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So what is the proper way to address a former president, Mr. or President? (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 months ago by someguy3@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 52 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Emily Post says:

When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is “Mr. LastName.” (“President LastName” or “Mr. President” are terms reserved for the current head of state.) This is true for other ex-officials, as well. When talking about the person to a third party, on the other hand, it’s appropriate to say, “former President LastName.” This holds for introductions, as well: A current state governor is introduced as “Governor Tom Smith,” while you’d introduce an ex-governor as “former Governor Jim Bell.”

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

And from an embassy’s official page:

Addressing Former Presidents

When sending letters to former Presidents, the proper form for addressing the envelope is: The Honorable (President’s name)

The proper form for the salutation in the letter is: Dear Mr. (President’s last name)

But I vaguely remember military training suggesting that using President Name was a correct term when referring to former presidents. Possibly not though, and I didn’t work in protocol, so the state department seems like a pretty good resource.

[–] tarmac@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago

It reads to me like they’re just avoiding repeating “former” over and over. It’s already established it’s the former president earlier in the text.