Political family
A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple siblings may be involved.
A royal family or dynasty in a monarchy is generally considered to not be a "political family," although the later descendants of a royal family have played political roles in a republic (such as the Arslan family of Lebanon). A family dictatorship is a form of hereditary dictatorship that operates much like an absolute monarchy, yet occurs in a nominally republican state.
The : John Adams, second U.S. president (1797–1801); his son, John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. president (1825–1829); John Quincy's son, Charles Francis Adams Sr., member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts (1859–1861) and U.S. envoy to the United Kingdom (1861–1868); Charles Francis' son, John Quincy Adams II, Massachusetts state representative (1866–67, 1868–69, 1871–72, 1874–75); John Quincy II's son, Charles Francis Adams III, mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts (1896–97) and U.S. secretary of the Navy (1929–1933).
Adams family
The : Benjamin Harrison V, governor of Virginia (1781–1784) and a signer of the Declaration of Independence; his son, William Henry Harrison, ninth U.S. president (1841); William's son, John Scott Harrison, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1853–1857); John Scott's son, Benjamin Harrison, 23rd U.S. president (1889–1893) (the only grandson of a president to become president); Benjamin's son, Russell Benjamin Harrison, Indiana state legislator (1921–1933) and diplomat (1908–1927); Russell's son, William Henry Harrison III, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming (1951–1955, 1961–1965, 1967–1969).
Harrison family
The Pitt family: both and his son William Pitt the Younger were Prime Ministers of Great Britain.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
The : William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire was prime minister from 1756 to 1757. His great-great-granddaughter, Dorothy Macmillan, was married to Harold Macmillan, who served as prime minister from 1957 to 1963.
Cavendish family
In India, three members of the (Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi) have served as Prime Minister of India. Rajiv's wife Sonia Gandhi and son, Rahul Gandhi served as the President of Indian National Congress.
Nehru–Gandhi family
Three members of of Kashmir have served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
the Abdullah Family
Two members of (Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav) of Uttar Pradesh have served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and many have held positions as ministers in the UP state government and the Indian government.
the Yadav Family
Two members of the family have served as Chief Minister, including his son M.K. Stalin and many more, including children, grandchildren and other relatives have held various ministerial positions in both state and central government.
M. Karunanidhi
In Azerbaijan, President is the son of the late Heydar Aliyev, who also served as the president from 1993 to 2003. Ilham's wife Mehriban is also the vice president of Azerbaijan and the first person to hold the position following its creation in 2017.
Ilham Aliyev
In , Jair Bolsonaro served as president from 2019 to 2023 and also served as federal deputy from 1991 to 2018. Flavio Bolsonaro, his firstborn son, serves as Senator since 2019, and has also served as state deputy for Rio de Janeiro from 2003 till 2018. Eduardo Bolsonaro, second son, serves as Federal Deputy since 2015. His third son, Carlos Bolsonaro serves in the Rio de Janeiro city council since 2001. His ex-wife, Ana Cristina Valle, ran for office in 2018, but was not elected.
Brazil
In Canada, Prime Minister is the son of the late Pierre Trudeau, who also served as prime minister.
Justin Trudeau
In Chile, the and Frei families have held significant political influence from the 20th century onwards, each one with a father and son having served as president; Arturo and Jorge, and Eduardo and Eduardo, respectively.
Alessandri
In Estonia, Prime Minister is the daughter of Siim Kallas, who also served as prime minister from 2002 to 2003.
Kaja Kallas
In Gabon, President was succeeded by his son Ali Bongo Ondimba. Two commanders-in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard, Grégoire Kouna and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, are cousins of Ali Bongo. Brice Oligui took control after the coup d'état in 2023.
Omar Bongo
In Greece, 3 families have been predominant figures in Greek politics since the end of World War II. Current Prime Minister (since 2019) is the son of former prime minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, brother of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dora Bakoyannis, and uncle of current Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis. The Mitsotakis family are also related to former prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos by marriage. Another important political family is the Papandreou family. Georgios Papandreou served three terms as prime minister, starting in 1944, on a political career that spanned five decades. His son, Andreas Papandreou, also served three terms as prime minister, starting in 1981. George Papandreou, Andreas' son and Georgios' grandson, served in the same role from 2009 to 2011. Another important political family is the Karamanlis family. Konstantinos Karamanlis was Greece's longest serving prime minister and helped the country enter the EU in 1981. His nephew Kostas Karamanlis also served as prime minister from 2000 to 2004 and another nephew Kostas Karamanlis served as minister of Infrastructure and Transport in 2019 to 2023.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
The French Party is led by Marine Le Pen, who succeeded her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in early 2011. Other members of the Le Pen family include current former MP Marion Maréchal (niece of Marine Le Pen) and Jordan Bardella (partner of the niece of Marine Le Pen).
Front National
In Indonesia, and his daughter Megawati both served as presidents. Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani is currently serving as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council. Recently, President Joko Widodo has been accused of dynastic politics in Indonesia by proposing his first son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as vice president of Indonesia in the 2024 election with Prabowo Subianto. Previously, Gibran was the mayor of Surakarta who was still serving even though he is participating in the 2024 presidential election. Apart from that, the second son of President Joko Widodo is the chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party and his son-in-law Bobby Nasution is the mayor of Medan.
Sukarno
In the Republic of Ireland, it is common for several members of a family to hold political office; see for a full list. This is particularly present in the two establishment centre-right parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.[4][5]
Families in the Oireachtas
In Jamaica, , who served as prime minister from 1972 to 1980 and again from 1989 to 1992, is the son of Norman Manley, who served as premier from 1959 to 1962. Norman was also related to prime minister Alexander Bustamante (1962-1967) via a common grandmother.
Michael Manley
In Japan, various families dominate the political scene, several of which have occupied the prime ministership. Such instances include , who served from 2012 to 2020 and from 2006 to 2007, and who is the grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, who served from 1957 to 1960, and the great-nephew of Eisaku Sato, who served from 1964 to 1972. Additionally, both Kishi and Sato are brothers. There are other notable examples including Yukio Hatoyama (2009–2010), grandson of Ichiro Hatoyama (1954–1956), Morihiro Hosokawa (1993–1994), grandson of Fumimaro Konoe (1937 – 1939 & 1940 – 1941), Taro Aso (2008–2009), grandson of Shigeru Yoshida and (1946 – 1947, 1948 – 1954) and son-in-law of Zenko Suzuki (1980–1982) and Yasuo Fukuda (2007–2008), son of Takeo Fukuda (1976–1978).
Shinzo Abe
In Kazakhstan, served as president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019, while his daughter Dariga served as Chair of the Senate from 2019 to 2020 and leader of her father's political party Nur Otan in the Senate from 2014 to 2015.
Nursultan Nazarbayev
served as president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. He is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of the Republic of Kenya, who left office in 1978.
Uhuru Kenyatta
In Latvia, , who served as president from 1993 to 1999, is the great-nephew of Kārlis Ulmanis, who also served as president.
Guntis Ulmanis
In Lebanon, , who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020, is the son of Rafic Hariri, who also served as prime minister from 1992 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2004. The Gemayel family also plays a prominent role in the Lebanese politics. Bachir and Amine Gemayel, both of whom were elected presidents of Lebanon, are sons of Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Kataeb Party.
Saad Hariri
In Lithuania: , leader of the State in 1990–1992, is the son of Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, a member of the government in the 1940s. Grandson Gabrielius Landsbergis is the current leader of the Conservative Party and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Other example is Gentvilas family: Eugenijus Gentvilas served as mayor of Klaipėda, prime minister and minister of economy in 2001; his sister Virginija Baltraitienė (née Gentvilaitė) served as mayor of Kėdainiai district and minister of agriculture; his son Simonas Gentvilas is serving as minister of environment.
Vytautas Landsbergis
In Malaysia, served as prime minister from 1970 to 1976, and his son Najib Razak, who was later convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison, served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018.
Abdul Razak Hussein
In Mauritius, out of five prime ministers, two have been the sons of former office holders. is the son of the country's first prime minister, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam while Pravind Jugnauth is the son of Anerood Jugnauth. Other prominent political dynasties include the Duvals, Boolells and the Mohammeds
Navinchandra Ramgoolam
In Mexico, former president , who served from 2012 to 2018, is a cousin of Alfredo Del Mazo Maza, governor of the State of Mexico, who is at the same time a son of former governor Alfredo del Mazo González. President Peña Nieto is also related to former governor Salvador Sánchez Colin and former governor Arturo Montiel Rojas. Prominent Mexican politician Luis Calderón Vega, founder of the National Action Party, is father of former senator Luisa María Calderón and former president Felipe Calderón, who is married to former congresswoman and presidential candidate Margarita Zavala, who is herself cousin of congresswoman Mariana Gómez del Campo. Former presidents Miguel de la Madrid and Miguel Alemán Valdés also had sons who held prominent political positions, Enrique de la Madrid served as Secretary of Tourism under president Enrique Peña Nieto, while Miguel Alemán Velasco served as senator and governor of Veracruz.[6] However the most notable political family in Mexico is perhaps the Ruiz Massieu-Salinas Family. Former senator and Minister of Urban Development, Raúl Salinas Lozano is father to Carlos Salinas de Gortari who served as President of Mexico between 1988 and 1994, Raúl Salinas de Gortari, former director of CONASUPO, and Adriana Salinas de Gortari, who was herself married to former governor and PRI General Secretary, José Francisco Ruíz Massieu, killed in 1994. Ruíz Massieu's daughter, Claudia Ruíz Massieu would go on to become Mexico's Secretary of Tourism and Secretary of Forgein Affairs.
Enrique Peña Nieto
In Nigeria, members of the have been prominent. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti served as the health minister under President Ibrahim Babangida while his brother, Fela Kuti, founded and led the Movement of the People political party. Their mother, Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a founding mother of Nigeria who served as a lawmaker and party leader in the country's colonial era.
Ransome-Kuti family
In Palau, former President is the son of the 2nd President Thomas Remengesau Sr.
Thomas Remengesau Jr.
In the Philippines, two members of the Aquino family (originating from ) had served as president, Corazon Aquino (who served from 1986 – 1992) and her son Benigno Aquino III (who served from 2010 – 2016). The Macapagal family also had two members who served as president, Diosdado Macapagal (who served from 1961 – 1965) and his daughter Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (who served from 2001 – 2010). Later the Marcos family, known for its kleptocratic rule, would have two presidents: Ferdinand Sr. (who served from 1965 until his removal in 1986) and his namesake son, Ferdinand Jr., widely known as "Bongbong", who has currently been serving since 2022. The family also produced a senator, Ferdinand Sr.'s daughter Imee who has been serving since 2019.
Tarlac
In Portugal, the minister of welfare state is married to a member of parliament involved in a scandal related with an ONG financed by the welfare state; The daughter of the same minister is the presidency minister; The interior minister is married with the sea minister; the justice minister husband was nominated for a public commission by a co-minister.
In Singapore, Prime Minister is the son of the first Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee Hsien Loong
In South Africa, the last , F. W. de Klerk, is the son of Jan de Klerk who served as acting State President in April 1975.
State President
In Sri Lanka, the has had 2 presidents and 1 prime minister. Also, the family has many of their extended relatives in the parliament. Additionally, the Bandaranaike family has had 1 president and 3 prime ministers with S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga all serving in the Prime Minister's capacity with Chandrika Kumaratunga serving as president.
Rajapaksa family
In Turkmenistan, , who was elected as president of Turkmenistan in 2022, is the son of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who served as president from 2007 to 2022.
Serdar Berdimuhamedow
In Iran, the has been prominent in Persian politics and diplomacy, giving the country numerous cabinet ministers, advisors to the Shah, and politicians since the establishment of the Qajar dynasty. Markar Khan Davidkhanian served as the Minister of Finance (1804–1848) and advisor to Fath-Ali Shah Qajar during the Great Game. Set Khan Astvatsatourian (1780–1942) served as a political advisor to Abbas Mirza and Ambassador to Britain. Tsatur Khan (1820–1905) served as advisor to Mozaffar-ad-Din Qajar, envoy to Russia, and de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the Pahlavi era, Meguertitch Khan Davidkhanian (1902–1983) served as Governor of Khorramshahr.
Davidkhanian family
In Uruguay, the have held significant political influence from the 19th century onwards, with four of its members serving as presidents.
Batlle family
Hoping to prevent political dynasties, the Indonesian parliament, which represents the third largest democracy in the world, passed a law barring anyone holding a major office within five years of a relative.[7]