Personal union

A personal union is a political union of two or more entities that, internationally, are considered separate states, but through established law, share the same head of state —hence also whatever political actions are vested in the head of state, but none (or at least extremely few) others.

Related Topics:
State - Head of state

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It is not to be confused with a federation (like the United States), which internationally is considered as a single state.

Related Topics:
Federation - United States - International - State

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Personal unions can arise for very different reasons, ranging from near coincidence (a princess who is already married to a king becomes a queen regnant, and their child inherits the crown of both countries) to virtual annexation (where a personal union sometimes was seen as a means of preventing uprisings). They can also be codified (the constitutions of the states clearly express that they shall be joined together) or non-codified (in which case they can easily be broken by e.g. different succession rules).

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Because presidents of republics are ordinarily chosen from within the citizens of the state in question, personal unions are almost entirely a phenomenon of monarchies. With the decline of their number during the 20th century, personal unions have become quite uncommon. Where they do exist, most notably between the Commonwealth Realms, they are now mostly ceremonial, as the Governor-General, in theory the representative of the Head of State, has only marginal political power, and is nominated by and has to take the advice of the local Head of Government.

Related Topics:
Monarchies - 20th century - Commonwealth Realm - Governor-General

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There is a somewhat grey area between personal unions and federations, and the one has regularly grown into the other. This article is an attempt at listing some historical and contemporary personal unions.

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