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Second Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States

This page is about spouse of the vice president of the United States. For others, see List of second ladies and gentlemen of the United States.

The second lady or second gentleman of the United States is the informal title held by hostess of the Number One Observatory Circle, usually the wife or husband of the vice president of the United States, during the vice president's term in office.

Second Gentleman of
the United States
Douglas Emhoff cropped1.jpg
Incumbent
Doug Emhoff
since January 20, 2021
Style
  • Second Gentleman
  • Mr. Emhoff
Abbreviation
  • SLOTUS
  • SGOTUS
ResidenceNumber One Observatory Circle
Inaugural holderAbigail Adams
(as second lady)
Doug Emhoff
(as second gentleman)
FormationApril 21, 1789 (233 years ago)
Websitewhitehouse.gov

Doug Emhoff is the current second gentleman of the United States, in role since January 2021 as the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.[1][2]

Twelve second ladies became the first lady of the United States after their husband became the president. The first woman was Abigail Adams and the most recent woman is Jill Biden.

Origins and Role

The second lady or gentleman is not elected by the people of the United States. There are no official jobs he or she is officially required to perform and they are not paid for being the second spouse.

They are often involved in political campaigns, managements of the Number One Observatory Circle, participating in social causes and representing the vice president at official and ceremonial occasions and accompanying the vice president on foreign summits and events.

List of second ladies and gentlemen of the United States

Main page: List of second ladies and gentlemen of the United States

Abigail Adams · Ann Gerry · Hannah Minthorne Tompkins · Floride Calhoun · Letitia Christian Tyler · Sophia Dallas · Abigail Fillmore · Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge · Ellen Vesta Emery Hamlin · Eliza Johnson · Ellen Maria Colfax · Eliza Hendricks · Anna Morton · Letitia Stevenson · Jennie Tuttle Hobart · Edith Roosevelt · Cornelia Cole Fairbanks · Carrie Babcock Sherman · Lois Irene Marshall · Grace Coolidge · Caro Dawes · Mariette Rheiner Garner · Ilo Wallace · Bess Truman · Jane Hadley Barkley · Pat Nixon · Lady Bird Johnson · Muriel Humphrey Brown · Judy Agnew · Betty Ford · Happy Rockefeller · Joan Mondale · Barbara Bush · Marilyn Quayle · Tipper Gore · Lynne Cheney · Jill Biden · Karen Pence · Doug Emhoff

List of living former second ladies

As of 2024, there are only five living former second ladies.

Second Ladies And Gentlemen Of The United States Media

  • Second Lady Pat Nixon, with Vice President Richard Nixon, led a delegation to Ghana in 1957. One historian wrote that Pat Nixon "helped to define this nebulous role for an entire generation of women who would succeed her".

  • Doug Emhoff (right), the first and only second gentleman of the United States, standing next to his wife, Kamala Harris (left), the first female American vice president, during her inauguration on January 20, 2021.

  • AbigailAdamsbyGilbertStuart

  • Portrait of Ann Thompson Gerry

  • Mrs.DanielD.Tompkins(HannahMinthorne,–)

  • Floride Calhoun

  • Oil portrait of Letitia Tyler (1790 - 1842), first wife of John Tyler, by an unknown artist; 42” x 36”

  • Second Lady of the United States Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge, wife of Vice-President John C. Breckinridge

  • Mrs. Hannibal Hamlin

References

  1. ↑ "Douglas Emhoff: Second Gentleman". The White House. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  2. ↑ "Kamala Harris' husband will be the second gentleman. She'll still call him 'honey'". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
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