Second Lady is a title sometimes used in reference to the wife of a vice president or a lieutenant governor, and if no office of vice president or lieutenant governor exists, of a prime minister or premier/chief minister of a republic, and to the deputy prime minister or deputy premier/deputy chief minister of a monarchy, styled relative to the title of First Lady, the wife of a president or governor of a republic or of a prime minister or premier/chief minister of a monarchy.
Second Gentleman is the male equivalent of the title in countries where the head of government’s spouse has been a man.
Second Spouse, a rare version of the title, can be used in either case where the spouse of a head of government is of any gender.
In countries which have more than one Vice Presidential position (e.g. Peru, Afghanistan), the Second Lady would be the spouse of the First Vice President, the Third Lady would be the spouse of the Second Vice President, and so on.
In the United States, collectively, the vice president of the United States and his or her spouse are known as the second couple and, if they have children, they are usually referred to as the second family
In South Korea, it is similar to that of the United States where collectively the prime minister and the second lady are regarded as the second couple, and if they have a family they are all collectively known as the second family.
Although no country grants any legal power to second ladies, their duties often include the following:
- hosting during receptions at the vice presidential/prime ministerial/deputy prime ministerial residence;
- presiding over selected welfare institutions;
- accompanying the spouse in official travels;
- various ceremonial duties.
List
Armenia: Anna Hakobyan
Australia: Catherine McCormack
Azerbaijan: Ilham Aliyev (Relative to First Lady and Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva)
Brazil: Paula Mourão
Estonia: Karin Ratas
France: Sandra Ribelaygue
Germany: Joachim Sauer
Guatemala: Lisette Arriaga
Ghana: Samira Bawumia
India: M. Usha
Myanmar:
- Second Lady: Khin Thet Htay
- Third Lady: Shwe Lwan
Indonesia: Mufidah Miad Saad
Israel: Sara Netanyahu (Relative to First Lady Nechama Rivlin and to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu)
Japan: Chikako Asō
Russia: Vladlena Mishustina
South Africa: Nonhlanhla Patience Mnisi
South Korea: Kim Suk-hee
Taiwan: Luo Feng-ping
United States: Doug Emhoff
Zimbabwe: Mary Chiwenga