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Updated May 19, 2022
Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress
Foreign leaders are periodically invited to address
Joint Meeting of Congress
Congress. The first address by a foreign dignitary occurred
A joint meeting of Congress is generally held when a
on December 10, 1824, when Revolutionary War hero the
prominent individual, often a foreign leader, is invited to
Marquis de Lafayette addressed the House. The most recent
address the House and Senate simultaneously. Because
address took place on May 17, 2022, when His Excellency
addressing a joint meeting of Congress is available by
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of the Hellenic
invitation only, agreement on whom to invite, and when
Republic, addressed a joint meeting of Congress.
they will speak, is generally reached between the House and
the Senate. Table 1 lists the number of foreign leaders who
Invitation Process
have addressed a joint meeting of Congress since the 94th
When a foreign leader formally visits the United States he
Congress (1975-1976).
or she is sometimes invited to address Congress. The
decision to invite a foreign leader to address Congress has
Table 1. Number of Foreign Leaders Addressing a
historically been made by the congressional leadership,
Joint Meeting of Congress, 1975-2022
often in consultation and conjunction with the executive
branch. No formal procedure on when or how to issue
Congress
Number
Congress
Number
invitations is codified in law or in House or Senate rules.
94
7
106
1
Not all foreign leaders who visit the United States are
invited to address Congress.
95
1
107
2
96
0
108
4
When a foreign leader is invited to address Congress, the
invitation is formally extended by the Speaker of the House
97
1
109
7
on behalf of the House and Senate leadership.
98
4
110
3
99
7
111
3
“It is my honor as Speaker, and on behalf of the
100
3
112
3
bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of
Representatives and the U.S. Senate, to extend to you
101
7
113
2
as head of state of the Holy See an open invitation to
102
5
114
5
appear before and address a Joint Meeting of the two
houses of Congress assembled in the Chamber of the
103
3
115
1
U.S. House of Representatives.”
104
5
116
1
- Invitation to His Holiness, Pope Francis
105
3
117
1
Types of Meetings
Total
79
A foreign leader (or other non-Member of Congress) has
Source: Historian of the House of Representatives, “Joint Meeting &
historically addressed either the House, the Senate (a House
Joint Session Addresses Before Congress by Foreign Leaders &
or Senate reception), or a joint meeting, where the House
Dignitaries,” at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/
and Senate are both present.
Joint-Sessions/.
House and Senate Receptions
The first time a foreign leader addressed a joint meeting of
On several occasions, a foreign leader has been invited to
Congress occurred in 1874, when King Kalakaua of Hawaii
address the House or Senate individually. These meetings
(then a kingdom) visited Washington DC. Since then, there
are formally called House or Senate receptions. The first
have been more than 120 instances where foreign leaders
House reception was held on December 10, 1824, when the
have addressed a joint meeting of Congress.
Marquis de Lafayette addressed the chamber. The most
recent House reception for a foreign leader was held on
Table 2 lists the foreign leaders to address a joint meeting
February 17, 1977, for the President of Mexico, José Lopez
of Congress during the last seven Congresses (110th
Portillo.
Congress [2007-2008] to the 117th Congress [2021-2022]).
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.
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Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress
Table 2. Addresses by Foreign Leaders to a Joint
Meeting of Congress
Date
Foreign Leader
110th to 117th Congresses
5/17/2022
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Hellenic Republic
Date
Foreign Leader
Source: Historian of the House of Representatives, “Joint Meeting &
3/7/2007
King Abdul ah II Bin Al Hussein
Joint Session Addresses Before Congress by Foreign Leaders &
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Dignitaries,” at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/
Joint-Sessions/.
11/7/2007
President Nicolas Sarkozy
French Republic
Since 1809, most joint meetings of Congress to hear
4/30/2008
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
addresses by foreign leaders have been held in the Hall of
Ireland
the House. For example, Figure 1 shows Islamic Republic
of Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
3/4/2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
addressing a joint meeting of Congress on March 25, 2015.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
Figure 1. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Islamic
11/3/2009
Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
Republic of Afghanistan Addressing a Joint Meeting of
Federal Republic of Germany
Congress
March 25, 2015
5/20/2010
President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
Mexico
3/9/2011
Prime Minister Julia Gil ard
Australia
3/24/2011
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Israel
10/13/2011
President Lee Myung-bak
Republic of Korea
5/8/2013
President Park Geun Hye
Republic of Korea
9/18/2014
President Petro Poroshenko,
Source: C-SPAN, “Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Address to Joint
Ukraine
Meeting of Congress,” March 25, 2015, at http://www.c-span.org/
video/?324977-2/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-address-joint-meeting-
3/3/2015
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu,
congress.
Israel
3/25/2015
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani,
Video Address to an Informal Meeting of Congress
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
On at least one occasion, a foreign leader has addressed an
informal meeting of Members of the House and Senate by
4/29/2015
Prime Minister Shinzō Abe,
video, without a formal joint meeting of Congress. On
Japan
March 16, 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
9/24/2015
His Holiness Pope Francis
addressed Members of the House and Senate by a video
Holy See of Rome
broadcast to the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol
Visitor Center.
6/8/2016
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Republic of India
Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress
4/25/2018
President Emmanuel Macron
IF10211
France
4/3/2019
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
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Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress
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