Protocol Ranking in the United States

The protocol order of precedence for the United States is determined by presidential decree. It is not identical to the constitutional and statutory succession plan for the president .

The ceremonial hierarchy

The upper part of the precedent list reads (as of December 6, 2018):

1. President of the United States ( Donald Trump ) and, if present, his wife, the First Lady ( Melania Trump );
2. Vice President of the United States and Chairman of the Senate ( Mike Pence ) and, if present, his wife, the Second Lady ( Karen Pence );
3. A governor in his state ;
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives ( Nancy Pelosi );
5. United States Chief Justice ( John Roberts );
6. Former Presidents of the United States or their widows or widowers, in chronological order of tenure:
   1. Jimmy Carter and if present his wife ( Rosalynn Carter ),
   2. Bill Clinton and if present his wife ( Hillary Clinton ),
   3. George W. Bush and if present his wife ( Laura Bush ),
   4. Barack H. Obama and if present his wife ( Michelle Obama ).
7. Former Vice Presidents or their widows or widowers (in chronological order of their term of office):
   1. Walter Mondale
   2. Dan Quayle
   3. Al Gore
   4. Dick Cheney
   5. Joe Biden
8. An American ambassador at his post;
9. Secretary of State ( Mike Pompeo );
10. Foreign Ambassadors ( Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary );
11. Assistant Supreme Court Justice (in order of appointment):
    1. Clarence Thomas ,
    2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg ,
    3. Stephen Breyer ,
    4. Samuel Alito ,
    5. Sonia Sotomayor ,
    6. Elena Kagan ,
    7. Neil Gorsuch .
    8. Brett Kavanaugh .
12. Former United States Chief Justice: currently none
13. Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (in order of appointment):
    1. Sandra Day O'Connor ,
    2. David Souter ,
    3. Anthony Kennedy .
14. United States ministers (in order of the establishment of the department) and persons of cabinet rank by order of the President
15. Members of the Senate, starting with the President pro tempore, the parliamentary group leaders and the Whips (majority before minority), then in descending order of term of office
16. Governors outside their state (in order of the state joining the US, then alphabetically by state)
17. Members of the House of Representatives, starting with the parliamentary group leaders and the Whips (in each case majority before minority), then in descending order of term of office

Official foreign guests are assigned the rank of their American counterparts, with heads of state and government and presidents of international organizations being assigned the rank of President of the United States (the latter usually subordinate to other heads of state and government).

The most powerful office in fact is that of the President as head of state , head of government and commander in chief of the armed forces .

The list is maintained by the Chief of Protocol of the United States (organizational unit Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol ).

literature

• Mary Jane McCaffree, Pauline Innes: Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official and Social Usage. Prentice-Hall Publisher, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1977 (25th Anniversary Edition, Durban House Press, Dallas, Texas, 2002).
• Mery Mel French: United States Protocol. The Guide to Official Diplomatic Etiquette. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Plymouth, 2010.

Web links

• Protocol: Order of Precedence ( Memento of November 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
• Order of Precedence ( Memento of April 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.state.gov ( Memento of the original from January 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol (PDF)