First Families in Japan, Mexico, and the United States: 1946-2001

One outcome of the American presidential election of 2000 was the certainty, before the ballots were cast, that the winner would be the product of a family with an extensive record of political activity. Inheriting and transmitting a family political legacy is a common feature of the careers of chief executives both here and abroad. Presidents and prime ministers in Japan, Mexico, and the United States who served in the second half of the twentieth century are broadly similar with respect to the incidence of family political connections, generational location, proximity of relationships, and the multi-member and multi-generational nature of their families. However, Mexican Presidents, and to a lesser extent Japanese Prime Ministers, are components of denser and more prominent family groups. The three groups of executives represent variations on a common theme; political families exist in all types of societies and systems and constitute a fixed element in the political universe.