page_title: Joint session of the United States Congress
section_title: Foreign dignitaries
hierarchical_section_title: Joint session of the United States Congress / Subjects of joint sessions and meetings / Foreign dignitaries
caption_attribution_description: English: Sukarno speaking to US Congress
context_page_description: A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on any special occasion, but are required to be held when the president delivers a State of the Union address, when they gather to count and certify the votes of the Electoral College following a presidential election, or when they convene on the occasion of a presidential inauguration. A joint session is a ceremonial or formal occasion and does not perform any legislative function; and no resolution is proposed or vote taken.
  Joint sessions and meetings are usually held in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, and are traditionally presided over by the speaker of the House. However, the Constitution requires the vice president to preside over the counting of electoral votes.
context_section_description: Joint meetings have been held more than a hundred times to enable foreign heads of state or heads of government to address Congress. Leaders of 48 countries have addressed Congress at a joint meeting: France leads the list with nine joint meeting addresses by heads of state or dignitaries. Other leading countries are: Israel (8), United Kingdom (8), Mexico (7), India (6), Italy (6), Ireland (6), South Korea (6), Germany, including West Germany and unified Germany (5), Australia (4), Canada (3), Argentina (3), and the Philippines (3). Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill have each made three joint addresses to Congress, more than any other foreign dignitaries (Netanyahu: 1996, 2011, 2015; Churchill: 1941, 1943, 1952). Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin addressed joint meetings of Congress on two occasions (1976 and 1994) as did Nelson Mandela of South Africa  (1990 and 1994).
  The first foreign dignitary to address a joint session of Congress was Ambassador André de La Boulaye of France who addressed a joint session on May 20, 1934 to memorialize the centennial anniversary of the death of Marquis de Lafayette. The first non-dignitary to address a joint meeting of Congress was Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa in 1989. Nelson Mandela, then deputy president of the African National Congress addressed a joint meeting in 1990.
  Twice have joint meetings been attended by dignitaries from two countries: On September 18, 1978, when Congress was addressed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and on July 26, 1994, when Congress was addressed by King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
  John Howard, prime minister of Australia, had originally been scheduled to address Congress on September 12, 2001, but his address was postponed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks the previous day.  Howard's address was rescheduled for June 12, 2002 where he spoke about the attacks he had witnessed 9 months earlier. Howard was acknowledged with a standing ovation and describes the occasion as a "moving moment."
  The most recent addresses by foreign dignitaries were given by French President Emmanuel Macron on April 25, 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 8, 2016, and Pope Francis on September 24, 2015.  The Pope did not address the joint session as a religious dignitary but as a head of state.
  All foreign heads of state and heads of government are presented officially to Congress in the same manner as the president during the State of the Union Address and are introduced by the speaker by their diplomatic style of address, followed by their name and respective office.
caption: Indonesian President Sukarno addresses Congress in 1956. Sitting behind him Vice President Nixon and Speaker Rayburn.
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