Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress

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 28, 2026, when His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 on when or how to issue invitations is codified in law or in House or Senate rules. 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 from Speaker of the House John Boehner, 114^th Congress

Types of Meetings

A foreign leader (or other non-Member of Congress) has historically addressed either the House, the Senate (a House or Senate reception), 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, José López 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 Georg 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 94^th Congress (1975-1976).

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, DC. Since then, there have been more than 125 instances where foreign leaders have addressed Congress. Some foreign leaders have addressed Congress more than once. Each speech is counted separately.

Table 2 lists the foreign leaders to address a joint meeting of Congress during the 10 most recent Congresses (110^th Congress [2007-2008] to the 119^th Congress [2025-2026 to date]).

Since 1809, most joint meetings of Congress to hear addresses by foreign leaders have been held in the Hall of the House. For example, Figure 1 shows Islamic Republic of Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani addressing a joint meeting of Congress on March 25, 2015.

Figure 1. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Addressing a Joint Meeting of Congress March 25, 2015

Source: C-SPAN, "Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Address to Joint Meeting of Congress," March 25, 2015, at http://www.c-span.org/video/?324977-2/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-address-joint-meeting-congress.

Video Address to an Informal Meeting of Congress

On at least one occasion, a foreign leader has addressed an informal meeting of Members of the House and Senate by video, without a formal joint meeting of Congress. On March 16, 2022, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Members of the House and Senate by a video broadcast to the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitor Center.