How to Address the Wife of the Vice President
Second Lady,  Spouse of The Vice President of the United States

—-Envelope, letter or email’s address block:
—-—-Mrs. (Husband’s full name)
—-—-(Address) How to Address the Wife of the Vice President

—-Salutation:
—-—-Dear Mrs. (Surname only):

—-Conversation:
—-—-Mrs. (Surname only):

—-See also Second Gentleman, Husband of the VPOTUS
How to Address the Spouse of the Vice President

How to Address a VP’s Wife Who is a Dr. ?

When the wife of a VP  has a special form of address – e.g. they are Dr. and don’t use Mrs. – they get their full name: (Given Name)+(Surname).  Their name is listed after their elected spouse’s name. Using as an example Dr. Jill Biden (spouse of the Vice President [2009-2017] here is the pattern:

—-Standard form for a spouse who uses ‘Mrs.’:
—-—-The Vice President and Mrs. (Surname only)

—-Standard form for a spouse who uses ‘Dr.’:
—-—-The Vice President and Dr. (Full Name)
————The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden

—-Envelope or a letter’s address block (letter or email):
——–The Vice President
——–and Dr. (Full Name)

————Which looked like:
——–—-—-The Vice President
—-——–—-and Dr. Jill Biden
——–—-—-(Address)

—-Salutation:
—-—-Dear Mr. Vice President and Dr. (Surname):
—-—-—-Dear Mr. Vice President and Dr. Biden:

—-Introduction:
—-—-Dr. (Full Name)
—-—-—-Dr. Jill Biden

—-Conversation:
—-—-Dr. (Surname only)
—-—-—-Dr. Biden

– Robert Hickey How to Address the Spouse of the Vice President

Related “Spouse of” Posts: ———Governor———Lieutenant Governor———Pastor———President———Spouse of an Official———Vice President, Husband———Vice President, Wife

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Is the Wife of the Vice President the ‘Second Lady’?
Is the Husband a ‘Second Gentleman’?

Is there an official guideline in print somewhere that states how we are to address the spouse of a Vice President of the USA?
—————-– Diane

Dear Diane:
Wives of vice-officials are informally described in the media as the Second Lady. Husband’s of Vice presidents as Second Gentleman / Second Spouse –– it is not an elected office and there is no official title. None of these descriptions are used as a formal form of address.

Someone might say ‘Second Lady (Name) will be the speaker at the event.’  but that is not a form of address. This is a form you see & hear in the media as they craft stories so we will know who they are talking or writing about. E.g., a reporter might write ‘according to Local Restauranteur Howard Millard…’ –  it’s not a form of address. It’s a way to be specific of who is who in the news report.

The wife of the Vice President is (traditionally) formally addressed as Mrs. (Surname) and is described as being the wife of the Vice President of the United States.

The only spouses of government officials I know of having special forms of address are:

—-#1) The spouse of the Queen’s representative to a Commonwealth realm … is addressed as ‘Her Excellency Mrs. (Husband’s full name)’ in writing and  ‘Your Excellency’ in conversation … and

—-#2) The spouse of the Queen’s representative to a province … is addressed as ‘Her Honor (Full Name)’ in writing and  ‘Your Honor’ in conversation.

First Lady is not an office either: it’s a role.  When the wife of the President attends events as the President’s representative she is granted certain courtesies – based on his precedence – as a courtesy to the POTUS.

First Lady is used as an honorific at some African-American churches where they address the spouse of their pastor as First Lady (Surname). For more on this see the post First Lady, Church, Spouse of a Pastor 

– Robert Hickey How to Address the Spouse of the Vice President

See these Related Posts:
–—–—Spouse of the President of the USA
–—–—Wife of the Vice President of the USA
–—-—Husband of the Vice President of the USA
–—–—Spouse of the Governor of a State
–—–—Spouse of the Lieutenant Governor of a State
–—–—Spouses of other elected officials
–—–—Spouse of the Pastor of a Church “First Lady”
–—–—Spouse of a Pastor of a Church

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.