Mr. President (title)

The title "Mr. President" (m.) and "Madam President" (f.) may apply to persons holding the title of President or presiding over certain other governmental bodies.

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. The Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons is addressed as Monsieur le Président in French, and Mr. Speaker in English.

History

In the United States

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 on April 30, 1789, the administering of the oath of office ended with the proclamation: "Long live George Washington, President of the United States," No title other than the name of the office of the executive was officially used at the inauguration. The question of a presidential title was being debated in Congress at the time, having become official legislative business with Richard Henry Lee's motion of April 23, 1789. Lee's motion congress to consider "what titles it will be proper to annex to the offices of President and Vice President of the United States - if any other than those given in the Constitution."Vice President John Adams, in his role as President of the United States Senate organised of a Congressional committee. There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of Highness (as well as the title of Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties) for the President. Adams and Lee were among the most outspoken proponents of an exalted presidential title.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is an American politician and former United States Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. She is the wife of the 42nd President of the United States William "Bill" Jefferson Clinton, and was First Lady of the United States during his tenure from 1993 to 2001. She served under current President Barack Obama as the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. She is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election.

A native of the Chicago area, Hillary Rodham graduated from Wellesley College in 1969, where she became the first student commencement speaker. She went on to earn her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1973. After a stint as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas, marrying Bill Clinton in 1975. She co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in 1977, became the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978, and was named the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979. While First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and 1983 to 1992, she led a task force that reformed Arkansas' public school system, and served on the board of directors of Wal-Mart among other corporations.

President

A president is the leader of a country or a division or part of a country, typically a republic, a democracy, or a dictatorship. The title "president" is sometimes used by extension for leaders of other groups, including corporate entities.

Etymologically, a president is one who presides (from Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit"; giving the term praeses). Originally, the term referred to the presiding officer of a ceremony or meeting (i.e., chairman), but today it most commonly refers to an executive official. Among other things, "President" today is a common title for the heads of state of most republics, whether presidential republics, semi-presidential republics or parliamentary republics.

Title

The title President is derived from the Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit." As such, it originally designated the officer who presides over or "sits before" a gathering and ensures that debate is conducted according to the rules of order (see also chairman and speaker). Early examples are from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (from 1464) and the founding President of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 1660. This usage survives today in the title of such offices as "President of the Board of Trade" and "Lord President of the Council" in the United Kingdom, as well as "President of the Senate" (one of the roles constitutionally assigned to the Vice-President of the United States). The officiating priest at certain Anglican religious services, too, is sometimes called the "President" in this sense. However the most common modern usage is as the title of a head of state in a republic.

Madam

Madam /ˈmædəm/, or, as French, madame /ˈmædəm/ or mə-dam', is a polite form of address for women, often contracted to ma'am /ˈmæm/. The abbreviation is "Mme" and the plural is mesdames (abbreviated Mmes). The term was borrowed from the French madame (French pronunciation: ​[maˈdam]), which means "my lady".

Use as a form of address

In speaking, Madam is used in direct address when the lady's name is not known; for example: May I help you, madam? In the United States, "ma'am" is usually used, except in regions such as New England where particular ties to England still exist. Even then, "madam" tends to only be used when addressing the elderly, with "ma'am" being used for a younger woman. The male equivalent is "sir".

Formal protocol

After addressing her as "Your Majesty" once, it is correct to address the Queen of the United Kingdom as "Ma'am" for the remainder of a conversation.

In 2009 the European Parliament issued guidance on the use of gender-neutral language which discouraged the use of terms which indicate a woman's marital status.