The husband of the president

How the first gentlemen differ from the first ladies

During the recent presidential race in the United States, many thought about how to turn to Bill Clinton in case of victory Hillary Clinton - however, after the election the question temporarily lost relevance. In many other countries, this problem has long been resolved: spouses of women-presidents and prime ministers are called by analogy with the “first lady”-“first gentlemen”. True, they discuss them noticeably less. "Medusa" studied who they are and how their role is different from the position of the wives of world leaders.

How many first gentlemen in the world

Over the past half a century, women held the position of the president or prime minister in 59 countries. The first woman-premier was Sirimavo Ratwatt Diaz Bandaranaica on Sri Lanka (in 1960), the first woman-president-Isabelle Peron in Argentina (in 1974). Right now, the current women-presidents and prime ministers are 15, including Switzerland, Croatia, Chile and Bangladesh. Ten of them are married.

British Prime Minister Teresa May has been married to an investment banker Philip May, the husband of the German Chancellor, Angel Merkel, the quantum chemist Joachim Zauer, the husband of the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Sulberg, the Finnes Syndros, an employee of the Norwegian enterprises and industries (they raise two children).

Some of the heads of the state or government does not have an official husband or wife, as it was in the case of the French leader Francois Hollande, in such a situation was the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who, by the time of his took office, was in relations with the hairdresser Tim Matison. True, she admitted that in Australia the attitude to this issue is easier - and she would hardly have been able to take such a high position in the United States, being unmarried and without children.

Divorced women and those who were never married - like Lithuanian President Dalya Grybauskaite or former President of Korea Pak Kyn Hye; The latter preferred not to be “distracted” by the family.

It also happens that a woman prime minister has the first lady, not a gentleman: in 2010, as soon as it became possible in Iceland, a one-sex marriage with her partner was registered by Johanna Sigurdardottir, who had already led the country as a prime minister for a year.

What are the responsibilities of this role

As in the case of the first lady, the responsibilities associated with the title of the first gentleman can be different - and they are not always clearly spelled out. They may include both the care of the official residence, and the organization of receptions or management of the charitable foundation. But there are exceptions like Malta: the spouse of the current president of Malta must leave their career and devote himself to public work, in particular, in the charitable foundation of the head of state Malta Community Chest Foundation . So, in 2012, Edgar Podki (the husband of the current president Marie-Luisu Kolyiro Proi, who is also called the “shy first gentleman”) left Air Malta, where he worked for more than thirty years to help his wife in her election campaign. Along with official duties, he continues to engage in his hobby - culinary and photography.

Dismissal from the previous place of work for the support of the wife may be a personal choice. This is what Tim Matison, civil partner of Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, did. The 53-year-old stylist-screamer quit work in the cabin (thanks to which they met Gillard) and decided to devote himself to charity. In particular, he supported the association of Australian Menʼs Sheds Association - it is engaged in social assistance and employment of men, including retirement. In addition, he was an ambassador of the Ministry of Health on Australia elderly and on male health issues. Subsequently, leaving the post, the former first gentleman even accused his follower of insufficient enthusiasm, his wife Tony Ebbott Margaret: “I am disappointed that she was not at all involved in charity. What does she do? Personally, in three years I attended 60 events. ”

How the first gentleman differs from the first lady

In fact, nothing. In addition to vague duties, both for the first lady and the first gentlemen, this status also promises increased attention from the tabloids, high expectations of the public, criticism of appearance or professional activity.

Immediately after Teresa May, the prime minister of Great Britain, under the sight of journalists, was her husband, investment banker Philip John May. The reason was the alleged conflict of the interests of his “posts”. In the publication of The New York Times, they even joked that Mr. May would easily get off if the attention of the media is not riveted to his professional activity, but to the boots (in connection with this, the author of the article recalled the headline in the British tabloid: “Teresa May’s husband overshadowed her with his sexy-kostyum”).

The audience and the press are really loved to discuss what they should do, how the first ladies and gentlemen should look and behave in public. It is enough to see how Trump is being discussed - her style, professional past and origin, as well as the correspondence of the role of the first lady of the country. Similar attention is focused on men: all the same Tim Matison, the Australian press called only “first block” (“first guy”). However, Matison himself sometimes gave this reason: for example, when meeting Queen Elizabeth II on the wedding day of Prince William Matison, he greeted her with the words: “You AGain!” ("Again you!")

The spouses of world leaders - women went before. In particular, the husband of the most famous female prime minister, businessman and fan of Golf Sir Denis Tatcher, who lived with Margaret Thatcher, was once called "a world-class chauvinist, married to a symbol of female equality."

How the first gentlemen themselves relate to this

The degree of publicity of the first gentlemen (and how much we know about them) depends on how they themselves protect their right to personal space and self -determination. For example, the husband of the Norway Prime Minister Sindre Finnes (also heading one of the areas of the Federation of Norwegian enterprises and industries) says that he loves his position and often communicates with the press. The Finnes willingly shares the stories about what to be the only man in the company of the spouse of the leaders of the countries of Northern Europe, and how he spent the day with Michelle Obama, while his wife was at official meetings. And he is also proud that every evening prepares dinner for his wife and children.

The reason for this progressiveness in relation to gender roles is partly that the boulevard press and residents of the country are much more interested in the life of the Norwegian royal family. Representatives of the press service of the head of state answered briefly at the “Medusa” request for the alleged duties of the prime minister: “Norway is a constitutional monarchy. We have a king and queen. "

At the same time, the exact opposite of Finnes can be called Joachim Zauer, the husband of Angel Merkel, one of the most influential women in the world. Sauer, a professor at the Humboldt Berlin University, since the entry of Merkel, the German Chancellor openly demonstrated his indifference to the title of the first gentleman and the official official. He did not even come to the first inauguration of Merkel - and watched the broadcast on TV, sitting in the laboratory. Sauer strictly protects his personal space. “I will not answer your microphone,” he told one of the journalists in 2005 at the Bayreyt festival. For the twelfth year in a row, he remains faithful to himself and categorically refuses to communicate with the press on topics that do not concern his professional activity.

Whether they continue to work

What exactly unites the first ladies and gentlemen is the fact that their title and alleged duties, regardless of the workload, are not paid in any way. At one time, an article was published in the journal Time, which offers US President Barack Obama to start fighting unequal wages directly from the White House: Michelle works 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but does not receive salaries. This is both the main differences in the position of the first gentlemen and the first ladies: unlike women who were often forced to interrupt their careers for the role of the “wife of their husband”, many men remained in the profession after the election of their husbands were elected to the posts of state leaders. So did Philip May, Joachim Zauer, as well as Stephen Kinnok, the husband of the former Denmark Prime Minister Helle Torning-Schmitt.

There is also a radical example of the former president of Argentina Nestor Kirschner, who remained one of the most influential people in the political arena in the country after his wife, Christina Fernandez de Kirschner took the place of the president.

Is there any sexism here

In a sense, the title itself can be considered as sexist-this applies to both the first lady and the first gentleman. Indeed, in fact, the administrative work of the head of state is in no way connected with the wife’s skirt or the profession of the husband of the president or prime minister. But the public and the media are still less demanding and attentive to men. They are less criticized for the choice of outfits, unwillingness to quit work or refusal to be next to his wife all the time. Such a decision was made by the husband of the former Denmark Prime Minister Helle Torning-Shmitt, who not only retained his position in the administration of the World Economic Forum and remained a tax resident of Switzerland, but also took up the political career in the UK during the premium deadline. And of course, it did not occur to anyone to compose a rating of sexuality of the first gentlemen, as is regularly happens with the first lady.



Lera Shvets