Foreign Leader Addresses Fast Facts

Including Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, address on July 19, 2023, there have been 125 Joint Meeting or Joint Session Addresses by foreign leaders or dignitaries. There have been at least five unofficial addresses.

The Marquis de Lafayette, the French general and Revolutionary War hero, became the first foreign dignitary to address the House of Representatives in its chamber on December 10, 1824. This is often considered to be the first address by a foreign dignitary before a Joint Meeting of Congress, however, Lafayette met with the House and Senate separately a day apart during his visit to Washington, D.C.

Congress With Most Addresses

With eight addresses, the 86th Congress (1959–1961) had the greatest number of foreign leaders or dignitaries address Joint Meetings of Congress.

Countries With Six Or More Addresses Before Congress

Representatives of the following nations have delivered six or more addresses before meetings of Congress, either before formal Joint Meetings or Sessions, or before an informal meeting of Congress. Numbers do not include House Receptions.

• On December 26, 1941, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addressed an informal meeting of Congress.
• The July 26, 1994 address was jointly given by Hussein I, King of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel.

Families

Two different families have had multiple generations of descendants address the Congress. King George IV of England attended a formal reception at the U.S. Capitol on June 9, 1939, but did not deliver an address. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress on May 16, 1991.

Only one married leader and their spouse have addressed Congress. On March 16, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine informally addressed Congress followed by an informal address on July 20, 2022, by First Lady Olena Zelenska of Ukraine. Zelenskyy subsequently gave a formal address to a Joint Meeting of Congress on December 21, 2022.

Most Addresses

Winston Churchill and Binyamin Netanyahu have made more addresses to Congress than any other foreign dignitaries. Churchill addressed an informal meeting of Congress in 1941, and Joint Meetings in 1943 and 1952; Netanyahu addressed Joint Meetings in 1996, 2011, and 2015. Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Yitzak Rabin of Israel also addressed Joint Meetings of Congress twice.

Religious Leaders

The first religious leader to address a Joint Meeting was England’s Queen Elizabeth II on May 16, 1991. The British Monarch is also the head of the Anglican Church. Her father, King George VI, attended a reception in the Capitol Rotunda on June 9, 1939, but no address was given.

Royal Leaders

The first royal to have addressed a Joint Meeting or Joint Session was King Kalakua of Hawaii  in 1874. Eleven monarchs or royals have addressed Joint Meetings of Congress.

Women Leaders

Beginning with Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1952, 12 women have addressed Joint Meetings of Congress. First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska addressed an informal meeting of Congress on July 16, 2022.