After the slew of “Could [Member of X group] be elected POTUS” threads that went through GD recently I began wondering not about the chances of a gay or lesbian POTUS candidate (it is going to be a long time before that is possible, sadly) but rather what is the highest elected office such a candidate has attained. I know that there have been scandals where an elected official turns out to be gay, but that is different as they were elected while under the pretense of being heterosexual. What is the highest office an openly homosexual candidate has been elected to in the US? Or for comparisons sake, what about other countries?
Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) comes immediately to mind.
There have been 5 gay people that I know of elected to congress that were out when elected. Tammy Baldwin, Gerry Studds, Barney Frank, Steve Gunderson and Jim Kolbe. The last two of those are republican. Some came out while in office but were reelected.
In my opinion, the scandal has not been “pretense of heterosexuality” but “stupid/illegal behavior that also happens to out the person.”
Depending on what happens in the next elections, we could have an openly gay premier of Quebec soon: André Boisclair
There are quite a few gay state legislators, scattered around the country including in places you would probably not expect (e.g., South Carolina).
There was (still is?) a gay mayor of the small city of Plattsburgh, NY. Amusingly, the Mayor of Carrboro, NC, and a Town Councilman of adjacent Chapel Hill are dating and planning to become [extralegal] life partners (North Carolina does not recognize gay marriages or the equivalent). There’s a small town in Kansas with an out gay mayor. I suspect one of our more activist gay Dopers may have a more comprehensive list, but those are a few that stuck with me from reading about the issue.
Oklahoma recently elected its first openly gay state legislator. Okay, he ran unopposed by a Republican, but he did have to beat two other candidates in the Democratic primary. I was surprised that there really didn’t seem to be any huge uproar over this, at least none that I noticed.
I’m sure this wikipedia list is not comprehensive, but maybe it will help.
In Germany two persons come to mind.
Number one is Klaus Wowereit, social democrat Governing Mayor (Mayor, “Governor” and “Senator” combined) of Berlin. While openly gay he was first made Governing Mayor by the state parliament. Later he was confirmed in two popular elections (2001 and 2006) and achieved the first plurality for his party in 30 years. In 2001/2002 he was president of one of the chambers of the German parliament and thus Vice President of Germany (although Vice President of Germany is a rather obscure office)
Number two is Ole von Beust, conservative Christian Democrat First Mayor of Hamburg (different title, same office as above.) He was outed during his first term. After that his father spoke out in support of his son’s homosexuality. However at the time von Beust himself still refused to discuss his private life. In 2004 he was reelected. Since that time he has confirmed his homosexuality.
There are also a few other members of parliament holding various parliamentary and party-internal offices.
You might find the Wikipedia list of the first LGBT holders of various political offices useful. I’m always a little proud of my hometown when I remember that we elected the first openly gay mayor of a major city in North America, and possibly anywhere.
Not only is George Smitherman, the Minister of Health in Ontario, gay, but he just announced his marriage to his partner, Christopher Peloso! It was in yesterday’s (12 Febriary 2007) Toronto Star.
Peter Mandelson’s done rather well for himself.
Chris Smith was a Cabinet Minister.
Pim Fortuyn was Prime Minister of the Netherlands, I believe, before he was assassinated.
If he loses, it will not be because he is gay, but because he suffers from foot-in-mouth disease and other problems with his party (he is not sufficiently doctrinaire over separation).
While clearly a significant figure in recent Dutch politics, he was never PM.
While it’s still a matter of some debate there appears to be some evidence that James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States, was openly gay. Or, if not officially ‘out’ (such didn’t really play in the early/mid nineteenth century) certainly many in Washington knew of his relationship with King and commented on it.
If true, that would put the highest spot in this debate at the VERY highest spot indeed. Short of King of England or Pope or something it doesn’t get much higher than POTUS.
What about Harvey Milk?
Well, we have Edward II.
Or perhaps Richard I (the Lion-hearted)?
What about James I and VI, he of the King James Bible?
In addition to being Minister of Health, he’s also the Deputy Premier of Ontario, which is pretty high ranking.
There’s also Scott Brison, M.P for Kings-Hants, Nova Scotia, currently in opposition in the Canadian Parliament, but formerly a member of the Martin Cabinet:
There’s a transgendered mayor who’s now a Member of Parliament here in New Zealand