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The Honourable (Commonwealth English) orThe Honorable (American English;see spelling differences) (abbreviation:Hon.,Hon'ble, or variations) is anhonorificstyle that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain people, usually with official governmental or diplomatic positions.
In international diplomatic relations, representatives of foreign states are often styled asThe Honourable. Deputy chiefs of mission,chargés d'affaires, consuls-general, consuls and honorary consuls are always given the style. All heads of consular posts, whether they are honorary or career postholders, are accorded the style according to theState Department of the United States.[1] However, the styleExcellency instead ofThe Honourable is used for ambassadors andhigh commissioners only.
In theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, the prefix 'Honourable' or 'Hon.' is used for members of both chambers of theParliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Informally, senators are sometimes given the higher style of 'Venerable'.[citation needed]
The style of Honourable is accordedmembers of parliament inGhana. It is also extended to certain grades of Royal Orders awarded by Ghana's sub-national Kingdoms.[citation needed]
The style Honourable is used to address members of theKenyan parliament. Traditionally, members of Parliament are not allowed to call each other by name in the chambers, but rather use the terms "Honourable colleague" or "Honourable Member for ...".[2] The written form isHon. [Last Name], [First Name] orHonourable [Last Name] orHonourable [Position] (e.g.Honourable Speaker).
Recipients of the rank of Grand Officer or above of theOrder of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean and persons knighted by QueenElizabeth II are automatically entitled to prefixThe Hon,Hons orThe Honourable to their name. Commanders and Officers may request permission from the President to use this prefix. Recipients of the order who are not Mauritian citizens may not use the prefix or post-nominals unless granted permission by the President. All 70 members of theNational Assembly also use this prefix, including all Cabinet ministers.
All members of theSouth African parliament and the nineprovincial legislatures are entitled to this prefix.
A rough equivalent of the styleHonourable would beHochwohlgeboren '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.
Ehrwürdig orEhrwürden, the literal translation of 'honourable', is used forCatholicclergy andreligious—with the exceptions of priests and abbesses, who areHochwürden 'reverend'. A subdeacon isWohlehrwürden 'very honourable'; a deacon isHochehrwürden 'right honourable'.
In Ireland, all judges of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are referred to asThe Honourable Mr/Ms Justice.[3]
In Italy, the styleThe Honourable (Italian:Onorevole) is customarily used to refer to a member of theChamber of Deputies. Former members of parliament can maintain the style.[4]
All members of the unicameralParliament of Malta are entitled to this prefix.
An extensive system of honourifics used to be in place in the Netherlands. In a more formal setting it still is.De weledele heer/vrouwe 'the honourable lord/lady' is used for the genteel bourgeoisie. The middle classes are instead addressed withDe heer/mevrouw 'sir/madam', which is the equivalent ofMr/Ms in English.
Also typical is the use ofDe weledelgeboren heer/vrouwe 'the well-born lord/lady', for students at universities, traditionally children of the genteel bourgeoisie.
The system adds honourifics 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,Mr is a formal and academic title, for both men and women, protected by Dutch law. It stands forMeester '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 asDe weledelgestrenge heer/vrouwe Mr 'the honourable strict lord/lady master', followed by their name.
In the Spanish Autonomous Community ofCatalonia, the style Honorable (Catalan:Honorable) is used for current and former members of the cabinet (consellers) of the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya). Former and current heads of government or president of the Generalitat are given the style ofMolt Honorable ("Very Honorable"). This also applies to current and former heads of government of the Autonomous Communities ofValencia andBalearic Islands.[5]
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In the United Kingdom, all sons and daughters ofviscounts andbarons[6] (including the holders oflife peerages) and the younger sons ofearls are styled with this prefix (the daughters and younger sons ofdukes andmarquesses and the daughters ofearls have the higher style ofLord orLady before their first names, and the eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls are known by one of their father's or mother's subsidiary titles). The style is only acourtesy, however, and on legal documents they may be described as, for instance,John Smith, Esq., commonly 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, KingGeorge V grantedmaids of honour (royal attendants) the style ofthe honourable for life, with precedence next after daughters of barons.[7]
The Honourable is also customarily used as a form of address 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 exist that allow certain individuals to keep the prefixThe Honourable even after retirement.
Several corporate entities have been awarded the style byroyal warrant, for example:
The styleThe Honourable is usually used in addressing envelopes (where it is usually abbreviated toThe Hon.) and formally elsewhere, in which caseMr orEsquire are omitted. In speech, however, The Honourable John Smith is usually referred to simply as Mr John Smith.
In theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom, as in other traditionally lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members must as a minimum refer to each other asthe honourable member ormy honourable friend out of courtesy, but they are not entitled to the style in writing. Members who are 'senior'barristers may be calledthe honourable and learnèd member, serving or ex-serving members of the militarythe honourable and gallant member, and ordained clergy in the Housethe honourable and reverend member; a practice which the Modernisation Committee recommended should be abolished,[8] but which use has continued.[9] When anyone is entitled to be styledRight Honourable this is used instead ofhonourable.
In theFalkland Islands, the stylethe honourable is given to any serving or formermembers of theLegislative Assembly orLegislative Council.
In theIsle of Man, the stylethe honourable (often abbreviated toHon.) is used to refer to aminister while holding office.
In Canada, while not always enshrined in legislation, some people are commonly referred to asThe Honourable (French:l'honorable). Those who have the honorific for life include:[10][11][12]
People who have the honorific only while in office include:[10][12]
Derivatives include:
In all cases, thegovernor general of Canada may grant permission to retain the style after they cease to hold office. Persons eligible to retain the style include the speaker of the House of Commons (who may already be eligible as a privy councillor), territorial commissioners, and judges of certain courts (e.g., the Supreme Court of Canada). The most recent former justice granted such privileges wasFrank Iacobucci.
It is usual for speakers of the House of Commons to be made privy councillors, in which case they keep the style for life. By custom, theleader of the Official Opposition is appointed to the Privy Council, granting them the style (being the only non-government MP accorded such privilege). In the past, certain provincial premiers (e.g.,Peter Lougheed,Bill Davis,Joey Smallwood andTommy Douglas) were elevated to the Privy Council and gained the style, but such practice is rare.
Members of theHouse of Commons of Canada and of provincial legislatures refer to each other during proceedings of the house with the courtesy style "honourable member" (orl'honorable député), but their name is not otherwise prefixed withthe Honourable (unless they are privy councillors or executive councillors).[17]
Current and formergovernors general,prime ministers,chief justices and certain other eminent persons use the style ofRight Honourable for life (orle/la très honorable 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 styledThe Honourable:Alexander Mackenzie, SirJohn Abbott and SirMackenzie Bowell.
Members of theExecutive Council of Quebec have not used the styleThe 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 theOrder of the Caribbean Community are entitled to be styledThe Honourable for life.[18]
InBarbados, members of the Parliament carry two main titles: members of theHouse of Assembly are styledThe Honourable, while members of theSenate are styled "Senator". Companions of Honour of the formerOrder of Barbados from the pre-republic era of Barbados, as well Members of the currentOrder of the Republic, are accorded the styleThe Honourable.
InJamaica, those awarded theOrder of Jamaica (considered Jamaica's equivalent to a Britishknighthood) and those awarded theOrder of Merit are styledHonourable.
InTrinidad and Tobago ThePrime Minister, government ministers, the leader of the opposition and ministers within government ministries (junior ministers) are styled asThe Honourable, senators serving as ministers are styled asSenator The Honourable, ministers with doctorates are styled asThe Honourable Dr. or Dr. the Honourable (rare).
In the United States, the prefixthe Honorable has been used to formally address various officials at the federal and state levels, but it is most commonly used for the President-elect,governors, judges, and members ofCongress when formally addressing them.[19] 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 asthe Right Honorable orthe Most Honorable are not used. The 't' in 'the' is not capitalized in the middle of a sentence.[20]
Under the rules of etiquette, the President, Vice President, members of both houses of Congress,governors of states, members ofstate legislatures, and mayors are accorded the title.[21] Persons appointed to officenominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate are accorded the title; this rule includes members of theCabinet and sub-Cabinet (such as deputies and undersecretaries),[21][22] administrators, members, and commissioners of the variousindependent agencies, councils, commissions, and boards,[22]federal judges,ambassadors of the United States,[23]U.S. Attorneys,[24]U.S. Marshals,[25] theArchitect of the Capitol, theLibrarian of Congress andPublic Printer of the United States,[22] and presidentially appointedinspectors general.[26]
High state officials other than governor, such aslieutenant governor[27] andstate attorneys general[28] are also accorded the styleHonorable.State court judges andjustices of the peace, like federal judges, also are accorded the styleHonorable.[29] Practices vary on whether appointed state official, such as the heads of state cabinet-level departments are given the title.[21][20] There is also no universal rule for whether county or city officials other than the mayor (such ascity council,board of aldermen,board of selectmen,planning and zoning commission, and code enforcement board members, orcity manager orpolice chief orfire chief) are given the title; as these may be different state by state.[30]
Members of theWhite House staff at the rank of special assistant, deputy assistant, assistant to the president, andCounselor 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 styleHonorable, except for cabinet-level officials.[19]
Opinions vary on whether the termthe Honorable is accorded for life.[21] According to the protocols of theU.S. Department of State, all persons who have been in a position that entitled them toThe Honorable continue to retain that honorific style for life.[31] 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.[20][32][33]
Some estimate that in the United States there are nearly 100,000 people who are accorded the "Honorable" title, many in the Washington, D.C. region.[21] Civilian officials, including service secretaries (e.g.,Secretary of the Army) ofthe Pentagon receive the title.[22]
The styleThe Honorable is used on envelopes when referring to an individual in the third person. It is never properly used to refer to oneself.[20]
A spouse of someone with the style ofThe Honorable receives no additional title.
In Australia, the style is allowed to be used by past and present:[34][35]
The abbreviation in Australia is 'The Hon' (without a full stop).[34]
In May 2013, the title was given approval by QueenElizabeth II to be granted to past, present, and futureGovernors-General of Australia,[36] to be used in the formHis orHer Excellency the Honourable while holding office, andThe Honourable in retirement.
By December 2014, the practice of appointing the vice-regal office holder, as well as former living, the styleThe Honourable for life had also been adopted for the state governors ofNew South Wales,Queensland,South Australia,Western Australia,Victoria andTasmania (where it did not apply to past governors), as well as theAdministrator of the Northern Territory.[citation needed]
In Australia, all ministers in Commonwealth and state governments and the government of theNorthern Territory are entitled to be styledthe Honourable. TheAustralian Capital Territory does not have anexecutive 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.[37][38] With respect to New South Wales, Queensland,[39] South Australia and Tasmania theKing-in-Council may grant former ministers the style for life. The same principle applies in the Northern Territory via thechief minister, to the administrator, to the governor-general, then to the King. A minimum five years' service 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.[40] All such awards are published in theCommonwealth Government Gazette. The presiding officers of the parliaments of the Commonwealth, the states and the Northern Territory are also styledthe 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 titleHonourable is not acquired through membership of either the House of Representatives or the Senate (seeParliament 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.[41] 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 thelegislative councils of the states have been styledthe Honourable for the duration of their terms. That practice is still followed inNew South Wales,Western Australia,South Australia andTasmania. InVictoria, the practice was abolished in 2003. In New South Wales,Greens NSW members of theLegislative Council, who are eligible forthe Honourable style, have refrained from using it, deeming it to be "outdated" and a "colonial trapping".[42]
Judges of allsuperior courts are also referred to formally by the stylethe Honourable, both during and after holding the office.
The styleThe Honourable was first granted in 1854 for use by members of theExecutive Council, theSpeaker of the Legislative Council, the Members of theLegislative Council, and theSpeaker of the House of Representatives.[43]
In July 2006, theGovernor-General (and former living Governors-General) were granted the use of the titleThe Honourable for life, unless they already held the titleThe Right Honourable (via membership of thePrivy Council).[44][45] This title was also granted toPrime Ministers,Chief Justices, andSpeakers of theHouse of Representatives, along with judges of theSupreme,Appeal, andHigh Courts of New Zealand - albeit only during their tenures in these offices, unless they already held the titleRight Honourable.[44] These officeholders would be eligible for a recommendation (from the Prime Minister) to retain these titles for life following their relinquishment of/retirement from those offices. Furthermore, authority for considering these recommendations was now delegated to the Governor-General, rather thanthe monarch.[44]
The rules were amended again in 2010, granting the title ofThe Right Honourable for life to sitting and future Governors-General, Prime Ministers, Speakers of the House of Representatives, and Chief Justices.[46] It also permitted these officeholders to use the letters 'PC' after their name to denote membership of thePrivy Council, if they are privy counsellors.[46] However, it granted the Prime Minister the power to strip the title ofMost Honourable from these titleholders, via issuing suchadvice to the monarch.[46]
New Zealand office holders who areThe Honourable ex-officio are usually granted the style for life by theGovernor-General as a courtesy when they vacate the office;[47] all honours and awards are published inThe New Zealand Gazette.
In South Korea, the prefixThe Honourable is used for the following people:
In Hong Kong, the prefixThe Honourable is used for the following people:
InMacau, the prefixThe Honourable is used occasionally for the following people:
InPeople's Republic of Bangladesh,chief justice,[48]House speaker,mayor, ministers,Members of parliaments andAdvisers[49] are entitled to the styleHonourable. On the other hand, theprime minister,chief adviser[50] and thepresident are styledHonourable orExcellency.[51][52]
In India, judges of theHigh Courts of India andSupreme Court of India are addressed asHonourable(Hon'ble);[53] often stylized and abbreviated as "HMJ", i.e., Honourable Mr/Ms. Justice, followed by their name.
The elected legislators (Members of Legislative Assemblies, andMember of Parliaments) and Heads of Government (ThePrime Minister, ThePresident,Union Ministers,Chief Ministers,Deputy Chief Ministers andGovernors) are also formally calledHonourable followed by their name. TheVice President of India is addressed as the hon'ble as well.
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In Pakistan, the judicial officers are addressed as honourable while presiding over in the courts of law. It is a norm to address judges of superior judiciary as honourable judges. Diplomats are addressed as Your Excellency. The head of state and Prime Minister is addressed her/his excellency.
InSri Lanka, the honorificThe Honourable is used to refer to the President, Prime Minister, Ministers, and Members of Parliament.Attorney-General andSolicitor-General as well as Judges of theSupreme Court, theCourt of Appeal and theHigh Courts.[54]
InMalaysia, an elected Member of Parliament or State Legislative Assemblyman is entitled to be referred to asYang Berhormat, which translates to 'the honourable'.
InMyanmar, the Chief Justice and Justices of theSupreme Court of Myanmar are referred as 'The Honourable'.[55]
In the Philippines, the style is usually used to give distinction to any elected official (whether in office or retired) ranging from the smallest political unit, thebarangay, to theCongress of the Philippines, which consists of theSenate andHouse of Representatives.[56] Appointed officials such as members of theCabinet (secretaries, acting secretaries, ad interim secretaries, undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries), theSolicitor General, and heads of government agencies at the national and local levels are also accorded this style.[57] For example, akagawad (barangay or village council member) namedJuan de la Cruz will be referred to asThe Honorable Juan de la Cruz. In written form, the style may be shortened to "Hon." (e.g.Hon. Juan de la Cruz).
Thevice-president,chief justice,ombudsman, justices of theSupreme Court,Sandiganbayan, andCourt of Appeals, and trial court judges are also addressed in this honorific style.[56] Meanwhile, thepresident of the Philippines and Catholic archbishops is always given the styleHis/Her Excellency.[56]
Thechief justice, judges of appeal, and justices of theSupreme Court,[58] and the Presiding Judge and District Judges of theState Courts[59] are conventionally addressed in formal settings using the honorificThe Honourable.
All formerPrime Ministers and currentMembers of the Singapore Parliament is formally addressed in international settings using the honorificThe Honourable.
The use of the honorificThe Honourable to refer to the Prime Minister, Ministers, and Members of Parliament is not required by the Standing Orders of Parliament,[60] but during a 1988 parliamentary debate theLeader of the House,Wong Kan Seng, said it would be polite for MPs to refer to their colleagues using the terms "Mr.", "Honourable Mr." or "Honourable Minister" depending on their choice.[61]
The honorific is usually also used to address theAttorney-General and Solicitors-General, and the heads of states and leaders of foreign countries on short-term visits to Singapore.[62]
Private, non-profit, and non-governmental (NGO) organisations, and religious movements sometimes style a leader or founder asThe Honourable, e.g.The HonourableElijah Muhammad.
(...) TheHeralds' College officially reported on the petition on October 31, 1835, stating (...) that "the style of 'The Honourable' is given to the Judges and to theBarons of the Exchequer, with others; because, by the Decree of the tenth ofKing James the First, for settling the place and precedency of theBaronets, the Judges, and Barons of the Exchequer, were declared to have place and precedence before the younger sons ofViscounts andBarons."
(...) The analogy held only in so far as both styles were applicable to those who belonged to the less exalted ranks of the titled classes, for the title "honourable" was not definitely confined to certain classes until later.
The termshonorabilis andhonorabilitas were in use in theMiddle Ages as a form of politeness rather than as a specific title. More than two centuries laterJohn Selden, in his Titles of Honor (1614), does not include "honourable" among the courtesy titles given to the children of peers.
The style was, in fact, used extremely loosely until well on into the 18th century.
(...) British baronets, for instance, claimed that they had been styled "the honourable" until the end of the 18th century, and in 1835 they petitioned for the style as a prefix to their names. The Heralds' College officially reported on the petition on October 31, 1835, stating that the presented evidence did not prove the right of baronets to the style and that its use "has been no more warranted by authority than when the same style has been applied toField Officers in the Army and others.".
(...) It is not, indeed, until 1874 that there is any clear evidence of an authoritative limitation of the title. In this year the wives ofLords of Appeal were granted style and precedence as baronesses, but it was provided that their children were not "to assume or use the prefix of Honourable, or to be entitled to the style, rank or precedence of the children of a Baron." In 1898, however, this was revoked, and it was ordained "that such children shall have and enjoy on all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of hereditary Barons together with the rank and precedence." By these acts of the Crown, the prefix "honourable" would seem to have been restricted as a definite title of honour, yet in legal documents the sons of peers are still styled merely "esquire". This latter fact points to the time when the prefix "honourable" was a mark of deference paid by others rather than a style assumed by right.
