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A History of Foreign Leaders and Dignitaries Who Have Addressed the U.S. Congress

What are the methods that Congress has used historically to receive addresses by foreign leaders and dignitaries?

There are three such methods: joint meetings, joint sessions, and separate House and Senate receptions.


What is a joint meeting of Congress
?

A joint meeting is the preferred method for receiving addresses from foreign leaders and dignitaries. Joint meetings are used for special commemorative events and to receive addresses by domestic dignitaries. To initiate a joint meeting, both houses, by resolution or by unanimous consent, declare themselves in recess for a joint gathering in the House Chamber. House Rule IV governs this procedure:

“The Hall of the House shall be used only for the legislative business of the House and for caucus and conference meetings of its Members, except when the House agrees to take part in any ceremonies to be observed therein. The Speaker may not entertain a motion for the suspension of this clause.”

As precedent has evolved, however, the House has tended to use unanimous consent, rather than a resolution, for the purpose of receiving a foreign leader.
 

What is a joint session of Congress?

A joint session of Congress has been used almost exclusively to receive the President’s State of the Union Address (prior to 1942 called the Annual Message), other presidential addresses, and the counting of electoral votes for the President and Vice President of the U.S. Both chambers follow a formal procedure to establish these occasions by adopting a concurrent resolution. Only twice have foreign dignitaries addressed a joint session of Congress: French Ambassador Andre de Laboulaye (20 May 1934), to mark the centennial of the death of the Marquis de Lafayette, and Cuban Ambassador Guillermo Belt (19 April 1948), to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cuban independence after the Spanish-American War in 1898.
 

What is a House or Senate reception?

Earlier in Congressional history the standard manner in which both the House and the Senate received addresses by foreign leaders was to invite dignitaries to a one- chamber reception. This procedure required either unanimous consent or resolution by the chamber that wished to receive the foreign leader. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 122 such receptions have occurred in both chambers. Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, was the first foreign dignitary to address a Senate reception (5 January 1852) and a House reception (7 January 1852).

These receptions are not associated with other informal, social receptions and lunches provided for foreign leaders on behalf of congressional leadership or individual committees. In the post-World War II era, the practice of using one-chamber receptions largely disappeared. The last House reception was held for Mexican President Joe Lopez Portillo (17 February 1977).

House receptions and addresses of foreign leaders1
02/17/1977 Address

Jose Lopez Portillo, President of Mexico.

07/26/1961 Address

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister of Nigeria

06/22/1961 Address

Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan

04/18/1961 Address

Constantine Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece

07/29/1958 Address

Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy

07/25/1958 Address

Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister of Ghana.

06/25/1958 Address

Muhammad Daoud Khan, Prime Minister of Afghanistan.

06/20/1957 Address

Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan

05/28/1957 Address

Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany

03/15/1956 Address

John Aloysius Costello, Prime Minister of Ireland

02/02/1956 Address

Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

05/30/1955 Address

U Nu, Prime Minister of Burma

05/04/1955 Address

P. Phibunsongkhram, Prime Minister of Thailand

03/30/1955 Address

Mario Scelba, Prime Minister of Italy.

03/16/1955 Address

Robert Gordon Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia

08/01/1950 Address

Robert Gordon Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia

07/31/1950 Address

Tokutaro Kitamura, member of Japanese Diet

05/04/1950 Address

Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan.

10/13/1949 Address

Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India.

08/09/1949 Address

Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines

01/20/1944 Address

Isaias Medina Angarita, President of Venezuela

06/10/1943 Address

President Hininio Morinigo M., President of Paraguay.

05/27/1943 Address

Edwin Barclay, President of Liberia

05/13/1943 Address

Edvard Benes, President of Czechoslovakia

05/06/1943 Address

Enrique Penaranda, President of Bolivia

02/18/1942 Address

Madame Chiang Kai-shek, of China

12/10/1942 Address

Fulgencio Batista, President of Cuba.

11/24/1942 Address

Carlos Arroyo del Rio, President of Ecuador

06/25/1942 Address

Peter II, King of Yugoslavia.

06/15/1942 Address

George II, King of Greece.

06/02/1942 Address

Manuel Luis Quezon, President of the Philippines

05/11/1942 Address

Manuel Prado, President of Peru.

05/08/1939 Address

Anastasio Somoza Garcia, President of Nicaragua.

01/01/1937 Address

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada.

01/25/1928 Reception and Address

William Thomas Cosgrave, President of Executive Council of Ireland.

10/28/1919 Address

Albert I, King of the Belgians.

01/08/1918 Address

Milenko Vesnic, Head of Serbian War Mission.

09/05/1917 Address

Kikujiro Ishii, Ambassador from Japan.

06/27/1917 Address

Baron Moncheur, Chief of Political Bureau of Belgian Foreign Office at Havre.

06/23/1917 Address

Boris Bakhmetieff, Ambassador from Russia.

06/02/1917 Address

Ferdinando di'Savoia, Prince of Udine, Head of Italian Mission to U.S.; Guglielmo Marconi, member of Italian Mission to U.S.

5/05/1917 Address

Arthur James Balfour, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

05/03/1917 Address

Rene Raphael Viviani, Minister of Justice from France; Jules Jusserand, Ambassador from France; address attended by Marshal Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre, member of French Commission to U.S.

02/09/1911 Address

Count Albert Apponyi, Minister of Education from Hungary

02/02/1880 Address Charles Stewart Parnell, member of Parliament from Ireland
03/06/1872 Address

Tomomi Iwakura, Ambassador from Japan

01/07/1852 Remarks and Reception

Louis Kossuth, exiled Governor of Hungary

12/10/1824 Address

Speaker Henry Clay; General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, of France


Trends over time

As the United States attained greater status in the 20th century, the method used to invite foreign leaders and dignitaries to address Congress evolved. The practice of receiving foreign leaders before joint meetings or joint sessions was exceedingly rare prior to World War II. The French general and Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette made the first address before the House of Representatives in 1824. While it is commonly assumed that it was the first joint meeting, Lafayette addressed the House and Senate separately. Members of the Senate were invited to the 10 December 1824 address in the House Chamber. On 8 December 1824 a joint congressional committee determined that General Lafayette would address both the House and Senate separately:

That the joint committee have agreed to recommend to their respective Houses, that each House receive General Lafayette in such manner as it shall deem most suitable to the occasion; and recommend to the House the adoption of the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, That the congratulations of this House be publicly given to General Lafayette on his arrival in the United States in compliance with the wishes of Congress; and that he be assured of the gratitude and deep respect which the House entertains for his signal and illustrious services in the Revolution; and the pleasure it feels in being able to welcome him, after an absence of so many years, to the theatre of his early labor, and early renown.

2. Resolved, That, for this purpose, General Lafayette be invited, by a committee, to attend the House on Friday next at one o'clock: that he be introduced by the committee, and received by the members, standing, uncovered, and addressed by the Speaker, in behalf of the House, in pursuance of the foregoing resolution."

This report was read and agreed to, unanimously, by the House;2

A full half-century passed before another foreign leader was extended the honor. On 18 December 1874, King David Kalakaua of Hawaii became the first member of royalty accorded the honor of appearing before a joint meeting of Congress. Hawaiian Chief Justice Elisha Hunt Allen, a former Member of the U.S. House, delivered the king’s address because the monarch was incapacitated with a head cold. French Ambassador Andre de Laboulaye spoke before a joint session of Congress on 20 May 1934. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed a joint meeting of Congress on 26 December 1941—less than three weeks after the U.S. entered World War II.

Churchill’s address, the first of three he delivered before Congress, began a new trend in which Congress invited foreign leaders to address joint meetings rather than just one-chamber receptions. Within the next decade nine additional joint meetings were held for foreign leaders.

After the Second World War, foreign leaders who addressed joint meetings often represented America’s close wartime allies—particularly those from Atlantic Alliance countries. A large number also represented newly emerging democracies in Asia, South America, Latin America, and Africa.


Fast Facts  

Below are some quick-reference facts about foreign leaders and dignitaries who have addressed Congress.  


Who was the first foreign leader or dignitary to address Congress?

The Marquis de Lafayette, the French general and Revolutionary War hero, was the first foreign dignitary to address the House of Representatives. Lafayette delivered a speech before a meeting in the House Chamber on 10 December 1824.

The first non-head of state to address a joint meeting of Congress was Polish Solidarity Leader Lech Walesa in 1989. Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress addressed a joint session in 1990.
 

On how many occasions have foreign leaders or dignitaries addressed joint meetings?

Including Dr. Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq, who addressed a joint meeting of Congress on 26 July 2006, there have been 103 joint meeting addresses delivered by foreign leaders and dignitaries extending back to King David Kalakaua of Hawaii in 1874.

  • Including Dr. Nouri Al-Maliki, 99 leaders or dignitaries have addressed joint meetings of Congress. (Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, and Yitzak Rabin have addressed Congress multiple times.)
  • Ten (10) monarchs or royalty have addressed joint meetings of Congress.
  • Nine (9) women have addressed joint meetings of Congress. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was the first (3 April 1952). Others who followed include: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (21 April 1982), UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (20 February 1985), Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino (18 September 1986), Prime Minister of Pakistan (7 June 1989), Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (16 April 1991), Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (16 May 1991), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia (15 March 2006), and Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia (7 June 2006).
  • Two generations of the same family have delivered joint meeting addresses to Congress: Queen Juliana (1952), and her daughter Queen Beatrix (1982). Queen Wilhelmina (Juliana’s mother and Beatrix’s grandmother) addressed the Senate with the House as an invited guest in 1942.
  • The years in which the greatest number of foreign leaders or dignitaries have addressed joint meetings of Congress: 1976 (5), 1985 (5), 1954 (4), 1959 (4), 1960 (4), 1989 (4), and 1994 (4).  

 

What country has the distinction of sending the most leaders and dignitaries to deliver joint meeting addresses before Congress?

The United Kingdom and France lead the list with seven joint meeting addresses per country by heads of state or dignitaries. In descending order other countries leading the list of joint meeting addresses include: Mexico (6), Italy (6), Israel (6), Ireland (5), Germany, including West Germany and unified Germany (4), South Korea (4), India (4), Canada (3), Argentina (3), and the Philippines (3).
 

What foreign leader has made the most appearances before a joint meeting of Congress?

Winston Churchill made more addresses to Congress than any other individual. He addressed joint meetings in 1941, 1943, and 1952. Nelson Mandela of South Africa has addressed Congress twice, in 1990 and 1994. Yitzak Rabin of Israel also addressed joint meetings of Congress on two occasions, in 1976 and 1994.

Joint meeting and joint session addresses by foreign heads of state and dignitaries:

07/26/2006 Dr. Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
06/07/2006 Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
05/24/2006 Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
03/15/2006 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
03/01/2006 Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of the Republic of Italy addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

07/19/2005

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

04/06/2005

Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

09/23/2004

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Republic of Iraq addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

06/15/2004

President Hamid Karzai of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

02/04/2004

President Jose Maria Aznar of the Government of Spain addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

07/17/2003

Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

06/12/2002

Prime Minister John Howard of Australia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. The scheduled address by Prime Minister John Howard of Australia to a joint meeting of Congress on 09/12/2001 was cancelled. ( CD .)3

09/06/2001

President Vicente Fox of Mexico addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/14/2000

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

07/15/1998

Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/10/1998

Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/27/1997

Eduardo Frei, President of Chile, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/11/1996

John Bruton, Prime Minister of Ireland, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

07/10/1996

Benyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/01/1996

Jacques Chirac, President of France, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

12/12/1995

Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/26/1995

Kim Yong-sam, President of South Korea, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/06/1994

Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

07/26/1994

Hussein I, King of Jordan, and Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, address a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/18/1994

Narasimba Rao, Prime Minister of India, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/17/1992

Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/30/1992

Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

11/14/1991

Carlos Saul Menem, President of Argentina, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/16/1991

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/16/1991

Violeta B. de Chamorro, President of Nicaragua, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/26/1990

Nelson Mandela, Deputy President of the African National Congress, South Africa, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/07/1990

Giulio Andreotti, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/21/1990

Vaclav Hável, President of Czechoslovakia, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

11/15/1989

Lech Walesa, chairman of SolidarnoϾ labor union, Poland, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/18/1989

Roh Tae Woo, President of South Korea, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/04/1989

Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President of Mexico, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/07/1989

Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/23/1988

Robert Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/27/1988

Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

11/10/1987

Chaim Herzog, President of Israel, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/18/1986

Corazon C. Aquino, President of the Philippines, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/11/1986

Jose Sarney, President of Brazil, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/09/1985

Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/13/1985

Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/20/1985

Raul Alfonsin, President Argentina, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/06/1985

Bettino Craxi, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy,addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/20/1985

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/16/1984

Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/22/1984

François Mitterand, President of France, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/15/1984

Dr. Garett FitzGerald, Prime Minister of Ireland, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/05/1983

Karl Carstens, President of West Germany, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/21/1982

Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/22/1977

Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau of Canada addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/23/1976

President William R. Tolbert, Jr., of Liberia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/02/1976

Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/18/1976

President Valery Giscard d’Estaing of France addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/17/1976

Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave of Ireland addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/28/1976

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

11/05/1975

President Anwar El Sadat of Egypt addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/17/1975

President Walter Scheel of West Germany addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/15/1972

President Luis Echeverria Alvarez of Mexico addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/03/1970

President Rafael Caldera of Venezuela addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/25/1970

President Georges Pompidou of France addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

10/27/1967

President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz of Mexico addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/15/1966

President Ferdinand E. Marcos of the Philippines addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/28/1964

President Eamon de Valera of Ireland addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/15/1964

President Antonio Segni of Italy addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/12/1962

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shahanshah of Iran, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/04/1962

President Joao Goulart of Brazil addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CR .)4

9/21/1961

President Manuel Prado of Peru addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CR .)

07/12/1961

President Mohammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/04/1961

President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/29/1960

Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/28/1960

Mahendra, King of Nepal addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/25/1960

President Charles de Gaulle of France addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/06/1960

President Alberto Lleras-Camargo of Columbia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/12/1959

Baudouin, King of the Belgians, addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/18/1959

President Sean T. O’Kelly of Ireland addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

03/11/1959

President Jose Maria Lemus of El Salvador addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/21/1959

President Arturo Frondizi of Argentina addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/18/1958

President Carlos F. Garcia of the Philippines addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/05/1958

President Theodor Heuss of West Germany addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/09/1957

President Ngo Dinh Diem of Vietnam addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/17/1956

President Sukarno of Indonesia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

02/29/1956

President Giovanni Gronchi of Italy addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/27/1955

President Paul E. Magliore of Haiti addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

07/28/1954

President Syngman Rhee of South Korea addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/28/1954

Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/04/1954

Governor General Vincent Massey of Canada addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/29/1954

President Celal Bayar of Turkey addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/03/1952

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

01/17/1952

Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

09/24/1951

Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi of Italy addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

06/21/1951

President Galo Plaza of Ecuador addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/02/1951

President Vincent Auriol of France addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/19/1949

President Gaspar Dutra of Brazil addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

04/19/1948

Ambassador Guillermo Belt of Cuba addresses a joint session of Congress held to memorialize the 50 th anniversary of Cuban independence. ( CR .)5

05/01/1947

President Miguel Aleman of Mexico addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

11/13/1945

Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee of the United Kingdom addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/19/1943

Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

12/26/1941

Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addresses a joint meeting of Congress. ( CD .)

05/20/1934

Ambassador Andre’ de Laboulaye of France addresses a joint session of Congress held to memorialize the centennial anniversary of the death of Lafayette. ( CR .)6

12/18/1874

A joint meeting of Congress is held to receive King Kalakaua of Hawaii. ( CD .)


Bibliography

Bacon, Donald C. et al. The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress , Volume 3 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995): 1183-1184.

Congressional Directory, 109th Congress . “Statistical Information” section on “Joint Sessions, Joint Meetings, and Inaugurations” ( Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2001).

Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Congress A to Z: CQ’s Ready Reference Encyclopedia (Washington, D.C.: 1988): 221.

Patrick, John J. et al. The Oxford Guide to the United States Government ( New York: Oxford University Press, 2001): 343-344.

Wellborn, Clay. Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings of Congress . Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, CRS Rept. 87-244 (1987).



1. Chart based on 109th Congressional Directory table on “Joint Sessions.”
2. House Journal, 18th Cong., 2nd sess. (8 December 1824): 29.
3. CD denotes source as the Congressional Directory.
4. CR denotes source as the Congressional Record.
5. The address was a joint session of Congress.
6. The address was a joint session of Congress.

 


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