Certain Senators hold leadership positions that are critical to the organization of the work of the Senate. These appointments are generally made on a political basis. The Senate has used the term “political officers” to describe these offices, and as of March 2016, now use "Senate house officers": the Speaker of the Senate, the Speaker pro tempore, the Leader of the Government in the Senate; the Leader of the Opposition; the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate; the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; and the party Whips.