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.
In the United States, many political families (having at least two generations serving in political office) have arisen since the country's founding.
Several presidential families produced multiple generations of members who devoted at least part of their working lives to public service.
Note 1: President Lincoln's great-grandmother, Abigail Harrison, was a member of the Shenandoah Valley branch of the Harrison family and was related to the James River branch that produced Presidents William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.
Note 2: President Lincoln and Levi Lincoln were fourth cousins; their great-great-grandfathers were brothers. Levi Lincoln served as a Massachusetts state legislator 1797–98, member of the U.S. House of Representatives 1800–01, U.S. attorney general and acting secretary of State in the Jefferson administration, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts 1807–08, and governor of Massachusetts 1808–09.
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.
The following political families are in the United States. For an extensive alphabetical list, see the article List of United States political families.
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]
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