Link to Q&A just on How to Address a Former President

FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank.
   For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog.
   For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide.

How Should Reporters Refer to
The Current President in Media?
    How should President Trump be referred to by the media? I hear them refer to him as Mr. Trump and this just doesn't sound very respectful of him or the office (in my opinion). Mahalo for your time.
         -- Ms. Brazile in Honolulu

Dear MBIH:
    In the media the journalists are referring to The President in the third person in a story ... so they will refer to him in various ways so who they are talking about is clear to the listener.
    You'll hear:
        Donald Trump
        President Trump
        Trump
        Mr. Trump
    These are not forms of address ... for which there are rules.  In direct address a president is addressed as
        Mr. President
    His given name or surname is not used in his presence.  
    Listen to a White House news conference, and all the reporters address him as Mr. President.
    White House staff refer to him as The President  ... which makes sense since he is the only President to them!   But on the evening news they may refer to several presidents ... the president of the United States ... the president of British Petroleum ... the president of a national association.
    Sometimes you hear someone directly address the President of the United States as President Trump ... but that person is incorrect .... doesn't know the tradition ... and has probably just been listening to the evening news and thinks that is correct.
    Whenever I hear that I write a note to the reporter. Not sure it does any good, but I feel better.
                   -- Robert Hickey

How to Address The President and First Lady?
    What is the correct way to address an envelope and salutation to use when writing Presidential couple at the White House. In your book I find how to address him at the White House and how to address her at the White House. But I want to write a letter to the both of them.
         --- Desiree Whitley

Dear Ms. Whitley:
     You don't see a joint form in my book because my book is for official forms of address ... and an official letter would not be jointly addressed to the both.
      I guess one could imagine them opening their mail together, but that's not what happens.  Each has their own office ... his in the West Wing ... and hers in the East Wing ... both at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So separate correspondence would be sent to each.  If you address it to them both then someone will have to decide which wing open it I guess.
    But that said ... if you are set on writing them as a couple write it line-for-line like this:
        The President
            and Mrs. (Surname)
                The White House
                    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
                        Washington, DC 20500
        Open the letter with the salutation:
            Dear Mr. President and Mrs. (Surname):
        Close the letter with:
            Most Respectfully,
            Desiree Whitley
                           -- Robert Hickey

Is The Honorable used with the Names of the Deceased?
In a picture caption, should former president be listed as The Honorable (Full Name) as The Honorable George Washington or The Honorable John F. Kennedy?
             --- CH in Watkinsville, GA


Dear CH:
     The courtesy title the Honorable is used when addressing or listing the name of a living person. When the name of a deceased person is listed it's just (Full Name) + Office Held that is pertinent to the story being told for which the photo is included.
     So a photo of John F. Kennedy might list his name followed by John F. Kennedy, Lieutenant aboard PT109, John F. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts, or John F. Kennedy, president of the United States.  But it would never be The Honorable John F. Kennedy.
           -- Robert Hickey

Dear BL:
      It's not correct for one chief of state to bow to another chief of state: they are peers. This sort of meeting is a symbolic ceremony ... a metaphor for the two nations' relationship ... hence the photographers, protocol officers, and press. Personal actions by the participants are omitted in this arena ... so the person named "Barack" actually getting to know the person named "Akihito" happens when the principals have private time.
    The bow was not the right thing to do ... it's an action more appropriate by a courtly "Southern gentleman" to an older person ... an gracious form of respect for years of service and personal accomplishment .. but more appropriate in the realm of social situations in the USA.
    But ill advised or not -- except perhaps in the blog-o-sphere and talk radio -- I find that few Americans really think The President was bowing as a subject, or supplicant, to the Emperor of Japan -- and I find only a minority think it's important.  I think it's important and that many are unfamiliar with diplomatic rules and have little cross-cultural knowledge. I don't admire this ignorance  .... but I do observe it. 
             -- Robert Hickey

How Should a Foreign Official Address the POTUS?
     I am drafting a letter from a foreign head of state to the President of the United States.  Would I simply use the address block, salutation, and complimentary close that you already have listed for addressing the U.S. President, or is there a separate protocol if the letter is coming from a foreign Head of State (in this particular case, Kazakhstan)?
       -- Zoe L. J.

Dear Zoe L. J.,
    Use what I show on my page How To Address The President Of The United States. It will be absolutely correct.  Also correct would be for a foreign citizen to address a foreign head of state in the diplomatic style and that would be His/Her Execellency (Full Name).
        -- Robert Hickey

Link to Q&A just on How to Address a Former President

"How to Address The President: 
He is Not Your Excellency, or Your Honor, But Mr. President."
–– From an 1891 issue of The New York Times: in a story reprinted from the Washington Star.
      "If you ask a President's private secretary, he will tell you among other things that not one person out of ten in writing to the President addresses him properly.  Each correspondent seems to follow his own sweet fancy…"
      "To cut a long matter short, let the correct form for addressing the President be given. It is simply this: "Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, Mr. President."   Then after you have said your say, if you are not proud, you can finish the communication thus: "I have the honor to be, Mr. President, your obedient servant, John Smith..."
      "It is part of the law of nations that they are coequal. The King of Samoa writes to President Harrison in the same terms of equality that are used by the Emperor of Germany, and the President replies in kind …. Yet the King of Samoa is addressed by the President as "Great and good friend", and the President signs himself, "Your good friend." And when Queen Victoria receives a letter from the President she treats him with precisely the same formality and no more".
       © The New York Times.

Not Finding Your Question Answered?
(1) At left is a list offices/officials covered and (2) below are other topics covered in my blog. Between the two I probably have what you are looking for.
     But after checking both lists if you don't see your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day (unless I am traveling.)
      If I think your question is of interest to others, I will post the question & answer – but I always change the names and specifics.
      -- Robert Hickey

USE OF NAMES & HONORIFICS   
Mr., Miss, Jr., III, & Names        
Married Women       
Deceased Persons         
People with Two Titles
Post-Nominal Abbreviations and Initials         
Sequence Post-Nominal Abbreviations: Sr., Jr., etc.    
 
Couples: Private Citizens / Joint Forms of Address 
Couples: U.S. Military / Joint Forms of Address     
Couples: U.S. Officials / Joint Forms of Address      

USE OF SPECIFIC OFFICIAL TITLES        
Former Officials            
Professionals and Academics        

United States Federal Officials, Currently In Office             
United States State Officials, Currently In Office              
United States Municipal Officials, Currently In Office             
       All About The Honorable with U.S. Officials         
       Former United States Officials of all types             
United States Armed Services
       Addressing Active Duty Personnel              
       Addressing Retired Personnel      
       Use of Rank by Retired Personnel      
       Use of Rank by Veterans      

Tribal Officials             
Clergy and Religious Officials           
Canadian Officials         
Australian Officials          
British Officials, Royalty, and Nobility        
Diplomats and International Representatives            
Foreign National Officials and Nobility        

SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
Author's Name on His/Her Book       
Business Cards, Names on,       
Couples              
Introductions, Names in            
Invitations: Names on       
Invitations: Names of Armed Service Personnel on        
Name Badges & Tags            
Names on Programs, Signs, & Lists            
Naming a Building or Road            
Place Cards            
Plaques, Awards, Diplomas, Certificates, Names on    
Precedence: Ordering Officials           
Tombstones, Names on      

Site updated by Robert Hickey on 12 February 2020

Back to directory of titles  /  See who is using Honor & Respect

For forms of address for invitations, place cards, name badges, introductions, conversation, and all other formal uses, see Honor & Respect: the Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address.

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Copyright © 2020 Robert Hickey.     All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Marc Goodman.