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Hereditary politicians refers topoliticians (especially modern politicians) whose political position can be seen as being conferred by or based on inheritance from a parent or grandparent in some sense.

It should not be confused withpolitical dynasty though these two concepts are notmutually exclusive. Political dynasty or political family simply means that several members of the same family (whether related by blood or marriage) are involved in politics, regardless of the type of office. Thus, hereditary politician can be said to be a more specific subset of political dynasty as it refers to the next generation/s gaining the same political office as their parent or grandparent.

According toOscar Wilde, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."^[1] This might be especially true for politicians. When the name of a politician is already familiar to the public then they tend to choose him over someone who is relatively unknown. This phenomenon is commonly referred to asMere-exposure effect insocial psychology. This could also be something as superficial as choosing the most familiar-sounding name on theballot either because of indecision or ignorance of the candidates' campaignplatforms.

In astudy done byVanderbilt University professors, they found out that name recognition affects candidate support as they are exposed tosubliminal cues. They found evidence that mere exposure to the name of their hypothetical candidate improved perceived viability of the candidate and in turn, increased their support.^[2]

The voting public could also see the parent's previous accomplishment as something that the children can or will also accomplish. For example, before being elected as aPresident of the Philippines,Benigno (Noynoy) Aquino III was not very popular to the majority ofFilipinos and did not have any major contributions as a senator compared to his contemporaries. However, he was propelled into mainstream public consciousness and became a mainstay in news stories when his mother, the first female presidentCorazon Aquino suddenly died. With the country in mourning and in the mood to reminisce the past – which included his father, theassassinatedBenigno (Ninoy) Aquino Jr. – Noynoy won the presidential election. It was neither because of his charismatic personality nor his achievements as a senator but because he is the son of the country's two major political figures.

Having a politician parent almost guarantee a certain degree of success for an individual as not only does he inherit the valuablename recognition, but also benefits from the social networks and resources that are already established. The political ties that his parent has cultivated in the past will also be of use to the offspring particularly when it comes tocampaigning, formingpolitical parties andfundraising. In Japan, for example, thepatronage system is prevalent especially in the form of "support groups" orkoenkai.^[3]

In an authoritarian regime where the public has no real voice when it comes to choosing the state's leader, it is therefore inevitable that the successor would simply be one of the family heirs. This is apparent inNorth Korea where its first leader, Kim Il Sung, developed acult of personality andfamilism as a means of political control. The highest status in the nation has been ascribed to theKim dynasty, requiring "proper" respect and devotion from its citizens. Various accomplishments, even if irrelevant, are usually ascribed to the Kim family.

President of theNational FrontJean-Marie Le Pen and CouncillorMarine Le Pen who is daughter of the former, followed byMarion Maréchal-Le Pen,Jean-Marie Le Pen's granddaughter. Also, Le Pen parent and child has served as the leader of the same party over two generations.

President of theIndian National CongressMotilal Nehru and the first Prime Minister of India,Jawaharlal Nehru who is son of the former, followed byIndira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi,Sonia Gandhi who is wife of the former and their sonRahul Gandhi have all served as the leader of the same party over five generations. Hereditary succession of chief ministership in India is quite common across the spectrum, with prominent examples the Yadav family ofSamajwadi Party, the Abdullah family ofJammu & Kashmir National Conference,H.D. Deve Gowda’s family inJanata Dal (Secular), the Sangmas ofNational People’s Party and theKarunanidhi family of theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Hereditary politics is prevalent inJapan becausepolitical families hold on to three-bans, jiban,kanban, and kaban (financial support), which are three essential resources for acandidate to win an election. Jiban is the personal support from the people in a district. Kanban literally translates into advertisement board which symbolizes fame. Lastly, kaban means "bag" in Japanese and this refers to the financial support to run an election.^[4]

A hereditary politician is considered as a structural feature for Japanese politics. It is reported that approximately 30 percent of the House of Representatives areNisei, who are the second-generation of theDiet member. Nisei population takes up to 40 percent of theLiberal Democratic Party (LDP).^[5] Furthermore, most Japanese Prime Ministers have a strong political background. Famous examples areJunichiro Koizumi,Yasuo Fukuda, andShinzo Abe.

Nobusuke Kishi was criticized for theManchukuo labor scandal which he had exploited Chinese workers in order to channel profits for Japan. His life was described as mirroring the US-JP relationship before and after the war: from enemy to allies. Mr. Nobusuke was condemned as awar criminal by the Americans, but later, he became the main negotiator for a peaceful relationship with the US. Therefore, he was referred as America's Favorite War Criminal.^[8]

Kan Abe served in theHouse of Representatives (Japan) from 1937 to 1946. He is famous for running the opposing platform to oppose to the militaristic government which was underHideki Tojo’s control.

Shinzo continued his grandfather's proposal of amending the currentJapanese Constitution which restricts Japan's use of military forces. Even though this topic is very controversial within the society, Shinzo has always been assertive about the revision. He is also famous for his economic reforms known as theAbenomics. He had been involved in several scandals such as the veterinary school scandal which greatly decreased his approval poll rating. However, his strong attitude towards theNorth Korea crisis had helped his party win the majority seats in the2017 Japanese general election.

Fukuda Takeo's response to the terrorist hijacking incident,Japan Airlines Flight 472 (1977), drew international controversies. Unlike how Western countries would refuse hijackers’ demands, Fukuda accepted their demands based on the principle that "human life outweighs the earth."

Fukuda Yasuo, the eldest son of Fukuda Takeo, became the Prime Minister after Shinzo Abe's abrupt resignation. Less than one year in office, Mr. Fukuda had to step down his position due to ongoing involvement in political scandals such as the missing pension scandal which caused a steep decrease in his personal popularity.^[9]

Hatoyama Ichirō was elected as the firstLiberal Democratic Party (Japan) President during the 1956 party convention. One of his famous diplomatic goal was to restore relationship with theSoviet Union. As a post war Prime Minister, his central proposal was to strengthen national political and economical independence. Hatoyama gained high popularity and helped the party win 185 seats in the election. This was later referred as the "Hatoyama boom."^[10]

Hatoyama Yukio, like his grandfather, had entered his career as a Prime Minister with high popularity. His public approval rating fell rapidly as he could not fulfill the high expectations his party had promised. One significant example is the broken promise to relocate the American Military base in Okinawa. This incident was the main reason why Mr. Hatoyama resigned from the Prime Minister position within less than a year after he was elected.

Political families started becoming more apparent in the national political scene afterWorld War II and gradually turned into hereditary politics, especially in theprovinces. In 1946,Vicente Sotto became a senator after his brotherFilemon Sotto previously held a position in the Senate before the war. The 60s saw more frequent instances of relatives getting elected in the Senate such as the election of the brother of then PresidentRamon Magsaysay; ofMagnolia Antonino as Senator after her husband Senator Gaudencio died; ofSergio Osmeña Jr. who was the son of 4th PresidentSergio Osmeña Sr.; ofGerardo Roxas who was another son of a previous president; and ofBenigno Aquino Jr. who was the son ofBenigno Sr. During themartial law years, it only became worse as Marcos named his wifeImelda as the governor ofMetro Manila while his sonBongbong became the governor ofIlocos Norte.^[11]

In 2014, talks about ananti-political dynasty bill surfaced but it was not received favorably by the public as it was seen as a watered down version that will not eliminate the monopoly of the elites on the political scene.^[12]

Corazon Aquino was the wife of former SenatorBenigno "Ninoy" Aquino who was assassinated duringMartial Law, sparking the celebratedPeople Power Revolution. Cory, as she was fondly referred to, was then elected as the first female president of the Philippines and oversaw the creation of the1987 Constitution. She was named 1987 Woman of the Year byTime Magazine^[13] and served for one term in office before being succeeded byFidel Ramos. In 2008, she was diagnosed withcancer and died one year after. Cory'sfuneral procession took over 8 hours as thousands of Filipinos took to the streets to pay their last respects, a proof of her popularity among the public.

Coincidentally, the year she died was the year when political parties started floating names for their presidential candidates. Since Cory Aquino's legacy was still fresh in the public's mind, theLiberal Party took advantage of the resurgence of Aquino's popularity^[14] and named her son Noynoy Aquino as their presidential candidate in place ofMar Roxas, the previously announced^[15] standard-bearer of the party. Noynoy Aquino eventually won the2010 presidential elections.^[16]

Rodrigo Duterte started serving as mayor ofDavao City in 1988 winning consecutive terms until 1998. He is known for his strict implementation oflaw and order policies and became well known for his apparent success in lowering the crime rate of Davao. Digong, as he is known by his constituents, issued orders regarding alcohol consumption,prostitution,smoking andfirecrackers. However, he has long been suspected to be the mastermind behind the infamousvigilante groupDavao Death Squad who arbitrarily kills suspected criminals.^[33] As the currentpresident of the Philippines, Rodrigo has been under fire for hiswar on drugs campaign which reportedly leads toextrajudicial killings.

During Rodrigo's 2007–2010 term, his daughterSara Duterte was elected as the vice mayor. On the succeeding term of 2010–2013, they switched offices: Sara was the one who was elected mayor, while her father was elected as the vice mayor. On the next term of 2013–2016, Rodrigo was elected mayor again, but this time, his vice mayor was his sonPaolo Duterte.

Joseph Estrada, commonly known as "Erap", became famous as a film actor from 1956 to 1989, starring in hundreds of movies and even founding^[34] the celebrated annualMetro Manila Film Festival. His popularity as an actor obviously served him well in his venture in politics starting in 1969 when he was elected mayor ofSan Juan and eventually rising to the highest office in the nation as the13th President of the Philippines in 1998. Erap assumed office during theAsian Financial Crisis and his administration was marred by variouscontroversies. His term in office was consequently cut short when he was accused of graft and corruption and underwent animpeachmenttrial in 2001. However, before the trial was even concluded, he was ousted from office by theSecondPeople Power Revolution. He was charged with plunder and was found guilty with a sentence of lifetime imprisonment making him the first Philippine president to get impeached and convicted.^[35]

In 2007, after 6 years of being detained, Erap was pardoned by PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was grantedexecutive clemency in exchange for a commitment that he will no longer seek public office.^[36] However, Erap ran again as a presidential candidate^[37] during the 2010 election withJejomar Binay as his vice president but lost toNoynoy Aquino.

Meanwhile, his son Jinggoy followed his footsteps as he was elected mayor of San Juan in 1992 when he was 29 years old which made him the youngest elected mayor in the country. Jinggoy stayed in office until 2001, the year when his father was ousted as president. Then in 2004 he was elected as a senator and rose to the position ofSenate president pro tempore after 3 years. Unfortunately, Jinggoy was also charged with plunder when thePDAF Scam involvingJanet Lim-Napoles was exposed in 2013.^[38] He was released in September 2017 after posting Php 1.33 million in bail.^[39]

Diosdado Macapagal was the9th Philippine President whose administration worked to prevent corruption. His reforms were however impeded by Congress which was then led by politicians fromNacionalista Party, a rival ofLiberal Party where Diosdado belonged. Diosdado was also known for changing the date for the celebration ofPhilippine Independence – from July 4 to June 12.^[40]

In an interview with Time before Estrada was ousted from office in 2001,Gloria said: "I will follow my father's footsteps in doing what is right, and God will take care of the rest. My father is my role model."^[41] Ironically, when Gloria was elected as the14th Philippine President, her administration was marred byscandals, accusations of corruption andelectoral fraud.^[42]

Gloria's rise to presidency came about because of theSecond People Power Revolution where then President Estrada was ousted. Being then the Vice President, Gloria was sworn in as the new president. She then ran during the2004 presidential election and won with just over 3% margin – the closest in Philippine presidential election. Her slim margin of victory over a popular actor-candidateFernando Poe Jr. gave rise to suspicions of cheating. It came to a head when audio recordings of then Election CommissionerVirgilio Garcillano and Gloria was released in 2005 despite government threats.^[43] The audio recording was of a phone call where Gloria allegedly gave Garcillano instructions to rig the elections in her favor. In what became as theHello Garci scandal, Gloria gave atelevised address where she denied accusations of cheating but admitted that it was her voice on the audio recording, prompting protests and calls for impeachment.^[44]

Ferdinand Marcos was infamous for placing the country undermartial law from 1972 to 1981 and suppressing civil liberties during his time in office as the10th President of the Philippines. However, his rise to power began when he was elected Representative of his hometownIlocos Norte from 1949 to 1959. Shortly thereafter he moved on to become a Senator from 1959 to 1965. This path was closely followed by his sonBongbong as the latter was also elected, first as Representative of Ilocos Norte for two terms, and then as Senator from 2010 to 2016. Meanwhile, his daughterImee who also got elected as Representative of Ilocos Norte from 1998 to 2007 did not go on to become a Senator but was instead elected as the provincialgovernor in 2010.

Whereas Ferdinand got elected as the President in 1965 – defeatingincumbentDiosdado Macapagal – and holding the office for a total of 21 years, his son Bongbong did not run for presidency. Instead, he ran as a vice-presidential candidate^[53] under theNacionalista Party during the2016 presidential elections where he lost by merely 263,473 votes^[54] toLeni Robredo.

Lee Kuan Yew was famous forfounding the country of Singapore in 1965 after it was expelled as a state ofMalaysia following racial strife and economic disagreements with others states. He assumed leadership of the newly createdgovernment of Singapore after its independence, though he sadly expressed in a speech his desire to have been united with Malaysia.^[58] Kuan Yew was credited with the rise of Singapore as adeveloped country and was deemed a great statesman^[59] as he led the country for 31 years. Hislegacy included reducing the unemployment rate, increasing the GNP and increasing literacy rates. He remained influential even after retirement.^[60]

Kuan Yew reportedly did not want^[61] acult of personality to develop in the country so he willed that his house in38 Oxley Road be demolished after he dies. However, his sonHsien Loong, who is the currentprime minister, got into a publicized dispute with his siblings regarding their father's house. Accused by his siblings of abusing his powers by preserving their father's house, Hsien Loong decided to deliver a speech to refute them.^[62]

Park Chung Hee served as the third president ofSouth Korea from 1963 until he wasassassinated in 1979 by the then-director of theKorean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). Park had been a controversial political figure in Korea; During his presidency, he had sustained the rapid economic growth in South Korea which people often refer to as theMiracle on the Han River. On the other hand, he had been an authoritarian dictator who oppressed opposition parties and civil liberties.

In 2013, Park's daughter,Park Geun-hye, became the first female president of South Korea. Older Koreans who hold nostalgia toward the presidency of Park Geun-hye's father highly contributed to her success in the2012 presidential election. Unlike her father's 18 years of authoritarian rule, Park Geun-hye ended her term in office in 2017 aftera major influence and bribery scandal was exposed.^[63]

During the 2016 legislative election, among 365 candidates 63 of them came from a political family. Furthermore, among those who came from a political family, 40 of them were children of a former politician. Within the 22 cities and counties in Taiwan, the percentage of politicians having political background is 24.6%.^[64]

After the 2014Sunflower Student Movement, there are rising voices from the people for a political landscape change. This came along with the public favoring younger forces into the political arena. Thus, bothKMT andDemocratic Progressive Party attempt to refresh their party by recruiting new members. However, it is not easy for them to appeal to younger people to join politics; therefore, parties look inwards for second generations.^[64]

TheChiang family is the most prominent political family inTaiwan. Their historical meaning to Taiwan is very controversial as they helped thrived the Taiwanese economy but at the same time had been highly oppressive toward civil liberty. TheMartial law in Taiwan was enacted in 1948 and lasted till 1987 whenChiang Ching-kuo finally called an end to it. Taiwan had been under the restriction of the Martial law for more than 38 years making it the world's second longestMartial law.^[65] During this period of time, many innocent people were accused of being spies from theChinese Communist. Many intellectuals were restricted or even killed. In order to avoid being mistaken as spies from China, people were careful not to talk about taboo topics such as theWhite Terror and theFebruary 28 Incident.

Taiwan's economic miracle is highly contributed to Chiang Ching-kuo's (at that time the primer of Taiwan) policy, theTen Major Construction Projects, a government introduced economic developing plan.^{[66][circular reference]} These ten massive building projects improved basic infrastructures and upgraded the Taiwanese industry which later on played an important role in theTaiwan Miracle)

TheThree-noes Policy was the diplomatic relationship with China during President Chiang Ching-kuo. These three noes includes: no contact, no compromises and no negotiation with the Chinese Communists.^[67]

One of the biggest harms of hereditary politicians is corruption or bribery, something that is especially common for countries like the Philippines with its political power and economic powers highly intertwined. The concentration of political power "perpetuates a culture of dependency between an economically/politically dominant patron" which often leads to corruptions and bribery.^[68]

Moreover, hereditary political families tend to pass down their ideology and previous works from one generation to another. This suggests that the new generation is likely to be trapped by their family preoccupations. For instance, the Prime Minister of Japan,Shinzō Abe, has been eagerly pushing the revision of theConstitution of Japan, a policy which he inherited from his grandfather. Many regard Abe's assertive attitude to revise the Constitution as his political weakness. Also, political families tend to have strong dependency with specific interest groups within the society. In order to maintain the relationship, it becomes difficult for politicians to make reforms which may challenge the interest of their support groups.^[69]

There is also the so-called Carnegie effect describes the effect of how inherited fame and political network may decrease one's incentive to work hard. Most hereditary politicians were able to get a political position with relatively less effort compare to those who had no political background. Inherited advantages impede one's ambition to enrich himself. For instance, hereditary candidates have inherited political connections from their predecessors; therefore, they do not need to work hard for bureaucratic or academic competence in order to gain their position.

Hereditary politics is characterized by a son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter gaining an office that was once held by his parent (or grandparent). In comparison,political dynasty is different from hereditary politicians as the former is characterized by either of the following: 1) Members of the same family (simultaneously) holding the samegovernment positions but in different districts; or 2) Members of the same family (simultaneously or successively) holding various government positions.

Philippines

An example ofpolitical dynasty which might look similar to hereditary politics is the Ampatuan family in thePhilippines. A prominent political family^[70] inMaguindanao, a province in southern Philippines, the Ampatuans exercised great power in the region. Its patriarch namedAndal Sr. was elected as governor from 2001 to 2008. During the 2007 general elections, he ran unopposed.^[71] Meanwhile, his sonZaldy Ampatuan was in office as governor of theARMM, an administrative region where Maguindanao belongs, from 2005 to 2009.

Another of Andal's sons, former mayor ofDatu UnsayAndal Jr., was supposed to run as governor of Maguindanao during the2010 general elections. However, the whole Ampatuan family came under fire after their political rivalEsmael Mangudadatu wasambushed along with over 50 people that included journalists, lawyers, relatives and civilians who happened to be on the same place. Mangudadatu and his convoy was about to file his certificate of candidacy to run against Ampatuan for the gubernatorial office when they were reportedly attacked by 100 armed men.^[71] An estimated 58 individuals were killed during the incident, including 32 journalists.^[72] Dubbed as the "single deadliest event for the press" since theCPJ started keeping records,^[73] this incident prevented the younger Ampatuan from running for office and resulted to his incarceration.

China

The currentGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party,Xi Jinping, is both a member of thePrinceling and the second red generation. Xi's father,Xi Zhongxun was considered as the firstgeneration of Chinese leadership which he served as thevice premier. Xi's rise in political power was said to be supported by the princeling and the second red generation faction. However, unexpectedly, Xi had been reported to distance himself from those factions by expanding "commoners" within his new political team. There are only two people (Xi andZhang Youxia) who are descendants of the second-generation red among the 25 members of theCCP Politburo.^[74]

Former Chinese PremierLi Keqiang was once deemed as the most potential successor of former CCP General SecretaryHu Jintao. However, Li did not succeed because he does not have a deeply-rooted political family background. On the other hand, Xi Jinping became the successor of Mr. Hu with the support of a strong political network which he inherited from his father, Xi Zhongxun, who had been a senior political leader for more than 50 years.

The history ofChina’saristocratic class can be traced back to the period when China was under the control ofMao Zedong. Mao's army received a lot of aid from the south; one significant example was the southern general,Ye Jianying. During the conflict between Zhang's Fourth Front Army and Mao's First Front Army, Ye warned Mao in advance thatZhang Guotao is planning to overthrow Mao. Later on, during theLong March Ye came to aid Moa by assistingLiu Bocheng in directing the crossing of theYangtze river without losing a man. Mao highly appreciated his contributions to theChinese Communist Party. In return for Ye's contributions, Mao protected Ye during theCultural Revolution and gave him a lot of political power. Ye was said to have 'paved the way for the country's move to a more market-oriented economy and created a political dynasty that still plays kingmaker'. Ye was described as having the ability to 'influence national policy and protect its sprawling business empire in southern China.’^[75] Ye Jianying's political influence continued even after his death as his children had high influences on the Chinese politics. One concrete example was when his children ‘attempted to help block a vocal advocate economic change from joining theCCP Politburo Standing Committee because it was not attentive to their interest.’

• Hereditary monarchy
• Political dynasties in the Philippines
• Political family
• Nepotism
• Widow's succession
• Kleptocracy

• Elections

• CS1 errors: missing periodical
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• CS1 Chinese (Taiwan)-language sources (zh-tw)
• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Use dmy dates from October 2019
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from April 2018