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Look up Excellence, Excellency, or excellency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.

Usually, people styled "Excellency" are counted amongst:

• heads of state
• heads of government
• ambassadors
• certain ecclesiastics
• certain members of royalty
• and others holding equivalent rank (e.g. heads of international organizations, high commissioners in the Commonwealth of Nations).

It is sometimes misinterpreted as a title of office in itself, but in fact it is an honorific which goes with and is used before various such titles (such as Mr. President, and so on), both in speech and in writing. In reference to such an official, it takes the form "His/Her Excellency"; in direct address, "Your Excellency", or, less formally, simply "Excellency".

The abbreviation "HE" is often used in stead of "His Excellency"; alternatively it may stand for "His Eminence".

Contents 1 Uses 1.1 Heads of state 1.2 International diplomacy 1.3 Royalty, aristocracy 1.4 Ecclesiastical use 1.5 Other secular excellencies 2 By country 2.1 Brazil 2.2 Commonwealth of Nations 2.3 China 2.4 United States 3 See also 4 Sources and references

[edit] Uses

References to men also include women.

[edit] Heads of state

In most republican nations, the president is formally styled "His Excellency"^{[citation needed]} however in day-to-day conversation "Mr. President" remains the most common means of address^{[citation needed]}.

If a republic has a prime minister, he is often addressed as "Excellency" as well. If the nation is a constitutional monarchy, however, rules vary. Many European monarchies do not specifically give this form of address to their prime ministers, while most of the monarchies of Asia do.

[edit] International diplomacy

In various international organizations, notably the UN and its agencies, "Excellency" is used as a generic form of address for all heads of state and heads of government. It is often granted to the organization's head as well, and to those chiefs of UN diplomatic missions, such as Resident Coordinators (who are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General), who are accredited at the Head of State (like an Ambassador), or the lower Head of Government level.

In recent years, some international organizations, such as the OSCE, or the European Union, have designated their Permanent Representatives in third countries as "Ambassadors", although they do not represent sovereign entities. This is now largely accepted, and because these "Ambassadors" rank after the UN representative in the orders of precedence of representatives of international organizations, the UN coming naturally first as pre-eminent, the UN Resident Coordinators are now also commonly but informally referred to in diplomatic circles as "Ambassadors", although the UN itself does not refer to them in this way.

[edit] Royalty, aristocracy

Former husbands or wives of royal princes or princesses (unless they keep the princely title) may be entitled to the style.

In Spain and some other countries, high ranking noblemen titles of nobility (of Peerage rank in British terms) also enjoy styling as "His/Her Excellency".

[edit] Ecclesiastical use

In the Roman Catholic Church, it is customary in many countries to use this style with Archbishops or Bishops (more formally, "His", or "Your", "Most Reverend Excellency"). The title of Eminence (or, more formally, "His", or "Your", "Most Reverend Eminence") is reserved to cardinals. This is also the official usage, both ecclesiastical and diplomatic, and is the practice followed in the United States.

However in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth or former Commonwealth countries, it is more customary to follow the British tradition, as usual in the Anglican churches, where an Archbishop is addressed as "Your Grace" (as for a British Duke) and a bishop as "My Lord".

[edit] Other secular excellencies

Excellency can also be attached to an honorary quality, notably in an order of knighthood; e.g. in the Empire of Brazil, it was attached to the highest classes, each time styled Grand Cross, of all three imperial orders: Imperial Order of Dom Pedro I, Imperial Order of the Southern Cross (in this case, also enjoying the military honours of a Lieutenant general) and Order of the Rose.

[edit] By country

[edit] Brazil

In 1991, the Brazilian Presidential Office issued a composition manual to establish the correct usage of the Portuguese language for all government agencies. The manual states that the title of Excelência (Excellency) is the proper form used to address the President and Vice President, all members of Parliament and judges, among other officials.^[1]

[edit] Commonwealth of Nations

Within the Commonwealth of Nations, certain officials may use the style "Excellency", including

• Governors and Governors-General
• Commonwealth High Commissioners
• The Commonwealth Secretary-General

While reference may be made to the "Queen's most excellent majesty", the style "excellency" is not used by the Queen herself.

[edit] China

In the People's Republic of China, the form "Excellency" is commonly used to refer to the President, the Premier and high-ranking officials. For example, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao are referred to as "His Excellency".

[edit] United States

In the United States, the form "Excellency" was commonly used for George Washington during his Presidency, but it began to fall out of use with his successor, and today has been replaced in direct address with the simple "Mr. President" or "The Honorable " However, in many foreign countries and in United Nations protocol the President of the United States is usually referred to as "His Excellency." Diplomatic correspondence to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, as during the Trent Affair, for instance, frequently referred to him as "His Excellency."

In the six states of New England, governors have retained the honorific "Excellency," following traditional British colonial practice, though it is rarely used. They are: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. All of these states were among the original Thirteen Colonies, either as colonies in their own right, or (in the case of Vermont and Maine) as parts of other colonies. Five of the other original colonies, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia also use the form "Excellency" in referring to their governors. The State of South Carolina legally provides for the Governor to be referred to as "Excellency"; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of North Carolina do not. The term is used frequently in the State of Georgia on the Governor's letterhead, the text of executive orders, any document requiring his signature and when in formal settings. Nevertheless, "Excellency" is used frequently when introducing the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Governor of Virginia and the Governor of North Carolina at formal events.

Other governors are sometimes addressed as "excellency" at public events. This is a traditional practice that is not at all incorrect, but it is less common, and is the product of custom and courtesy rather than of legislation.

Though ambassadors are traditionally accorded the title elsewhere (see below), the U.S. government does not use "excellency" for its diplomatic corps, preferring "the honorable" instead.

[edit] See also

• Ecclesiastical Addresses
• Style - Manner of Address
• Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing
• Canadian honorifics

[edit] Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.