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Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress
Updated April 4, 2019
Foreign leaders are periodically invited to address
Congress. The first address by a foreign dignitary occurred
on December 10, 1824, when Revolutionary War hero the
Marquis de Lafayette addressed the House. The most recent
address took place on April 3, 2019, when His Excellency
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), addressed a joint meeting of
Congress.
Invitation Process
When a foreign leader formally visits the United States he
or she is sometimes invited to address Congress. The
decision to invite a foreign leader to address Congress has
historically been made by the congressional leadership,
often in consultation and conjunction with the executive
branch. No formal procedure, however, on when or how to
issue invitations is codified in law or in House or Senate
rules. Additionally, not all foreign leaders who visit the
United States are invited to address Congress.
When a foreign leader is invited to address Congress, the
invitation is formally extended by the Speaker of the House
on behalf of the House and Senate leadership.
It is my honor as Speaker, and on behalf of the
bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of
Representatives and the U.S. Senate, to extend to you
as head of state of the Holy See an open invitation to
appear before and address a joint Meeting of the two
houses of Congress assembled in the Chamber of the
U.S. House of Representatives.
- Invitation to His Holiness, Pope Francis
Types of Meetings Addressed
A foreign leader (or other non-Member of Congress) has
historically addressed either a House or Senate reception,
where only one chamber is present, or a joint meeting,
where the House and Senate are both present.
House and Senate Receptions
On several occasions, a foreign leader has been invited to
address the House or Senate individually. These meetings
are formally called House or Senate receptions. The first
House reception was held on December 10, 1824, when the
Marquis de Lafayette addressed the chamber. The most
recent House reception for a foreign leader was held on
February 17, 1977, for the President of Mexico, Jos6 Lopez
Portillo.
The first Senate reception was held on January 5, 1852,
when Louis Kossuth, the exiled Governor of Hungary,
addressed the Senate. The most recent Senate reception for
a foreign leader was held on August 16, 1967, with Kurt
George Kiesinger, Chancellor of West Germany.
Joint Meeting of Congress
A joint meeting of Congress is generally held when a
prominent individual, often a foreign leader, is invited to
address the House and Senate simultaneously. Because
addressing a joint meeting of Congress is available by
invitation only, agreement on whom to invite, and when
they will speak, is generally reached between the House and
the Senate. Table 1 lists the number of foreign leaders who
have addressed a joint meeting of Congress since the 94th
Congress (1975-1976).
Table I. Number of Foreign Leaders Addressing a
joint Meeting of Congress, 1975-April 3, 2019
Congress Number Congress Number
94 7 106 I
95 I 107 2
96 0 108 4
97 I 109 7
98 4 110 3
99 7 Ill 3
100 3 112 3
101 7 113 2
102 5 114 5
103 3 115 I
104 5 116 I
105 3 Total 78
Source: Historian of the House of Representatives, Joint Meeting &
Joint Session Addresses Before Congress by Foreign Leaders &
Dignitaries, at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/
Joint-Sessions/.
The first time a foreign leader addressed a joint meeting of
Congress occurred in 1874, when King Kalakaua of Hawaii
(then a kingdom) visited Washington. Since then, there
have been 120 instances where foreign leaders have
addressed ajoint meeting of Congress.
Table 2 lists the foreign leaders to address a joint meeting
of Congress during the last six Congresses (110th Congress
[2007-2008] to the 116th Congress [2019-2020], through
April 3, 2019).
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