A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused with ''double dipping'' in the United States (e.g. being employed by and receiving a retirement pension from the same public authority at the same time). Thus, if someone who is already
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of a town or city councillor becomes elected as MP or senator at the national or state legislature and retains both positions, this is a dual mandate.
Political and legal approaches toward dual mandate-holding vary widely. In some countries, dual mandates are a well-established part of the political culture; in others they may be prohibited by law. For example, in
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
s, federal office holders are often not permitted to hold state office. In most states, membership of an independent
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
or civil service generally disqualifies a person from simultaneously holding office in the
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
or the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
of government, members of the
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
cannot simultaneously be members of the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
and vice versa. In states with bicameral legislatures, one usually cannot simultaneously be a member of both houses. The holder of one office who wins election or appointment to another where a dual mandate is prohibited must either resign the former office or refuse the new one.
European Parliament
A member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
(MEP) may not be a member of the national legislature of a
member state
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign state ...
. This dates from a 2002
European Union decision
In European Union law, a decision is a legal instrument which is binding upon those individuals to which it is addressed.Per Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (formerly Article 249 TEC). They are one of three kin ...
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Originally, MEPs were nominated by national parliamentarians from among their own membership. Prior to the first direct elections in 1979, the dual mandate was discussed. Some advocated banning it, arguing that MEPs who were national MPs were often absent from one assembly in order to attend the other (indeed, the early death of
Peter Michael Kirk
Sir Peter Michael Kirk, (18 May 1928 – 17 April 1977) was a British writer, broadcaster, Conservative politician, minister in the governments of Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath, and leading European Parliamentarian.
Early life
The elder s ...
was blamed by his
election agent
An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...
on overwork resulting from his dual mandate). Others claimed that members with a dual mandate enhanced communication between national and European assemblies. There was a particular interest in the dual mandate question in Denmark: EuroscepticDanish Social Democrats supported a compulsory dual mandate, to ensure that the state's MEPs expressed the same views as the national legislature, and the government of Denmark supported a compulsory dual mandate when the other eight member states supported an optional dual mandate. However, a 1976 European Parliament law preparing for the 1979 elections expressly permitted a dual mandate. In 1978 the German politician
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
suggested that one third of MEPs should be national MPs.
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
simultaneously. A member of a state parliament seeking federal office must resign before seeking election to the Federal Parliament. It is possible but unusual to be a member of a
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
and another
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. A recent example is Dr
Kerryn Phelps
Kerryn Lyndel Phelps (born 14 December 1957) is an Australian medical practitioner, public health and civil rights advocate, medical educator and former politician.
She was the first woman to be elected president of the Australian Medical Asso ...
who maintained her position as a Councillor on the City of Sydney Council while sitting in Federal Parliament as the Member for
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to:
People
* Wentworth (surname)
* Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder
* S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator
* Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
between 2018 and 2019.
In 2004 Clover Moore became the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in 2012 to propose a new law, dubbed in the media as the "Get Clover bill", which banned this dual mandate. The proposed law was adopted and in September 2012 Moore resigned her NSW seat soon after she was reelected as mayor.
Belgium
As in neighboring France, the culture of dual mandates is very strong in Belgium and that country currently has one of the highest percentage of dual mandate holders (MPs, aldermen, municipal councilors) in the world. During the 2003–2009 period, 87.3% of members of the Walloon (French-speaking) Parliament held dual mandates, followed by 86.5% in the Flemish (Dutch-speaking) Parliament, 82.0% in the Chamber of Representatives (the Federal lower house) and 68.9% in the Senate. During that same period, 76.5% of all European Parliament MPs from Belgium held dual mandates.
More than one-fifth of all Belgian MPs were mayor at the same time with, by far, by the highest proportion (40%) to be found in the Walloon Parliament.
Canada
In Canada dual mandates are rare and are frequently barred by legislation at the federal, provincial, or territorial level. At the federal level, section 39 of the
Constitution Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
; similarly, s. 65(c) of the Canada Elections Act makes members of provincial or territorial legislatures ineligible to be candidates to the House of Commons. At the provincial level, the situation varies from one province to another.
In most circumstances, an elected official almost always resigns their first post when elected to another. Dual representation has occurred occasionally when the member was elected to a second office shortly before their other term of office was due to expire anyway and whereby the short time frame would not merit the cost of a special
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
. In 1996, for example,
Jenny Kwan
Jenny Wai Ching Kwan (born 1967) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Kwan was elected to the House of Commons in 2015.
She she was previously a member o ...
continued to be a
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
city councillor after being elected to the provincial legislature. The British Columbia legislature had debated a "Dual Office Prohibition Act" which failed to pass
second reading
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...
.
In the first few years after
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
in 1867, however, double mandates were common. In the first
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
, there were fifteen Members of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the ...
. There were also four members of Parliament from
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
Edward Blake
Dominick Edward Blake (October 13, 1833 – March 1, 1912), known as Edward Blake, was the second premier of Ontario, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887. He is one of only three federal permanent Li ...
. Other prominent federal politicians with double mandates included
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...
,
Christopher Dunkin
The Hon. Christopher Dunkin, (September 25, 1812 – January 6, 1881) was a Canadian editor, lawyer, teacher, judge, and politician.
Early life
Born at Walworth, London, England, he was the son of Summerhayes Dunkin (1779-1823), of Hors ...
Premier of British Columbia
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Amor de Cosmos
Amor De Cosmos (born William Alexander Smith; August 20, 1825 – July 4, 1897) was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second premier of British Columbia.
Early life
Amor De Cosmos was born William Alexander Smit ...
, and two members from
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
, Donald Smith and Pierre Delorme. Another famous example is that of the ''de facto'' leader of the Liberals, George Brown, who ran for both federal and provincial seats in 1867. Brown lost both elections, and soon thereafter began campaigning for the prohibition of double mandates.
The double mandate was prohibited from the start in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
and
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
; it was abolished in Ontario in 1872, in Manitoba in 1873, and in 1873 the federal parliament passed a law against it; Quebec passed its own law abolishing it in 1874.
However, dual mandates within a province remained legal. From 1867 to 1985, 305 mayors were also members of the Quebec legislative assembly (MLA). The two best-known cases were those of S.N. Parent who was simultaneously mayor of Quebec City (1894-1906), MLA and Premier of Quebec (1900-1905). Longtime Montreal Mayor Camilien Houde (1928–32, 1938–40) was also simultaneously MLA for a total of 2 /1/2 years during his mandates as mayor. However that type of dual mandate had virtually ceased when laws adopted in 1978 and 1980 prohibited MNAs from holding any local mandate.
Finland
It is common for the MPs of the
Finnish Parliament
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
to hold a mandate as a member of their local municipal council as well. 79 percent of MPs elected to parliament in 2011 were also municipal council members.
France
The ''cumul des mandats'' (, ''accumulation of mandates'') is a common practice in the
Fifth French Republic
The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from ...
(1958–present). It consists of simultaneously holding two or more elective offices at different levels of government — local, regional, national and European — as mayors, MPs, senators, Members of the European Parliament, and
President of the General Council
In France, the President of the Departmental Council (French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depart ...
in their home regions. Sometimes, officials hold as many as four positions. While officials may not be elected to more than one office at the same level (such as being both an MP and a senator), they may hold offices in any combination at the municipal, departmental, regional, national and European levels. The ''cumul des mandats'' is controversial in France, being accused of fostering
absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implic ...
and
cronyism
Cronyism is the spoils system practice of Impartiality, partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs ...
.
Several laws to limit the practice have been introduced in recent decades. By far the most coveted local mandate is that of mayor, traditionally a highly prestigious function in France.
A hotly debated law to prohibit all dual mandates, to take effect in 2017, was adopted in July 2013. Following the adoption of the law, former President Sarkozy and other members of the opposition UMP party have declared that if elected in 2017, their party would revise or even revoke that law. Many Socialist Party MPs and senators have also expressed their unease with the law imposed by President Hollande and might welcome a review of the law. In the meantime, the ubiquitous 'député-maire' (MP and mayor) and 'sénateur-maire' are still familiar figures of the French political scene.
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
, a role and title they share with the
Bishop of Urgell
The Diocese of Urgell is a diocese in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,
. In practice, each send a
personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
, a sort of
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
, to Andorra to act on their behalf.
Multiple mandates at the legislative level
Parliamentary mandates are incompatible with each other:
*Member of the National Assembly of France
*Member of the
Senate of France
The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...
*Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
A member from one of the above assemblies can not combine its mandate with more than one of the following mandates :
*Member, vice-president or president of a General Council
*Member, vice-president or president of a Regional Council
*Councillor, deputy-mayor, or
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of a commune of more than 3,500 inhabitants
*Councillor of Paris (The "
Council of Paris
The Council of Paris (French: ''Conseil de Paris'') is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental counci ...
" is at the same level a municipal council and a general council, because Paris has a special status, municipality and
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
at the same level)
*Councillor in the
Corsican Assembly
The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territ ...
(Corse has a regional special status)
Exceptions: They can hold a third office in a town of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
They may also hold a third office as a councillor, vice-president or president of an urban community, an
agglomeration community
An agglomeration community (french: communauté d'agglomération) is a government structure in France, created by the Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of four forms of intercommunality, less integrated than a métropole or a communauté u ...
or a ''
communauté de communes
A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (in ...
'', as these terms are elected by indirect universal suffrage, by municipal councils from among the councillors.
For example, a member of the National Assembly has the right to be general/regional councillor or
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of a regional/general council. They cannot hold a third office unless they are the mayor, deputy mayor or municipal councillor of a city of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
In 2008, 85% of members of parliament held multiple posts Following the June 2012 legislative elections, it was still the case that 75% of all National Assembly members (438 deputies out of 577) held a double mandate (often as mayor of a mid- to large-size city) and 33 have four mandates. Currently, out of 348 senators, 152 are also mayors.
The accumulation of local mandates
They cannot have more than two local mandates.
The following mandates are incompatible each other:
*
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
*
President of the General Council
In France, the President of the Departmental Council (French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depart ...
* President of the Regional Council
For example, an elected official cannot be mayor and president of the Regional Council. However, all other local mandates are cumulative. A mayor can also be a general councillor and a president of a Regional Council can also be deputy-mayor of a city.
Exceptions are the same as those for parliamentarians (Cities of less than 3,500 inhabitants and the intercommunalities)
The accumulation of mandates and governmental functions
A member of the French government cannot be a member of any assembly. However, he may retain any local mandate he or she holds. A cabinet minister can exercise a maximum of two local mandates in addition to his or her government function.
For example, the prime minister, a minister or secretary of state can be
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, or president of a general, regional or intercommunal council or sit in one of these assemblies.
Currently, over two-thirds of the members of the French government are engaged in one or two more local mandates.
Purpose and frequency
The rationales for holding multiple offices are varied. Holding a seat in the Senate, National Assembly, or European Parliament gives local mayors a valuable method of tapping funds to develop their home cities and regions.Gildea, pg. 240 It also can give opportunities to curry favor with other important officials, with opportunities at each level.Nadeau and Barlow, pg. 56 Salaries for positions can be combined (to a point) as well. For politicians with national ambitions, retaining a position in a local town can give them a down-to-earth aura that can appeal to voters. These advantages have made politicians very wary of reducing the practice of the ''cumul'' with legislation despite other moves to end perceptions of favoritism and corruption among politicians.
It has been common practice in France since the Third Republic (1870). But there are also many cases of "cumul" before this period, for example, the writer
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...
was a member from 1839 to 1851. In 1849 he was appointed Foreign Affairs minister, and at the same time he was elected
President of the General Council
In France, the President of the Departmental Council (French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depart ...
of
Manche
Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019. By 1956, this number had already increased to 42 percent and by 1970, 70 percent of deputies held an additional elected office; in 1988, 96 percent did.
Many of the most prominent politicians in France make use or have made use of the ''cumul''. Jacques Chirac served as
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
between 1977 and 1995. During this same time, Chirac also served as a deputy in the National Assembly from
Corrèze
Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ...
, briefly as
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
, and even as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
between 1986 and 1988. Former Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy served concurrently as mayor of
Nevers
Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
*Regional councillor of
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
*
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Montereau-Fault-Yonne (), or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Geography
Montereau-Fault-Yonne is situated at the confluence of the rivers Yonne and Seine, 70& ...
But giving as a pretext a legal complaint from the Front National's candidates, he held the three of them for more than a year, plus his local mandate of president of the
communauté de communes
A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (in ...
Recent and current status of ''cumul'' in the French government
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.
Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
(Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002) imposed on his government ministers an unwritten rule of having no local office. For example, Catherine Trautmann stepped down as
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Strasbourg (while remaining a member of the city council) to become
Minister of Culture
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...
; conversely,
Martine Aubry
Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), Mayo ...
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
in 2001. This rule was more or less upheld by Jacques Chirac during the governments of
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005.
He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...
and
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.
In his career working at the Ministry ...
for the 2002–2007 term, with a few notable exceptions ( Jean-François Copé was mayor of
Meaux
Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Philippe Douste-Blazy
Philippe Douste-Blazy (; born 1 January 1953) is a French United Nations official and former centre-right politician. Over the course of his career, he served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Adviser on Innovative Financi ...
had to step down from the
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
mayorship upon joining the government.
, no such rule was stated for the
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
government:
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...
, former Minister for Development was mayor of
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
, and was defeated in his National Assembly constituency (a third cumulative mandate) by 50.9% to 49.1% of the votes by the
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
candidate. Additionally,
Hervé Morin
Hervé Morin (born 17 August 1961) is a French politician of the Centrists who has been serving as the first President of the Regional Council of Normandy since January 2016. Under President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was the Minister of Defence.
Po ...
Épaignes
Épaignes () is a commune in the Eure department in northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Eure department
The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France.
The communes cooperate in the followi ...
, and Éric Besson, Minister of Immigration and National Identity, is the mayor of
Donzère
Donzère (; oc, Donzèra) is a commune of the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of the Rhône river, next to Montélimar.
Geography
T ...
.
Greece
The dual mandate is a common phenomenon in Greek politics. Some
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
, by tradition, become members of the government, and appointing technocrats to ministerial offices is unusual. As a result, the executive branch, and particularly the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
, has direct control of the legislative one. Although there are some limitations. For instance, the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
is prohibited from being an MP or holding any other office. To be inaugurated, the President's resignation is required. For mayors, governors or members of municipality councils it is unclear if they can hold other offices simultaneously with their current one. One example of a politician being an MP (1974-1989) and MEP (1984-1989) is that of Georgios Mavros, although it is important to note that traditionally MPs who were elected MEPs resigned first.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, dual mandate is common for members of the territory's Legislative Council, who serve concurrently as members of one of the territory's eighteen district councils. Before the abolition of the two municipal councils in the territory in 1999, it was common for politicians to serve concurrently at all three levels.
It is also normal for Legislative Council members and District Concil's members to hold position with China's
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2,9 ...
The instability caused by the close result of the 1981 general election was exacerbated by the number of government TDs who also served as MEPs and for whom the opposition refused
pairing
In mathematics, a pairing is an ''R''-bilinear map from the Cartesian product of two ''R''-modules, where the underlying ring ''R'' is commutative.
Definition
Let ''R'' be a commutative ring with unit, and let ''M'', ''N'' and ''L'' be ''R''-mod ...
cabinet ministers
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...
and junior ministers were prohibited from serving as local councillors. The prohibition was extended to other Oireachtas members by the Local Government (No. 2) Act 2003, an amendment to the Local Government Act 2001. Attempts to include it in the 2001 Act failed after a rebellion by
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
backbenchers; the 2003 Act passed after a compensation package was agreed for those losing out.
The 2001 Act prohibited being a member of multiple county or city councils, or multiple
town council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...
s, or both a town and city council. Brian O'Shea was a member of both
Waterford City Council
Waterford City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Phort Láirge) was the authority responsible for local government in the city of Waterford in Ireland until 2014.
As a city council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council ...
and Waterford County Council until 1993. County councillors were allowed to sit on a town council, and many did so. The 2003 Act provided that a candidate elected simultaneously to a forbidden combination of local councils has three days to choose which seat to take up, with the other or others then being considered vacant. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 abolished town councils and instead subdivided most counties into
municipal district
A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It can refer to a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area.
Brazil
In Brazil, municipal districts are, in genera ...
s; the county council's members are the district councillors for all districts within the county.
Malaysia
Dual mandate is common in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. According to the Federal Constitution, a Member of Parliament (MP), whether elected to the Dewan Rakyat or appointed to the Dewan Negara, cannot hold membership in both houses of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. However, an MP may be elected as member of a State Legislative Assembly (MLA) at the same time. Consequently, an MP may be appointed to the State Cabinet through appointment as a nominated MLA while an MLA may be appointed as Minister or Deputy Minister in the Federal Government due to having membership in the Parliament.
Philippines
Dual mandates are banned in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, based on Article VI, sections 13 and 14, and Article VII, section 13 of the constitution. As elections are synchronized, politicians run on just one position. In cases where a politician is elected or appointed to a new office while serving, the politician will have to vacate the prior office before taking office to the new one. An example includes
Mark Villar
Mark Aguilar Villar (, born August 14, 1978) is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2022. He served in President Rodrigo Duterte's cabinet as the Secretary of Public Works and Highways from 2016 to 2021, and was the ...
who vacated his newly won congressional seat in order to become
Secretary of Public Works and Highways
The secretary of public works and highways ( Filipino: ''Kalihim ng mga Pagawain at Lansangang Bayan'') is the head of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the national government of the Philippines, and is a member of the president� ...
in 2016.
Poland
In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, dual mandate is mostly limited to combining the role of a member of parliament with positions of minister or vice-minister (state secretary).
According to Art. 102-108 of the
Polish Constitution
The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of ...
, members of both houses of parliament are barred from holding employment in government administration (with the exception of roles as members of the Council of Ministers and state secretaries), in the Chancellery of the Sejm, the Chancellery of the Senate nad the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. Moreover, judges, public prosecutors, civil servants, soldiers in active military service, police officers and state security service officers may not hold a parliament mandate. Members of both houses of parliament are also barred from holding the office of president of the National Bank of Poland, the President of the Supreme Audit Office, the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children and their deputies, a member of the Monetary Policy Council, a member of the National Broadcasting Council, or an ambassador.
On a statutory level, members of both houses of parliament are also barred from being members of councils of local government on all levels, or from holding the position of
voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
or vice-voivode. They are also barred from running a business which makes use of public or communal property.
Autonomous Communities
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
are barred from being elected to a seat in the
Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid.
It has 350 members elect ...
, the lower house of the
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house).
The Congress of Deputies meet ...
. More precisely, regional legislators can run for the seat, but if elected they must choose between the regional and national parliaments. Nevertheless, members of lower tiers of the Spanish decentralized structure, such as provincial councillors or members of local councils, including mayors, can and have held seats in the Congress of Deputies. The rule barring regional legislators does not apply to the upper house of the Cortes, the Senate: in fact, regional legislatures are entitled to appoint a varying number of members from their ranks to the Senate, according to the population of the region. Currently, the Autonomous Communities appoint 56 Senators, the other 208 being directly elected in
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
members of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
who were also members of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
. However, it is now European law that a member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
(MEP) may not be a member of the legislature of a
member state
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign state ...
. This, with regard to the United Kingdom, therefore applied to the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as the constituent bodies forming that member state's legislature. As it is impossible to disclaim a
life peerage
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
, it was ruled that peers (who sit as members of the House of Lords) had to take a "leave of absence" from the Lords in order to be an MEP; this was also the procedure for when a peer is the UK's European Commissioner, which was in recent times usually the case. The UK withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020, ending British representation in the European Parliament.
There have been members of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...
into the controversy surrounding MPs' expenses noted that "double jobbing" was "unusually ingrained in the political culture" of Northern Ireland, where 16 of 18 MPs were Stormont MLAs, compared to one Scottish MP being an MSP (
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
), and no Welsh MPs being AMs. The 2009 report recommended a ban with effect from the 2011 Stormont elections, which Northern Ireland parties vetoed. In 2012
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...
resigning his Westminster seat in 2013. Stormont parties agreed to the
Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014
The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed with the intent to ban dual mandates (also known as double-jobbing) for Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and to b ...
's prohibiting MLAs holding seats in the Westminster Commons, or Dáil Éireann in Dublin, with effect from the next Stormont election (postponed from 2015 to 2016). In January 2022 the UK government planned to suspend the prohibition from the 2022 Assembly election until the next Westminster election due by 2024; when the other Stormont parties objected that this favoured DUP leader
Jeffrey Donaldson
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997, and lead ...
, the plan was withdrawn. Donaldson won a seat at Stormont but nominated
Emma Little-Pengelly
Emma Little-Pengelly (born 31 December 1979) is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician.
She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since 12 May 2022 when she was co-opted to re ...
to fill it, while he kept his Westminster seat instead.
The
also applied a similar restriction on the National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd or Welsh Parliament) as from the Assembly election in 2016. As of 2019, it remains possible for members of the Scottish Parliament to be members of the UK Parliament, indeed the leader of the
Scottish Conservatives
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
Highlands and Islands
The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles).
The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...
.
In circumstances other than the
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
and West Yorkshire mayoralties, UK law does not prohibit a member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords from being simultaneously a mayor or council leader. They are also not allowed to serve as a councillor for a constituent council if elected as a directly elected mayor. Thus Ken Livingstone remained MP for Brent East until the dissolution of Parliament despite his election as
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current m ...
a year before.
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
resigned his seat as MP for Henley on being elected mayor in 2008, but became an MP again in 2015, a year prior to the end of his second term as mayor (he did not seek a third term).
Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...
, elected as the Labour mayor in the 2016 election, resigned his seat as MP for
Tooting
Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...
soon after his election to the mayoralty. Numerous members of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
however hold positions in local government.
At a lower level, it is common for people to hold seats on both a district council and a county council. Several MPs have also retained their council seats, most often until the expiration of their terms; Mike Hancock simultaneously held a council seat and a seat in Parliament between his election to Parliament in 1997 and his defeat in the local elections in 2014.
United States
Federal
The United States Constitution prohibits members of the Senate or House from holding positions within the Executive Branch (Art. I, Sec. 6, cl. 2), and limits the president to his salary as chief executive, saying he may not "receive... any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them" (Art. II, Sec. 1, cl. 7). However, the Constitution places no restrictions that would prevent state or local office holders from simultaneously holding office in any branch of the federal government.
Historically, the U.S. inherited many basic political traditions from
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, which in the eighteenth century tolerated several different forms of dual mandate. Following the establishment of the original Continental Congress and later
Confederation Congress
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
, the states possessed absolute discretion in regards to how delegates were chosen to serve, and it became common for state legislatures to appoint members from within their own ranks to Congress. At the time, this was a largely uncontroversial practise since it was widely assumed that the Congress would have relatively little to do (especially in peacetime) and that most of the consequential decision-making would take place at the state and local levels. A ban on dual mandates would therefore have been widely seen as unnecessary and unwelcome as it would have effectively barred Congressional delegates from what were perceived to be more important political posts, thus making election to the national Congress (already seen as a considerable burden due to the difficulties of eighteenth century travel) quite undesirable.
During the convention that established the present U.S. constitution, attention was primarily given to designing a federal government with branches that would be able operate independently of each other and free of undesirable foreign influence, which resulted in the aforementioned prohibitions. Barring state and local officials from federal office was not seriously debated. If it had been, it would likely have been fiercely opposed especially by the nascent anti-Federalist movement, many of whose members were keen to ensure that state officials with a vested interest in defending
states' rights
In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...
would be allowed to also serve simultaneously at the federal level, especially in Congress.
For the first few decades after the
First United States Congress
The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in ...
convened in 1789, Congress met infrequently and some states endeavored to accommodate dual mandates by holding their legislative sessions at times that would not conflict with Congressional sessions. Eventually, as the federal government grew in importance, Congress came to be seen as a source of great power. This created the potential for conflicts of interest and made it increasingly difficult to justify the holding of mandates at different levels of government to voters. In a closely related development, Congress began meeting more frequently than originally intended, which eventually made it impractical in most states for one person to serve simultaneously in the state and federal governments.
In time, the vast majority of states banned dual state and federal mandates. Today, the practice is forbidden by many state constitutions of many
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s, but as of January 2018 it was still legal in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, only for municipal offices. Unlike many other attempts at the state level intended to place additional restrictions besides those in the U.S. Constitution regarding who can represent them in Congress, most of which have been ruled unconstitutional by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, state-originated bans on dual mandates are constitutional because their prohibitions technically restrict who is allowed to serve at the state and/or local level (i.e. they typically place some sort of ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' prohibition barring federal officials from simultaneously serving at the state and/or local levels, resulting in a ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' prohibition on the reverse arrangement occurring).
Unlike many federations, U.S. states do not generally restrict state or federal officials from seeking office at another level of government without resigning their existing offices first. For example, in the four U.S. presidential elections contested from
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
to
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
inclusive, three sitting state governors were nominated for the presidency. These were
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
in 1988,
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2000. Dukakis remained Governor of Massachusetts following his defeat in the presidential election while Clinton and Bush, once elected president, promptly resigned their respective Arkansas and Texas governorships. Elsewhere, serving state officials often seek federal office, one prominent example being Illinois State Senator
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's election to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 2004 - Obama quickly resigned from the Illinois Senate after being elected to the U.S. Senate despite not being legally required to do so, and served as a U.S. senator until 2008 when he was elected president. Also, it is not uncommon for sitting federal officials to contest election to state offices, although in these cases the office sought is usually one of the state's highest political posts, typically governor - one such recent example being the aforementioned Mike Pence who was a sitting U.S. Representative when he was first elected governor.
Also typically permitted is for one person to seek multiple offices at the same level of government in the same election, although attempting to simultaneously seek multiple offices in the same branch of government (e.g. a sitting U.S. Representative seeking re-election to the House ''and'' election to the U.S. Senate) is severely frowned on and prohibited in many states (the constitutionality of these prohibitions is uncertain). Recent examples include the 2000 and 2012 presidential elections where Senator
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...
and Representative Paul Ryan respectively sought re-election and election to the vice presidency - neither was elected vice president, but both were re-elected to the offices in which they were the incumbents.
Florida
In April 1984,
Governor of Florida
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Bob Graham received legislation that passed unanimously in both houses of the Florida Legislature that would forbid public officials from receiving retirement pay and regular pay simultaneously for the same position.
Illinois
In August 2008,
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
Rod Blagojevich proposed legislation that would prohibit dual-office holding as part of changes to the state's ethics bill, stating that "dual government employment creates the potential for a conflict of interest because a legislator's duties to his or her constituents and his or her public employer are not always consistent." Critics, such as Representative Susana Mendoza, called the actions "spite" on the part of the governor.
New Jersey
Fulfilling a campaign pledge that he had made when first running for the New Jersey Legislature, Jack Sinagra sponsored a bill passed by the New Jersey Senate in 1992 that would ban the practice. At the time that the legislation first passed, there were some twenty elected officials who served in the New Jersey Legislature and another elected office, including Assemblyman Bill Pascrell, who was also mayor of Paterson, New Jersey; State Senator
Ronald Rice
Ronald L. Rice (born December 18, 1945) is a former American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1986 to 2022. He represented the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state s ...
, who also served on the Newark City Council; and Assemblyman John E. Rooney, who was also mayor of Northvale. These officials protested the proposed ban as interfering with the will of voters to elect officials as they see fit. A newspaper called former State senator Wayne R. Bryant the "king of double dipping" because he was collecting salaries from as many as four public jobs he held simultaneously.
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
signed legislation in September 2007 that banned the practice statewide, but the 19 legislators holding multiple offices as of February 1, 2008, were grandfathered into the system and allowed to retain their positions."Double-dipping continues, increases after ban" ''South Jersey Media Group'', March 24, 2008. Accessed Sep 7, 2012. "Since Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a ban on dual-office holding in September, the number of lawmakers who hold more than one office has actually increased -- from 17 to 19 -- according to a report by The Star-Ledger of Newark. This is because a grandfather clause allows any lawmaker holding two offices as of Feb. 1 to keep both." As of November 2019, only four of the nineteen (listed in bold) continue to hold a dual mandate.
:Name, Party-County – Second Public Office:
Senators:
* Dana Redd, D-Camden – Councilwoman, Camden
*
Nicholas Sacco
Nicholas J. Sacco (born November 17, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1994, where he represents the 32nd Legislative District. Sacco serves in the Senate as the chair ...
, D-Hudson – Mayor,
North Bergen
North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...
*
Paul Sarlo
Paul Anthony Sarlo (born August 31, 1968) is an American construction industry executive and Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey State Senate since 2003, where he represents the 36th Legislative District. Sarlo is a ...
Stephen Sweeney
Stephen M. Sweeney (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician and labor leader who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2022, representing the 3rd legislative district. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 114th President o ...
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
*
Elease Evans
Elease Evans (born June 6, 1943) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from November 2007 until January 2012, representing the 35th legislative district. Evans held a seat that was vacated by f ...
John McKeon
John McKeon (March 29, 1808, Albany, New York – November 22, 1883, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1835 to 1837, and 1841 to 1843, he served two non-consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representativ ...
Hoboken
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...
Passaic
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...
Joseph Vas
Joseph Vas (born January 18, 1955) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2010, where he represented the 19th Legislative District. He did not seek re-election to the assemb ...
, D-Middlesex – Mayor,
Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...
Ohio
In February 2001,
Jean Schmidt
Jeannette Mary Schmidt (née Hoffman; born November 29, 1951) is an American politician who is a state representative in Ohio's 65th district. She was a U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Part ...
introduced legislation in the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...
Toledo Blade
''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835.
Overview
The first issue ...
'', February 9, 2001. Accessed May 30, 2010.
See also
*
Poobah
Grand Poobah is a satirical term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Mikado'' (1885). In this comic opera, Pooh-Bah holds numerous exalted offices, including "First Lord of the Treasury, Lord C ...
, colloquial term for the practice
*
Resign-to-run law
A resign-to-run law is a law that requires the current holder of an office to resign from that office before they can run for another office. This is distinct from a dual mandate prohibition, where a person has to resign from their old office to ...
*
Personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...