The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable (abbreviated to "The Hon." or formerly "The Hon'ble") is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.

Usage[link]

International diplomacy[link]

In international diplomatic relations, representatives of foreign states are often addressed as "The Honourable". Deputy Chiefs of Mission, Charges d'Affaires, Consuls-General and Consuls are always given the style. All heads of consular posts, whether they are honorary or career postholders, are accorded the title according to the State Department of the United States.^[1] However, Ambassadors and High Commissioners are never given the style, with the title "Your Excellency" being used.

Australia[link]

In Australia, all ministers in Commonwealth and state governments and the government of the Northern Territory are entitled to be styled The Honourable. The Australian Capital Territory does not have an Executive Council (the Commonwealth Minister for Territories exercises that role) and so its ministers are not entitled to the style. In Victoria,^[2] the style is retained for life because it recognises that their appointment to the relevant executive council (when they first become a minister) is an appointment for life and the person technically remains "an executive councillor-on-call". In Western Australia, the title is permanent after three years' service in the ministry.^[3] In New South Wales, Queensland,^[4] South Australia and Tasmania the premier can advise the Queen to grant former ministers the style for life. In the Northern Territory, the Chief Minister can request the administrator to make a recommendation to the governor general who in turn makes a recommendation to the Queen of Australia. A minimum five years' service as a member of the executive council and or as a presiding officer is a prerequisite. All such awards are published in the Commonwealth Government Gazette. The presiding officers of the parliaments of the Commonwealth, the states and the Northern Territory are also styled The Honourable, but normally only during their tenure of office. Special permission is sometimes given for a former presiding officer to retain the style after leaving the office, as is the case in the Northern Territory.

The style "The Honourable" is not acquired through membership of either the House of Representatives or the Senate (see Parliament of Australia). A member or senator may have the style if they have acquired it separately, e.g. by being a current or former minister. During proceedings within the chambers, forms such as "The honourable Member for ...", "The honourable the Leader of the Opposition", or "My honourable colleague" are used. This is a merely a parliamentary courtesy and does not imply any right to the style.

Traditionally, members of the legislative councils of the states were also styled The Honourable for the duration of their terms. This practice is still followed in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. In Victoria, the practice was abolished in 2003.

The Caribbean[link]

CARICOM[link]

Members of the Order of the Caribbean Community are entitled to be styled The Honourable for life.^[5]

Barbados[link]

In Barbados, Members of Parliament of Barbados carry two main titles: Persons in the Barbados House of Assembly are styled The Honourable, while members of the Senate of Barbados are styled Senator. Persons accorded with the Order of Barbados are styled Sir (male), or Dame (female) as a Knight of St. Andrew; or The Honourable as Companion of Honour. Persons made a National Hero or heroine of Barbados are style "The Right Excellent".

Puerto Rico[link]

In Puerto Rico, much like the continental United States, the term "Honorable" (in Spanish) is used, but not required by law, to address Puerto Rican governors as well as city mayors, members of state and municipal legislatures, judges and property registrars.

Canada[link]

In Canada, the following people are entitled to the style The Honourable (French: l'honorable) for life:

• Senators
• Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (mostly members or former members of the federal Cabinet)
• Provincial Lieutenant Governors

In addition, some people are entitled to the style while in office only:

• The Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
• Judges of superior courts and the Tax Court of Canada
• Premiers of provinces and government leaders of territories
• Members of provincial executive councils
• Speakers of provincial legislatures
• Territorial commissioners.

Derivatives include:

• The Honourable Mr/Madam Justice — justices of superior courts.
• The Honourable Judge — judges of provincial courts and formerly judges of district or county courts.^[6]

It is usual for speakers of the House of Commons to be made privy councillors, in which case they keep the style for life, and provincial premiers and federal opposition leaders are sometimes also made privy councillors.

Members of the Canadian House of Commons and of provincial legislatures refer to each other as "honourable members" (or l'honorable député) but are not entitled to have The Honourable as a prefix in front of their name unless they are privy councillors.^[7]

Governors general, prime ministers, chief justices and certain other eminent persons are entitled to the style The Right Honourable for life (or le/la Très honorable in French).

The Congo[link]

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the prefix 'Honorable' or 'Hon.' is used for members of both chambers of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Informally, senators are sometimes given the higher title of 'Venerable'.

Hong Kong[link]

In Hong Kong, the prefix "The Honourable" is used for the following people:

• Members of the Legislative Council and the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
• Members of the Executive Council.
• The Chief Executive.
• Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, Secretary of Justice, and Secretaries of Bureaux.
• Judges of the Court of Final Appeal.
• Judges of the High Court.
• Bearers of the title Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest medal in Hong Kong's honours system.
• Deceased Heros of the title Hong Kong Disciplined Services.

India[link]

In the Republic of India, Vice President, Judges of the Higher Judiciary, i.e., both Supreme Court & High Court, are referred as 'Honourable Mr./Mrs. Justice'. The Members of Parliament of both the Upper and the Lower houses are referred to as Honourable Member. Members of the executive, who are also the members of the Legislative such as the Prime Minister are referred to as The Honourable Member/Minister. Usually the abbreviation The Hon. is used before their names.

Isle of Man[link]

In the Isle of Man, the style The Honourable (often abbreviated to Hon.) is used to refer to a Minister while holding office.

Italy[link]

In Italy the members of both houses of parliament have right to the prefix Onorevole by law. But in fact it is only used for members of the Chamber of Deputies, since a member of the Senate is usually called Senatore (Senator).

Malaysia[link]

In Malaysia, an elected Member of Parliament or State Legislative Assemblyman will be entitled to be referred to as "Yang Berhormat", which is literally "The Honourable".

Malta[link]

All members of the House of Representatives of Malta are entitled to this prefix.

New Zealand[link]

In addition to the standard Commonwealth usage, the Speaker of the House of Representatives was entitled to be referred to as The Honourable until 2010, when it was announced that sitting and future Governors-General, Prime Ministers, Chief Justices, and Speakers of the House of Representatives would be entitled to be referred to as The Right Honourable.^[8] The Governor-General was entitled to use the style "the Honourable" upon assuming the office and held it for life from 2006^[9] until the changes in 2010.

New Zealand office holders who are "Honourable" ex-officio are usually personally granted the style for life as a courtesy when they vacate the office.

Philippines[link]

In the Philippines, the style is usually used to give distinction to any elected official ranging from the smallest political unit, the barangay, to the Congress of the Philippines, which consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. In an example, a Kagawad (legislative council member) named Juan de la Cruz will be referred to as The Honorable Juan de la Cruz. In written form, the style may be shortened to "Hon." (as in Hon. Juan de la Cruz). Moreover, the Judges from the Trial Courts are also addressed in this style.

Meanwhile, the President of the Philippines and Vice President of the Philippines is usually given the style His/Her Excellency.

Private organisations[link]

Private organisations or religious movements sometimes style a leader or founder as The Honourable; e.g. "The Honourable Elijah Muhammad".

Sri Lanka[link]

In Sri Lanka, the following people are entitled to the style The Honourable :

• Speaker & Members of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
• Supreme & appeal court judges.

United Kingdom and the Commonwealth[link]

Entitlement[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In the United Kingdom, the sons and daughters of hereditary peers and peeresses are styled "the Honourable", as are those of life peers but not of judicial "Lords" or prelates (who are not peers). The sons and daughters of dukes and marquesses and the daughters (but not sons) of earls also have the title Lord or Lady before their first names making them, for instance, "the Hon. Lady Jane Smith". The eldest sons of peers are permitted to use their father's or mother's subsidiary title, if there is one. The "the Hon." style is only a courtesy, however, and on legal documents they are described as, for instance, John Smith, Esq., commonly called The Honourable John Smith.^{[dubious – discuss]} As the wives of sons of peers share the styles of their husbands, the wives of the sons of peers are styled, for example, The Hon. Mrs John Smith.

Some persons are entitled to the prefix by virtue of their offices. Rules exist that allow certain individuals to keep the prefix The Honourable even after retirement.

• Judges of the High Court and other superior courts in the Commonwealth (if the judge is a knight, the style Sir John Smith is used socially instead of The Honourable Mr Justice Smith.);
• Members of Commonwealth executive councils and the Canadian Privy Council (and by extension, cabinets);
• Members of Commonwealth legislative councils (or senates) where the legislature is bicameral; and
• Certain representatives of the Sovereign, e.g. Lieutenant-Governors of Canadian provinces.

Many corporate entities have been awarded the style by Royal Warrant, for example:

• The Honourable East India Company;
• The Honourable Artillery Company;
• The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple etc.

Usage[link]

The style The Honourable is always written on envelopes (where it is usually abbreviated to The Hon) and formally elsewhere, in which case the style Mr or Esquire is omitted. In speech, however, The Honourable John Smith is referred to simply as Mr John Smith.

In the British House of Commons, as in other lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members refer to each other as honourable members etc. out of courtesy, despite the fact that they are not entitled to the style in writing. When members are Queen's counsel they will instead be referred to as the learned member with serving members of the military of the rank of major and above (formerly less of a rarity than today) styled the gallant member.

Where a person is entitled to the prefix The Right Honourable they will use this higher style instead of The Honourable.

United States[link]

In the United States, the prefix The Honorable has been used to formally address various officials at the federal and state levels, perhaps most notably judges. The title is held for life.^[10] Modifiers such as The Right Honorable or The Most Honorable are not used.

Federal usage as dictated by the chief of protocol, an appointed official in the United States Department of State, provides that the following other officials receive the title:

• The president and vice president, and members of both houses of Congress, including people elected or appointed to those positions who have not yet taken up the office.
• All federal and state judges, justices of the peace and magistrates, whether appointed or elected.
• Appointed heads of the federal executive departments (United States Cabinet members) and Cabinet-level office-holders as well as appointed heads of the independent agencies.
• Assistants to the president above the rank of special assistant, including, for example, the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.
• Special or personal Envoys.
• Most appointees confirmed by the Senate, such as ambassadors of the United States, who are referred to as His/Her Excellency when travelling abroad. Notable exceptions to this rule include United States Attorneys, U.S. Marshals and commissioned military officers who do not receive this title, although they are confirmed by the Senate.
• Officers of the House of Representatives and of the Senate such as the Chief Administrative Officer of the United States House of Representatives and Secretary of the Senate.
• Governors, lieutenant governors, statewide elected officeholders such as an attorney general, and members of a governor's cabinet unless individual states have their own customs. In some states, an incumbent governor is also referred to as His/Her Excellency.
• Members of legislatures.
• Some local officials, such as mayors.

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, commissioned Kentucky colonels are considered members of the governor's staff and his honorary aides-de-camp, and as such are entitled to the style of Honorable as indicated on their commission certificates. The commission and letters patent granted by the governor and secretary of state bestowing the title of Kentucky colonel refers to the honoree as "Honorable First Name Last Name." However, this style is rarely used with most Kentucky colonels preferring to be referred to and addressed as colonel.

The style The Honorable is used on envelopes when referring to an individual in the third person. It generally is not used with an additional style or title, such as Dr. or The Reverend, though it can be used with post-nominal letters (e.g., The Hon. John H. Sununu, Ph.D.).

A spouse of someone with the style of The Honorable receives no additional style, unless personally entitled to the style in his or her own right by virtue of holding, or having held, one of the offices mentioned above.

See also[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Honourable.

• The Most Honourable
• His Honour
• Your worship
• Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing
• Honorary degree (also uses the abbreviation "Hon" in front of that of the degree, e.g. HonDLitt)

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2009)

1. http://www.caricom.org/jsp/secretariat/legal_instruments/agreement_occ.jsp
2. http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/pe/address1_e.cfm Styles of Address (Canada)
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_colonel
4. http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/05fah01/05fah010420.pdf
5. http://www.washingtonlife.com/backissues/archives/99nov/honorables.htm
6. http://www.bartleby.com/95/27.html
7. http://www.uwf.edu/writelab/writeadvice/wa-professional4.htm
8. http://szotar.sztaki.hu/webster/info/thesa/4.style-book/style.6.htmld/

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.