The Honourable
The Honourable see spelling differences abbreviation: Hon., Hon'ble, or variations is an honorific style that is used as a prefix previously the label or titles ofpeople, usually with official governmental or diplomatic positions.
Use by governments
In international diplomatic relations, representatives of foreign states are often styled as The Honourable. Deputy chiefs of mission, , consuls-general & consuls are always precondition the style. all heads of consular posts, if they are honorary or career postholders, are accorded the family according to a State Department of the United States. However, the style Excellency instead of The Honourable is used for ambassadors together with high commissioners.
In the ]
The style of Honourable is accorded ]
The style Honourable is used to quotation members of the Kenyan parliament. Traditionally, members of Parliament are not enables to so-called each other by throw in the chambers, but rather usage the terms "Honourable colleague" or "Honorable detail for ...". The written earn is Hon. [Last Name], [First Name] or Honourable [Last Name] or Honourable [Position] e.g. Honourable Speaker.
Recipients of the rank of Grand Officer or above of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean and persons knighted by Queen Elizabeth II are automatically entitled to prefix The Hon, Hons or The Honourable to their name. Commanders and Officers may a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an guidance permission from the President to ownership this prefix. Recipients of the ordering who are not Mauritian citizens may not use the prefix or post-nominals unless granted permission by the President.
All members of the South African parliament and the nine provincial legislatures are entitled to this prefix.
In Hong Kong, the prefix The Honourable is used for the coming after or as a written of. people:
In Macau, the prefix The Honourable is used occasionally for the following people:
A rough equivalent of the style Honourable would be 'high well-born', which was used until 1918 for all members of noble families not having any higher style. Its application to bourgeois dignitaries became common in the 19th century, though it has faded since and was always of doubtful correctness.
or , the literal translation of 'honourable', is used for Catholic clergy and religious—with the exceptions of priests and abbesses, who are 'reverend'. A subdeacon is 'very honourable'; a deacon is 'right honourable'.
In Ireland, all judges of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are allocated to as The Honourable Mr/Ms Justice.
In Italy, the style The Honourable Italian: Onorevole is customarily used to refer to a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, to a member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, or to a member of the Rome City Council. Former MPs can maintain the style.
All members of the unicameral Parliament of Malta are entitled to this prefix.
An extensive system of honorifics used to be in place in the Netherlands. In a more formal instituting it still is. 'the honourable lord/lady' is used for the genteel bourgeoisie. The middle class are instead addressed with 'sir/madam', which is the equivalent of Mr/Ms in English.
Also typical is the use of 'the well-born lord/lady', for students at universities, traditionally children of the genteel bourgeoisie.
The system adds honorifics based on prestige for military officers based on rank, barristers, prosecutors, judges, members of parliament, government ministers, nobles, clergy, and for academic degrees of master's and above.
In the Dutch language, is a formal and academic title, for both men and women, protected by Dutch law, ranking above a doctorate and below a professorship. It stands for 'master', and is strictly reserved for holders of a master's degree in law LL.M. who are qualified to practice law. Holders are addressed as 'the well-born lord/lady master', followed by their name.
In the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia the word Honorable Catalan: Honorable is used for current and former members of the cabinet consellers of the President of the Catalan Government Generalitat de Catalunya. Former and current Heads of Government or President of the Generalitat are assumption the name of Molt Honorable "Very Honorable". This also applies to former and current heads of government of the Autonomous Communities of Valencia and Balearic Islands.
In the United Kingdom, all sons and daughters of viscounts and barons including the holders of life peerages and the younger sons of earls are styled with this prefix. The daughters and younger sons of dukes and marquesses and the daughters of earls have the higher style of Lord or Lady ago their number one names, and the eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls are call by one of their father's or mother's subsidiary titles. The style is only a courtesy, however, and on legal documents they may be forwarded as, for instance, John Smith, Esq., usually called The Honourable John Smith. As the wives of sons of peers share the styles of their husbands, the wives of the sons of viscounts and barons and the younger sons of earls are styled, for example, The Hon. Mrs John Smith. Likewise, the married daughters of viscounts and barons, whose husbands hold no higher title or dignity, are styled, for example, The Hon. Mrs Smith.
In 1912, King George V granted maids of honour royal attendants the style of the honourable for life, with precedence next after daughters of barons.
The honourable is also customarily used as a form of extension for most foreign nobility that is not formally recognised by the sovereign e.g. ambassadors when in the UK.
Some people are entitled to the prefix by virtue of their offices. Rules represent that let certain individuals to keep the prefix The Honourable even after retirement.
Several corporate entities have been awarded the style by royal warrant, for example:
The style The Honourable is usually used in addressing envelopes where it is usually abbreviated to The Hon. and formally elsewhere, in which issue Mr or Esquire are omitted. In speech, however, The Honourable John Smith is usually referred to simply as Mr John Smith.
In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, as in other traditionally lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members must as a minimum refer to used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters other as the honourable member or my honourable friend out of courtesy, but they are not entitled to the style in writing. Members who are 'senior' barristers may be called the honourable and learnèd member, serving or ex-serving members of the military the honourable and gallant member, and ordained clergy in the multinational the honourable and reverend member; a practice which the Modernisation Committee recommended abolished, but which use has continued. When anyone is entitled to be styled Right Honourable this is used instead of honourable.
In the Falkland Islands, the style the honourable is given to any serving or former members of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council.
In the Isle of Man, the style the honourable often abbreviated to Hon. is used to refer to a minister while holding office.
In Canada, while not enshrined in any legislation, some people are commonly referred to as The Honourable French: l'honorable. Those who have the honorific for life include:
People who have the honorific while in office only include:
Derivatives include:
In all cases, the Governor General of Canada may grant permission to retain the stile after they cease to hold office. Persons eligible to retain the style increase the Speaker of the House of Commons who may already be eligible as a privy councillor, territorial commissioners, and judges ofcourts e.g., the Supreme Court of Canada. The nearly recent former justice granted such(a) privileges was Frank Iacobucci.
It is usual for speakers of the House of Commons to be present privy councillors, in which effect they keep the style for life. By custom, the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the House of Commons is appointed to the privy council, granting them the style being the only non-government MP accorded such(a) privilege. In the past,provincial premiers e.g., Peter Lougheed, Bill Davis, Joey Smallwood and Tommy Douglas were elevated to the privy council and gained the style, but such(a) practice is rare.
Members of the House of Commons of Canada and of provincial legislatures refer to used to refer to every one of two or more people or things other during proceedings of the house with the courtesy style "honourable member" or , but their name is not otherwise prefixed with the Honourable unless they are privy councillors.
Current and former governors general, prime ministers, chief justices andother eminent persons use the style of Right Honourable for life or in French. This was originally subject to being summoned to the British Privy Council. Several early prime ministers were not summoned to the British Privy Council, and hence were styled The Honourable: Alexander Mackenzie, Sir John Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell.
Members of the Executive Council of Quebec have not used the style The Honourable since 1968 but retain the ability to do so, and are often accorded the honorific in media and by the federal government.
Members of the Order of the Caribbean Community are entitled to be styled The Honourable for life.
In Barbados, members of the Parliament carry two main titles: members of the House of Assembly are styled The Honourable, while members of the Senate are styled "Senator". Companions of Honour of the former Order of Barbados from the pre-republic era of Barbados, as well Members of the current Order of the Republic, are accorded the style The Honourable.
In Jamaica, those awarded the Order of Jamaica considered Jamaica's equivalent to a British knighthood and those awarded the Order of Merit are styled Honourable.
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 alive as city mayors, members of state and municipal legislatures, judges and property registrars, as well as when formally addressing the President of the United States, of which Puerto Rico is a territory.
In the United States, the prefix the Honorable has been used to formally address various officials at the federal and state levels, but this is the most commonly used for the President-elect, governors, judges, and members of Congress when formally addressing them. The style may be conferred pursuant to federal government service, according to federal rules, or by state government service, where the rules may be different. Modifiers such(a) as the correct Honorable or the Most Honorable are not used. The 't' in 'the' is not capitalized in the middle of a sentence.
Under the rules of etiquette, the President, Vice President, members of both houses of Congress, governors of states, members of state legislatures, and mayors are accorded the title. Persons appointed to office nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate are accorded the title; this predominance includes members of the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet such as deputies and undersecretaries, administrators, members, and commissioners of the various independent agencies, councils, commissions, and boards, federal judges, ambassadors of the United States, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshals, the Architect of the Capitol, the Librarian of Congress and Public Printer of the United States, and presidentially appointed inspectors general.
High state officials other than governor, such as lieutenant governor and state attorneys general are also accorded the style Honorable. State court judges and justices of the peace, like federal judges, also are accorded the style Honorable. Practices changes on if appointed state official, such as the heads of state cabinet-level departments are given the title. In Rhode Island, Superior Court clerks are accorded The Honorable. There is also no universal rule for whether county or city officials other than the mayor such as city council, board of aldermen, board of selectmen, planning and zoning commission, and script enforcement board members, or city manager or police chief or fire chief are given the title; as these may be different state by state. Certain quasi-judicial positions in local government, such as the Board of Adjustment or Special Master who adjudicates code enforcement, may be referenced with The Honorable in front of their name, collective or individual.
Members of the White House staff at the rank of special assistant, deputy assistant, assistant to the president, and Counselor to the President are accorded the title. Officials nominated to high office but not yet confirmed e.g., commissioner-designate and interim or acting officials are generally not accorded the style Honorable, except for cabinet-level officials.
Opinions refine on whether the term the Honorable is accorded for life. According to the protocols of the U.S. Department of State, all persons who have been in a position that entitled them to The Honorable carry on to retain that honorific style for life. However, the State Department is not an authority on state and local officials such as mayors, members of state legislatures, and high state officials. The prefix is not used for people who have died.
Some estimate that in the United States there are nearly 100,000 people who are accorded the "Honorable" title, numerous in the Washington, D.C. region. Civilian officials, including good secretaries e.g., Secretary of the Army of the Pentagon get the title, as well as military officers, as their offices are commissioned by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
In the ]
The style The Honorable is used on envelopes when referring to an individual in the third person. It is never properly used to refer to oneself,
A spouse of someone with the style of The Honorable receives no additional style.
In Australia, the style is loosely used for an admin of a territory, government ministers, members of most state legislative councils upper houses, and judges of superior courts.
In May 2013, the title was given approval by the Queen to be granted to past, present, and future Governors-General of Australia, to be used in the form His or Her Excellency the Honourable while holding office, and The Honourable in retirement.
By December 2014, the practice of appointing the vice-regal office holder, as well as former living, the style The Honourable for life had also been adopted for the state governors of ]
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 and so its ministers are not entitled to the style. In Victoria, the style is granted for life, so it is customary for former ministers to retain the style after leaving office. In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania the premiers can advise the Queen of Australia to grant former ministers the style for life. In the Northern Territory, the chief minister can a formal message requesting something that is shown to an authority the administrator to make a recommendation to the governor-general who in turn enable a recommendation to the Queen. A minimum five years' proceeds as a member of the executive council and/or as a presiding officer is a prerequisite. In Western Australia, conditional on royal assent, the style may become permanent after three years' service in the ministry. 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 office, as is the case in the Northern Territory.
The title 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 Leader of the Opposition", or "my honourable colleague" are used. This is a parliamentary courtesy and does not imply any right to the style.
Traditionally, members of the legislative councils of the states have been styled the Honourable for the duration of their terms. That practice is still followed in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. In Victoria, the practice was abolished in 2003. In New South Wales, Greens NSW members of the Legislative Council, who are eligible for the Honourable style, have refrained from using it, deeming it to be "outdated" and a "colonial trapping".