wins the general election (by capturing the most seats in the lower house of representatives) also controls the Senate. In previous incarnations, eight senators were appointed, five by the Prime Minister, two by the Leader of the Opposition and one by the Governor General and the Belize Advisory Council. One more senator was given to the opposition beginning in the 1990s.

Occasionally, a Prime Minister may find it necessary to appoint a Senator to a post in the Cabinet. Former Senator Richard "Dickie" Bradley twice lost elections to the House and was appointed a Senator and given a Cabinet post each time. Former Minister Ralph Fonseca, though unelected in 1989, was named a Senator and Minister of State under George Price's government in 1989-1993 term. In 1997, the UDP appointed Belize Ambassador to Mexico, Mr. Alfredo "Fred" Martinez a Senator to also serve in Cabinet as Minister of Trade & Industry, thereby relinquishing his Ambassadorial appointment.

Belize ⁱ/bəˈliːz/ (formerly British Honduras) is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America and it is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.

With 22,960 square kilometres (8,860 sq mi) of land and a population of only 333,200 inhabitants (2010 est.), Belize possesses the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 2.21% (2008 est.), however, is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species, and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place within the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages and it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage but as a part of the Western Caribbean Zone, it also shares a common heritage with the Caribbean portions of other Central American countries. In general, Belize is considered to be a Central American nation with strong ties to both the Caribbean and Latin America. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).