Political family

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Portrait of the Loredan Family (1507), by Giovanni Bellini. Leonardo Loredan, 75th Doge of Venice, was a member of the Loredan family, one of Venice's most prominent political dynasties. His four sons, depicted in the painting, also held high political positions in the Republic of Venice. Doge Leonardo Loredan with Four Noblemen, by Giovanni Bellini.jpg
Portrait of the Loredan Family (1507), by Giovanni Bellini. Leonardo Loredan, 75th Doge of Venice, was a member of the Loredan family, one of Venice's most prominent political dynasties. His four sons, depicted in the painting, also held high political positions in the Republic of Venice.

A political family (also referred to as a 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.

Contents

A royal family or dynasty in a monarchy is generally not considered a "political family," although 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 non-monarchic state.

India


Philippines

Political families or dynasties in the Philippines can be traced back to the Spanish colonial era with the role principalía, a class of native elites, exhibiting hereditary features. [2] A political dynasty refers to a family with multiple members occupying elected positions either one after another or simultaneously. [2]

The 1987 Philippine Constitution prohibits political dynasties but there is no enabling law to implement this. [2]

Nearly 250 families control politics in all 82 provinces of the Philippines at all levels. The "taipans" (the cartel of mixed political and business oligarchs), which control the politics and own various crony capitalist businesses, [3] have reshaped political alliances, with approximately 234 dynasties winning positions in the 2019 midterm election. They usually have a strong, consolidated support base concentrated around the province, which they dominate. Members of such dynasties usually also participate in business and cultural activities to maximise their share in political spoils. By 2025, Philippine politics exhibited a marked increase in dynastic control, with approximately 80% of provincial governors belonging to "fat dynasties", up from 57% in 2004. Similarly, dynasties in the House of Representatives have risen to 67% from 48% in 2004, and mayoral posts held by dynasties increased to 53% from 40%. In the 2022 Senate election, at least 12.5% (3) of the leading candidates had relatives already in the 24-seat chamber. Notably, 4.5% (800 out of 18,000) positions contested had single candidates from warlord clans whom no one dared contest. [4]

Several families have each produced two out of 17 Presidents of the Philippines. The Cojuangco-Aquino family of Tarlac had Corazon (served 1986 – 1992) and her son Benigno III ( served 2010 – 2016); the Macapagal family of Pampanga had Diosdado (served 1961 – 1965) and his daughter Gloria (served 2001 – 2010); and the Marcos family of Ilocos Norte had dictator Ferdinand (served beginning 1965, imposing Martial Law in 1972 and ruling until his overthrow in 1986), and his son, Bongbong, who has been president since 2022. The family also produced a senator and governor, Imee, who has been in Senate since 2019.

United Kingdom

Joseph and Austen Chamberlain. Jchamberlain-achamberlain.jpg
Joseph and Austen Chamberlain.

United States

In the United States, many political families (having at least two generations serving in political office) have arisen since the country's founding.

Presidential

Four noted U.S. political families -- Adams, Harrison, Roosevelt and Bush -- have each had two members by surname that served as President of the United States Seal of the President of the United States.svg
Four noted U.S. political families — Adams, Harrison, Roosevelt and Bush — have each had two members by surname that served as President of the United States

Several presidential families produced multiple generations of members who devoted at least part of their working lives to public service.

Theodore Roosevelt and family Theodore Roosevelt and family, 1903.jpg
Theodore Roosevelt and family
The Kennedys Kennedy family on jpk birthday sept 1963.jpg
The Kennedys
The Bush Family George W. Bush and family.jpg
The Bush Family
The Trumps Trump Family Hand Up.jpg
The Trumps

Two other presidents were related by blood: James Madison and Zachary Taylor were second cousins. Other presidents were related by marriage: George Washington's nephew, George Steptoe Washington, was Madison's brother-in-law. Dwight Eisenhower's grandson, David Eisenhower, married Julie Nixon, a daughter of Richard Nixon.

Other

The following political families are in the United States. For an extensive alphabetical list, see the article List of United States political families.

Other countries

A-D

E-H

I-L

M-P

Q-T

U-Z

See also

References

  1. "LOREDAN, Leonardo in "Dizionario Biografico"" (in Italian). Treccani. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Llemit, Ralph Lawrence (4 May 2025). "Understanding political dynasty in the Philippines". SunStar. SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  3. "The taipans — Chinese Filipino oligarchs". The Manila Times . September 16, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  4. After Duterte: clan politics and US influence in the Philippines, /morningstaronline.co.uk, 19 March 2025.
  5. KQED, General Article: The Kennedys in Politics
  6. Feldmann, Linda (23 July 2014). "Hillary Clinton vs. Jeb Bush? Why Political Dynasties Might Make Sense. (+video)". The Christian Science Monitor . Archived from the original on 2014-03-26.
  7. Solomon, Andrew (2015-07-18). "What's Wrong with Dynastic Politics?". The New Yorker . Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  8. "More than 40 politicians from political families to contest election". The Irish Times.
  9. "FF election hopeful hits out at party dynasties". independent.
  10. "Duane Smith gets his shot at representing St Andrew North Western". Jamaica Gleaner. October 17, 2024.
  11. "They made the news!". jamaica-gleaner.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  12. MALCOLM, DANA (2025-09-06). "'DADDY WOULD'VE BEEN PROUD' - Jamaica Observer". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  13. "It was not love at first sight! - Ann-Marie Vaz says Daryl had to work to win her heart". jamaica-gleaner.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "BIOGRAFIA - Licenciado".
  15. "Leadership Transition at Temasek Holdings: Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara to be appointed Executive Director & CEO with effect from 1 October 2021". 9 February 2021.
  16. "A place in the sun for key Singaporeans?". www.asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  17. Hermes (10 February 2019). "Shedding light on life and legacy of Peranakan pioneer Tan Kim Seng | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2022.