Mr. President (title)

The title "Mr. President" (m.) and "Madame President" (f.)^[1][2] may apply to persons holding the title of President or presiding over certain other governmental bodies.^[3] Adopted by President of the United States George Washington as his official manner of address as head of state, "Mister President" was subsequently used by other governments to refer to their heads of state. It has a longer history of usage as the title of the presiding officers of legislative and judicial bodies. It is the conventional translation of non-English titles such as Monsieur le Président for the President of the French Republic.

History

Thomas Hungerford, who became the first Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1376, used the title, "Mr. Speaker," a precedent followed by subsequent Speakers of the House of Commons. This influenced parliamentary usage in France.

By the 18th century, the president of a French parlement was addressed as "Monsieur le Président." In Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses ("Dangerous Liaisons"), the wife of a magistrate in a parlement is referred to as Madame la Présidente de Tourvel ("Madam President of Tourvel").

The 1787 Constitution of the United States did not specify the manner of address for the chief executive. When George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States in 1789, he initially used the style, "His High Mightiness, the President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties," a title elaborated by the Joint Congressional Committee on titles over the course of a month. Critics charged that it smacked of monarchy. Washington consented to the demands of James Madison and the United States House of Representatives that the title be altered to "Mr. President." The first Vice President of the United States and the second President, John Adams, felt the title showed too little deference and lacked prestige, but he was unsuccessful in replacing it.^[4][5][6][7]

When the Second French Republic was established in 1848, "Monsieur le Président" became the title of the President of the Republic of France.

The Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, established in 1867, is also addressed as "Monsieur le Président" or "Madame la Présidente" when French is being spoken.

Spousal title

Titles for a president's wife have ranged from "Marquise", "Lady" to simply "Ms."^[6] "Mrs. President" may denote the wife of a president, although it is not commonly used.^[8]

United States

President George Washington's wife, Martha Washington, was often called, "Lady Washington". By the 1850s in the United States, the term "lady" had changed from a title of nobility to a term of address for a respected and well mannered woman. The use of "First Lady" to refer to the wife of the President of the United States was popularized about the time of the US Civil War. Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, was remembered after her death in 1849 by President Zachary Taylor as "truly our First Lady for a half a century."^[9]

See also

• President of the United States
• First Lady
• Happy Birthday, Mr. President
• President (title)

Notes

1. ^ Williams, Stephen P. (2004). How to Be President. Chronicle Books. pp. 56. ISBN 9780811843164. http://books.google.com/?id=e66922pfFB0C&pg=PA56&dq=title+%22Mr.+President%22+%22Madam+President%22. 
2. ^ Safire, William (November 24, 1991). "On Language; Manhandling the Handlers". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DC103AF937A15752C1A967958260. 
3. ^ Mr. President Is Correct. New York Times. May 13, 1945. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1091EF63F5A10728FDDAA0994DD405B8588F1D3. 
4. ^ Hart, Albert Bushnell (1897). Formation of the Union, 1750-1829. Longmans. pp. 143. ISBN 1406928453. http://books.google.com/?id=n41HAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA143&dq=%22title+of+Mr+President%22. 
5. ^ Martin, Judith (2003). Star-spangled Manners. W.W. Norton & Co.. pp. 67. ISBN 9780393048612. http://books.google.com/?id=I_C-cv96t0kC&pg=PA67&dq=%22Mr+President%22+%22former+president%22+title+%22first+lady%22. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Wood, Gordon S. (2006). Revolutionary Characters. Penguin Press. pp. 54. ISBN 9781594200939. http://books.google.com/?id=uOovRxek5AIC&pg=PA54&dq=%22title+of+Mr+President%22. 
7. ^ Caroli, Betty Boyd (2003). First Ladies. Oxford University Press US. pp. 4. ISBN 9780195166767. http://books.google.com/?id=3DiQRbwz6jcC&pg=PA4&dq=%22Mr+President%22+++title+%22first+lady%22. 
8. ^ Martin, Judith (Miss Manners) (January 9, 2008). Naming Protocol for Madam President's Spouse. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010804309_pf.html. 
9. ^ Mayo, Edith (1996). The Smithsonian Book of the First Ladies. H. Holt. pp. 33. ISBN 9780805017519. http://books.google.com/?id=Z0HZFqbkT1sC&pg=PA33&dq=%22Mr+President%22+++title+%22first+lady%22.