Use in The United States
While historically the term has generally been used to refer to the wife of a president, there were occasions when another woman, such as the President's daughter, has filled the duties of First Lady as hostess in the White House, if the President's wife was unwilling, unable, or if the President was a widower or bachelor. The current First Lady of the United States is Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama. In American media the term First Lady is often applied to the wife of a head of state in another country, irrespective of whether a different appellation (or none) is used in that country. The entire family of the head of state may be known familiarly as the "First Family". The spouse of the second-in-command (such as a Vice President) may be known as the "Second Lady", or Vice-First Lady. Less frequently, the family would be known as the "Second Family". The spouse of the governor of a U.S. state is commonly referred to as the First Lady or First Gentleman of that state, for example "First Lady Jessica Doyle of Wisconsin." The practice is less common for spouses of mayors but is nevertheless used for some, particularly in large cities; example: "First Lady Amy Rule of Chicago" or "First Lady Kris Barrett of Milwaukee." Mike Gregoire, husband of Washington's governor Chris Gregoire, website prefers to use his name instead of a common noun, calling himself "First Mike".
Read more about this topic: First Lady
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united and/or states:
“In the United States the whites speak well of the Blacks but think bad about them, whereas the Blacks talk bad and think bad about the whites. Whites fear Blacks, because they have a bad conscience, and Blacks hate whites because they need not have a bad conscience.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada are the horns, the head, the neck, the shins, and the hoof of the ox, and the United States are the ribs, the sirloin, the kidneys, and the rest of the body.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)
“In it he proves that all things are true and states how the truths of all contradictions may be reconciled physically, such as for example that white is black and black is white; that one can be and not be at the same time; that there can be hills without valleys; that nothingness is something and that everything, which is, is not. But take note that he proves all these unheard-of paradoxes without any fallacious or sophistical reasoning.”
—Savinien Cyrano De Bergerac (1619–1655)