Help me understand: How often in our history has another Head of State Addressed our Congress?

[diabeticman]

How big of a deal is it that Netenyau (SP?) is doing it tomorrow. AND if this is the first time what step bought this into being?

[Agschmid]

1. .

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Joint-Sessions/

[diabeticman]

5. Thanks for the info.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Churchill, 1941 (and 1943)

ETA: another link. From the British Pathé library:

Federally mandated warning: if you start watching British Pathé videos, the rest of your day will be shot for any other activity.

[diabeticman]

9. Great footage.

[marym625]

11. I wonder why this is not in the link

3 of us used. Seems odd it wouldn't be there

[el_bryanto]

16. Maybe they considered the King of England the head of state?

Seems odd though.

Bryant

[former9thward]

20. Technically Netanyahu is not head of state either.

Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel is.

[el_bryanto]

24. Yeah - i don't think the issue is Netanyahu addressing congress as an act in itself

The issue is that it was done by the Republicans in Congress without involving the President or the statement, which is a gross act of disrespect at best.

Bryant

[marym625]

32. I think the subject is an issue too.

Which is why they didn't go through proper, respectful, channels

[el_bryanto]

37. That's a fair point as well. Normally Republicans are opposed to other nations lecturing us

on foreign policy; I guess in this case it's ok.

Bryant

[marym625]

31. I think it has to do with what the session is called

But I am not positive

[KansDem]

3. Hope this helps...

Foreign Leaders & Dignitaries Who Have Addressed the U.S. 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.

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Foreign-Leaders/

[marym625]

6. You beat me.

Just posted the same thing but you did it faster

[KansDem]

40. One reason I like DU

DUers possess a wealth of knowledge that I find extremely useful. When someone asks a question, there are many responses with insightful, reliable information.

I learn something new every day!

[marym625]

42. Same here! n/t

[diabeticman]

7. Thanks

[KansDem]

41. You're welcome!

(Post no. 12 has an important clarification)

[pinboy3niner]

12. This is a Joint MEETING, not a Joint Session

From your link:

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.

[KansDem]

22. Thanks for the clarification

[marym625]

4. twice

This is what I found

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.

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Foreign-Leaders/

[diabeticman]

8. Thanks

[Agnosticsherbet]

15. The list from your link is not complete. A link to a comlete list is inluded in the text.

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Joint-Sessions/

[marym625]

21. Yeah, there are different types of joint sessions

Just found this. Probably what you are linking to

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Joint-Sessions/

[pinboy3niner]

10. I was in the gallery to hear Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau address a Joint Meeting in '77. nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

13. Heads of state have addressed Congress many times. Petro Poroshenko, of Ukraine did it Sept 18, 2014

Her is an extended list.

Only twice in history has a head of stated made unofficial addresses.

There are two known instances of unofficial addresses by foreign leaders to the House and Senate in the House Chamber. Referred to as a Joint Caucus of the House and Senate, President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica and President José Napoleón Duarte gave informal addresses on September 22, 1987, and October 15, 1987, respectively.

[pnwmom]

34. And how many of them arranged for the address without consulting the President? nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

45. Two have been unofficial, whatever that means. nt

[pnwmom]

46. None of them came in order to dispute the President's policies,

while sensitive negotiations were going on.

[Agnosticsherbet]

48. I don't think any of them were invited by a Speaker of the House to undermine

a sitting President.

I was merely answeing the question about heads of state speaking before Congress. it has happened. It is not at all that unusual. What is unusual, and perhaps unique, is that Congress did not contact the state Department, which makes this a all time low blow by a group that specializes in low blows.

[Agschmid]

14. So...

What is it?

Twice? Or the more extensive list my link had?

Now I am confused.

[pinboy3niner]

18. Your longer list is correct

The list of two refers only to those addresses made to what was technically a Joint SESSION. In most cases, when a foreign leader addresses Congress it is done as a Joint MEETING. It's a parliamentary distinction as to how the session is called and what label is used.

Netanyahu will address a Joint Meeting of Congress.

[Agschmid]

19. Okay thanks, I figured it was a wording thing.

[djean111]

17. I don't really think of Netanyahu as a "dignitary", really, just a sneaky warmonger. nt

[diabeticman]

28. AH!!! that might shine a different light on the issue.

[marym625]

23. Thanks for the question

Looks like some of us learned something today. I sure did

[Capt. Obvious]

25. This one doesn't count

But it worried me more.

[frazzled]

39. That's my congressman

I moved to his district after he did this, but I've never forgotten it. I'm hoping it was one crazy lapse, maybe a hangover decision or something. Because there's no hope of ever unseating him. He's a lifetime rep. Unless he does something this nuts again.

[Mr.Bill]

26. Another concern about this address

is that it falls so near an election for the person giving it. It is customary to not allow a meeting of Congress to be used for electioneering purposes in the home county of the dignitary, as this certainly will be.

[diabeticman]

30. Thank you this info helps a lot.

[Bluenorthwest]

27. Many many times, and Netanyahu has made two previous addresses to joint meetings of Congress

himself. It happens regularly. It is the circumstances and timing of this address that people take issue with, or at least informed people, not the address itself.

[diabeticman]

29. Thank you this helps. Unfortunately a lot going on in my life at the moment.

[pnwmom]

33. The issue is NOT that he's addressing Congress. It's the end-run he made around the President,

arranging the address without consulting with and being approved by Obama.

[spanone]

35. exactly..plus it's two weeks prior to israeli elections....i.e. it's bullshit.

[lovemydog]

36. There's a lot of good information on this thread. I'm curious

about whether any other times in history this was done against the wishes of the President. I assume on almost all previous occasions, the President made or condoned the invitation. I support those who will not attend.

[NYC Liberal]

38. 108 times

• Kalākaua, King of Hawaii
  
• George VI, King of Canada
  
• Queen Elizabeth, Queen consort of Canada
  
• Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  
• Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  
• Miguel Alemán Valdés, President of Mexico
  
• Eurico Gaspar Dutra, President of Brazil
  
• Vincent Auriol, President of France
  
• Galo Plaza, President of Ecuador
  
• Alcide de Gasperi, Prime Minister of Italy
  
• Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands
  
• Celal Bayar, President of Turkey
  
• Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
  
• Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea
  
• Paul Magloire, President of Haiti
  
• Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic
  
• Sukarno, President of Indonesia
  
• Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam
  
• Theodor Heuss, President of West Germany
  
• Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines
  
• Arturo Frondizi, President of Argentina
  
• José María Lemus, President of El Salvador
  
• Seán T. O'Kelly, President of Ireland
  
• Baudouin, King of the Belgians
  
• Alberto Lleras Camargo, President of Colombia
  
• Charles de Gaulle, President of France
  
• Mahendra, King of Nepal
  
• Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
  
• Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia
  
• Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan
  
• Manuel Prado Ugarteche, President of Peru
  
• João Goulart, President of Brazil
  
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shahanshah and Aryamehr of Iran
  
• Antonio Segni, President of the Italian Republic
  
• Éamon de Valera, President of Ireland
  
• Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines
  
• Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, President of Mexico
  
• Georges Pompidou, President of France
  
• Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela
  
• Luis Echeverría, President of Mexico
  
• Walter Scheel, President of West Germany
  
• Anwar El Sadat, President of Egypt
  
• Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• Liam Cosgrave, Taoiseach of Ireland
  
• Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of France
  
• Juan Carlos I, King of Spain
  
• William R. Tolbert, Jr., President of Liberia
  
• Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands
  
• Karl Carstens, President of West Germany
  
• Garret FitzGerald, Taoiseach of Ireland
  
• François Mitterrand, President of France
  
• Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  
• Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy
  
• Raúl Alfonsín, President of Argentina
  
• Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India
  
• Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore
  
• José Sarney, President of Brazil
  
• Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines
  
• Chaim Herzog, President of Israel
  
• Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada
  
• Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia
  
• Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan
  
• Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President of Mexico
  
• Roh Tae-woo, President of South Korea
  
• Václav Havel, President of Czechoslovakia
  
• Giulio Andreotti, Prime Minister of Italy
  
• Violeta Chamorro, President of Nicaragua
  
• Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom
  
• Carlos Menem, President of Argentina
  
• Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany
  
• Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia
  
• P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India
  
• Hussein, King of Jordan
  
• Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa
  
• Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea
  
• Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• Jacques Chirac, President of France
  
• Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• John Bruton, Taoiseach of Ireland
  
• Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, President of Chile
  
• Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea
  
• Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania
  
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India
  
• Vicente Fox, President of Mexico
  
• John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
  
• Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  
• José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain
  
• Hamid Karzai, President of the Afghan Transitional Administration
  
• Ayad Allawi, Interim Prime Minister of Iraq
  
• Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
  
• Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
  
• Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy
  
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
  
• Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia
  
• Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq
  
• Abdullah II, King of Jordan
  
• Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
  
• Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach of Ireland
  
• Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  
• Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
  
• Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
  
• Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
  
• Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
  
• Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea
  
• Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea
  
• Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_joint_sessions_of_the_United_States_Congress

[itcfish]

43. All These "Dignitaries"

Addressed congress against the sitting president's wishes???? Or did they try to sabotage the president's negotiations with another nation? Just asking.

[pnwmom]

44. But NOT ONE TIME without consulting with the President first. n/t

[NYC Liberal]

47. Yes I know. I'm just answering the OP's question.