Australia’s new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is not married to her domestic partner Tim Mathieson. This doesn’t appear to be munch of an issue in Australia, and I don’t think she’s gone on an official visit in her new role yet. Finland’s President, Tarja Halonen, was in a similair situtation when she was elected president (long-term unmarried partner, none-issue in Finland) and I remember reading something about the Foreign Ministry advising her to marry her partner, Pentti Arajärvi, to clarify his status abroad. Which she did in a discreet ceremony. What protocol would the unmarried partner of a head of state or government run into abroad? On a related not have Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and her wife run into any protocol issues visiting countries where same-sex marriage isn’t legal?
Depends on where they are visiting, obviously. In many countries they will have no problem at all. In countries where the non-marital status of the relationship might cause embarrassment to hosts, the polite thing is for the non-marital partner to give the trip a miss or, if they do go, not to expect the status of head of state’s spouse, but simply to be treated as part of the entourage.
And the polite thing for any host country to do would be to treat him/her as he/she would be treated in her own country. If that is as spouse of the head of state, they should be so treated. Presumably, the head of state was invited, the country issuing the invitation is a host.
Somewhat related, I’d think a divorced and remarried head of state would expect his/her new spouse to be treated as such in Chile and the Philippines where it is my understanding that divorce is illegal.
For a period of many years before and even after his election in 1976, Quebec premier René Lévesque had a long-term girlfriend, and may even (I don’t remember exactly) have still been officially married to his first wife. From what I remember his girlfriend (Corinne Côté) had basically no recognition as his partner in terms of protocol during official visits, which may have been a factor in his deciding to marry her. To find out what the exact situation was I’d have to reread his biography, which would be quite time-consuming, but from what I remember this was the gist of it.
I think UDS hit the nail on the head. If the head of state has a long term partner that isn’t an official spouse then he or she should just be treated as part of the entourage. If the head of state is “single” and spouses are being invited to events then you address the invitation to the head of state with the option to bring a guest. If the couple in question don’t wish to get married then why should everyone else treat them as if they were?
Edit: You know, I thought I was in Great Debates. I apologize for my reply which is certainly not factual in nature.
The point about getting married is that you are seeking social and societal recognition and support for a relationship which would otherwise be a purely private concern between the two people involved. When a head of state (or indeed anyone else) travels in an official capacity, why would he expect support and recognition for his relationship from his hosts when he has apparently chosen not to seek support and recognition for it in his own country? For them to notice and make a public issue of something that he and his partner have chosen to keep within the private sphere might very well strike his hosts as rude, or at least inappropriate.
As for treating the visiting couple as they would be treated in their home country, in their home country they are not husband and wife. That’s pretty much what not being married means. Hence the host country shouldn’t treat them as husband and wife.
I don’t understand why there would be any issues. Those countries where the king has many wives… are they not considered wives on a state visit even though Canada, for example, does not allow polygamy? Isn’t a visiting head of state by definition extraterritorial?
Well, it’s worth pointing out that the non-marital partner of a head of state/head of governement in most western countries doesn’t enjoy any formal recognition at home. Nobody is bothered by it, but typically the non-marital partner’s name will, e.g., not appear as co-host on invitations to official functions hosted by the head of state/head of government.
Prince Edward (of the UK is not a head of state, but he is a member of the royal family. Before marrying, he lived for a number of years with the woman who is now his wife. Until they married, she enjoyed no official status at all. There was no big deal, and nobody was bothered by the relationship, and there was no secret about it. But the relationship had no official signficance. The same would have been true for royal mistresses in the past (and will be true, no doubt, for royal mistresses in the future).
In fact, is any boardie aware of a non-marital partner of a head of state who enjoys any official status, or discharges any official functions, in that capacity? If not, why would we expect them to be involved in state visits abroad?
Not a head of state but I understand that when German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle is accompanied by his partner Michael Mronz on foreign trips the latter is generally treated as part of the entourage, not like a spouse. But then they have not contracted a civil union AFAIK.
A topical example may be the case of Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock. There were suggestions that they announced their engagement on returning from the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden after Swedish court officials (allegedly) queried whether she ought to be allowed to sit with him during the wedding ceremony.
The title “First Lady” is given to the social hostess of the White House. While this is usually the President’s wife it isn’t always.
I’d love to know for sure the answer to the OP’s question about Iceland’s PM and her wife, especially if they visited, say, the USA.
Has it ever been the president’s non-marital partner, though?
if the head of state is a cannibal (which did happen a few times in 20th century Africa) should he/she be treated in this respect by the inviting party just like back in the home country? Just wondering… Maybe they should also waive the import tax on the import of the relevant foodstuffs and so forth.
I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with you. I’m certainly not. I suggested they be treated as they are treated in their home country. They may have no official status or even quasi official status, but they may. In the case of the Icelandic Prime Minister they did get married at home. In the case of a divorced and remarried official, they also did something formally which their home country recognizes.
The case of cannibalism is different, I think. The only legalistic reasoning I can think of is that they shouldn’t be doing something in the host country that is illegal there – just like they couldn’t enter into a same sex marriage in (parts of) the U.S, but they could already be a cannibal or already be married at home. I’d not like to have to argue that case in a court, but since I’m not a lawyer I wouldn’t have to.