US Presidents

[georgit79]

Has there ever been an instance of a husband and wife both being President/leader of their respected country of birth? (since it's looking likely that Hillary will run for Presidency in 2008)

[Bangkok]

My immediate thought was that a King and Queen of England / Britain must qualify when it was still an absolute monarchy.  My history is a bit shaky though, and I cannot think of a couple.  William and Mary both ruled, but were of Dutch descent (I think) and therefore don't qualify.  Anyone think of a suitable couple?

 

[matty_p]

Henry VIII and any of his wives, William was of the same standing as Prince Albert, not a king, not a leader

[maxi29]

Cory and Benigno Aquino were both presidents of the Philippines.<p> Sonia Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India earlier this year but chose to stand down, she would have followed her husband, Rajiv.

[Bangkok]

Out of curiosity, why would Henry VIII and any of his wives count?  Surely they were not ruler?

[Famous5]

Catherine of Aragon was formally appointed Regent by Henry VIII in 1513 when he was in France. Amongst other things she was 'in charge' at the Battle of Flodden, though I don't know if she was there in person

[bernardo]

President Janet Jagan of Guyana is the widow of President Cheddi Jagan; Sirimavo Bandaranaike was prime minister of Sri Lanka after the assassination of her husband; the two women prime ministers of Bangladesh were both the daughter and/or widow of previous political leaders (not sure of the details); Hillary Clinton will never be president of the USA.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah I cant quite understand why Henry VIII counts with his six wives and no other king does.

There is a confusion perhaps between queens consort (wives of kings) and queens regnant like our own dear Lady Elizabeth.

The only pairs are William and Mary whose status was decided by parliament - both to reign and then the survivor to go on reigning, wh Wm did after Mary died of smallpox around 1692

and philip and mary. Mary I tudor insisted that philip II would be King of England. In the marriage treaty, her advisers insisted that if she died first (which she did) Philip would cease to be King, which he did.

What about Catherine the great? of Russian I mean. Didnt she finish off her husband Peter III or whomever he was, and reign on by herself? But she was German on second thoughts

 

[maxi29]

Good examples from Bernardo, although Sirimavo Bandaranaike was actually elected PM of Ceylon (ie before it changed its name). She was, however, appointed PM of Sri Lanka by her daughter. And Peter Pedant rightly points out, wives (and husbands) or reigning monarchs are not monarchs in their own right, even after that monarch's death. William III is the sole exception to this as they were jointly appointed monarchs.