So what is the proper way to address a former president, Mr. or President? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by someguy3@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 52 points 5 months ago

When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is “Mr. LastName.” (“President LastName” or “Mr. President” are terms reserved for the current head of state.) This is true for other ex-officials, as well. When talking about the person to a third party, on the other hand, it’s appropriate to say, “former President LastName.” This holds for introductions, as well: A current state governor is introduced as “Governor Tom Smith,” while you’d introduce an ex-governor as “former Governor Jim Bell.”

[-] theherk@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

And from an embassy’s official page:

Addressing Former Presidents

When sending letters to former Presidents, the proper form for addressing the envelope is: The Honorable (President’s name)

The proper form for the salutation in the letter is: Dear Mr. (President’s last name)

But I vaguely remember military training suggesting that using President Name was a correct term when referring to former presidents. Possibly not though, and I didn’t work in protocol, so the state department seems like a pretty good resource.

[-] tarmac@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago

It reads to me like they’re just avoiding repeating “former” over and over. It’s already established it’s the former president earlier in the text.

this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024

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