document_title: List of Call the Midwife characters

question_text: actress who played lady browne in call the midwife

question_tokens: actress who played lady browne in call the midwife

text: List of Call the Midwife characters

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Actor
Character
Role
Series

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Jessica Raine
Jenny Lee
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Miranda Hart
Chummy Noakes
(Camilla Browne)
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Jenny Agutter
Sister Julienne
Sister-in-charge, midwife
Main

Judy Parfitt
Sister Monica Joan
Retired midwife
Main

Pam Ferris
Sister Evangelina †
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Bryony Hannah
Sister Mary Cynthia
(Cynthia Miller)
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Helen George
Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin
Senior nurse, midwife
Main

Laura Main
Shelagh Turner
(Sister Bernadette)
Sister and Practice manager, practice midwife, Senior midwife (Nonnatus House) (Series 6-)
Main

Stephen McGann
Patrick Turner
General practitioner
Main

Cliff Parisi
Frederick "Fred" Buckle
Caretaker
Main

Ben Caplan
Peter Noakes
Police Sergeant
Main
Does not appear

Vanessa Redgrave
Voice of Jennifer Worth
Nurse, midwife
Main

Emerald Fennell
Patience "Patsy" Mount
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Guest
Main
Does not appear

Victoria Yeates
Sister Winifred
Midwife
Does not appear
Main

Jack Ashton
Tom Hereward
Curate
Does not appear
Main

Charlotte Ritchie
Barbara Hereward †
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Linda Bassett
Phyllis Crane
Nursing sister, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Annabelle Apsion
Violet Buckle
Wife of Fred Buckle
Does not appear
Recurring
Main

Kate Lamb
Delia Busby
Nurse
Does not appear
Recurring
Main
Does not appear

Jennifer Kirby
Valerie Dyer
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Leonie Elliott
Lucille Anderson
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Max Macmillan
Timothy "Tim" Turner
Patrick Turner's son
Recurring

George Rainsford
James "Jimmy" Wilson
Friend of Jenny Lee
Recurring
Does not appear

Cheryl Campbell
Lady Browne †
Chummy's mother
Recurring
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Dorothy Atkinson
Jane Sutton
Medical orderly
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Leo Starr
Alec Jesmond †
Boyfriend of Jenny Lee
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Alice Brown
Angela Turner
Adopted daughter of Shelagh and Patrick Turner
Does not appear
Recurring

Maxine Evans
Mrs Busby
Delia Busby's mother
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Harriet Walter
Sister Ursula
Sister-in-charge, midwife, nurse
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Jack Hawkins
Christopher Dockerill
Dentist
Does not appear
Recurring

Daniel Laurie
Reggie Jackson
Fred and Violet Buckle's ward
Does not appear
Recurring

Trevor Cooper
Sergeant Woolf
Police Sergeant
Does not appear
Recurring

Nina Yndis
Magda
The Turners' au pair
Does not appear
Recurring

text: Characters[edit]

text: Sister Julienne[edit]

text:
Sister Julienne

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jenny Agutter

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Sister-in-charge, nun, midwife and nurse

text: By necessity, Sister Julienne conceals an iron fist in a velvet glove, managing both her charges and fellow sisters with a combination of tact, compassion, and no-nonsense advice.

text: Her steadfast, compassionate guidance makes her an anchor for her colleagues and in a very real way, it is she who holds the inhabitants of Nonnatus House together. She always offers comfort and help to the young midwives and also has a notably close, warm and maternal relationship with Sister Bernadette, serving as her chief mentor and confidante. Beginning with series 4, it becomes clear that the weight of always having to be "the wise one" takes a heavier toll on her than many would guess, and she is increasingly shown leaning on Shelagh (formerly Sister Bernadette) for counsel and support; nevertheless, her faith is not shaken and she remains a serene, guiding presence for all of Nonnatus House. Her pre-Order name was Louise.

text: In the sixth series after her return from Africa, Sister Julienne becomes Deputy Sister-in-Charge to Sister Ursula. Although Sister Ursula leaves in the third episode and Sister Julienne becomes sister in charge again.

text: Sister Monica Joan[edit]

text:
Sister Monica Joan

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Judy Parfitt

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, retired midwife and nurse

text: One of the UK's earliest registered nurses, and the last surviving founder of Nonnatus House, Sister Monica Joan (whose birth name was Antonia Cavill) retired from practice prior to the events of the series, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia and feeble body. Desperate to be of service and feel useful, she is given make-work tasks to keep her occupied, such as rolling bandages (which the nurses secretly unrolled beforehand). Sister Julienne expresses that it is now their privilege to care for her.

text: She has a very different nature from Sister Evangelina's and misses no opportunity to bait her. It is never entirely clear how much of Sister Monica Joan's eccentricity is due to the frailty of age, or (as Jenny and Sister Bernadette suspect) sheer wilful naughtiness. She has a habit of devouring all the cakes, leading everyone to try to hide them from her. She also knits woollen teddy bears and casts her horoscope in the stars and planets in order to tell her future. In the final episode of Series 1, after recovering from pneumonia, she is arrested for stealing trinkets from the market: some ribbons, a handkerchief, a china robin and several other things.

text: Later, she is suspected of stealing a ring, a bracelet and a pearl necklace, which were discovered by Jenny Lee; Sister Monica Joan then went to hide them in her knitting bag and they were found by Sister Evangelina and who called the constable. Mother Jesu Emanuel (Mother Superior of the order) testifies that Sister Monica Joan inherited those items from her mother and no crime was committed. In light of Monica Joan's age and moments of forgetfulness, she is acquitted of the trinket thefts. In Series 2, she reconciles with her nephew and his family, fears that she is useless, spends a lot of money on taxis to see her nephew, much to the chagrin of Sister Julienne, recovers from angina, escapes a holiday with Sister Evangelina to Chichester, judges a baby show, and pays for a child's funeral. Sister Monica Joan is very close to and gets on well with Jenny. In the 2015 Christmas special, she runs away from the convent after an argument with Sister Evangelina, returning to her childhood home with the belief that everyone should go back to their home, prompted by Barbara's comment that she wasn't allowed back to Liverpool for Christmas. She returns just in time for their appearance on the BBC.

text: Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin[edit]

text:
Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Helen George

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Senior midwife and nurse

text: Trixie has a much more outgoing disposition than Jenny, but the two share the sense of adventure in their work and become firm friends. Trixie loves nothing more than gossiping with her colleagues and is quite nosey when it comes to other people's business.

text: She occasionally comes across as a bit rude, but she means no harm by it. When it comes to her friends, she takes great pleasure in teasing them about what is going on in their lives. She is caring but no-nonsense to her patients and is encouraging at hopeless times. She is light and carefree, jokes a lot, tries to set her colleagues up with boys and is generally a little boy-mad. Nevertheless, it is clear that work is first in her life, until Curate Tom Hereward proposes to her and she accepts. But their engagement breaks down when Trixie discovers that Tom has a placement in a slum in Newcastle, an industrial city in North East England. This makes her turn even more to alcohol for comfort, but after struggling with alcoholism, with Cynthia's help, she joins a support group. She shares a room with Nurse Patsy Mount.

text: Trixie's acceptance of male homosexuality is decades ahead of her time. Prior to the events of the series, she happily served as cover for a gay medical student, providing him the appearance of propriety. Her disgust of a young father arrested in a cottaging sting was entirely the result of his infidelity; with whom he cheated was immaterial to her.

text: Discovering that Barbara is going out with Tom gave her quite a shock and she finds it very difficult to accept, but after a talk with Tom and Barbara she finally accepts that she can no longer hold on to Tom and must let him go. She is now very close to Patsy, Delia, Barbara and Sister Mary Cynthia.

text: In January 1962, while seconded to a clinic in Africa and dozens of miles from a physician, Trixie becomes the only one of the midwives - lay or nuns - to have performed a cesarean section. She returns to Poplar a few months later as she stays on at the clinic returning via the Mother House, when it's realised that Sister Mary Cynthia has gone missing.

text: Later in 1962, she meets dentist Christopher Dockerill. When a turn of events leads to them delivering a baby, they grow close. But, later she suspects that she is being cheated on by Dockerhill, but learns that he actually has a child from a prior marriage, which he had not previously disclosed. She forgives him because he was scared to tell her fearing he would be rejected.

text: Shelagh Turner[edit]

text:
Shelagh Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Laura Main

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and nurse (series 1–2, 4-), Medical Sister-in-charge (surgery) (Series 4-), nun, acting sister in charge (series 1–2), medical secretary (series 3–5), Senior midwife and nursing sister (Nonnatus House) (Series 7-)

[show]Family

Husband
Patrick Turner

Children
Timothy Turner
Angela Turner
Edward Teddy Turner[1]

text: Sister Bernadette, as she is first known, is Scottish and in her early 30s – the closest in age to Jenny and the other lay midwives. She is the most educated of the nuns and tutors the other nurses whilst providing administrative assistance to Sister Julienne, sometimes covering as her deputy. She joined the order in July, 1948. A consummate professional, she has a fresh, uncomplicated approach to her work that means she connects well with Jenny and her other colleagues. In one episode, she is shown to remove her veil, take her hair down and take off her glasses, expressing her hidden desire to be free.

text: In series 2, it becomes clear that Sister Bernadette is lonely and unhappy, questioning whether the convent is her calling, and wishes to do what the other young midwives of her age are doing: going out to the cinema, dancing, etc. One scene shows Sister Bernadette looking in on the midwives' room while they are drinking and gossiping, but then the door closes; it is a life that cannot be opened to her while she remains a nun. In another, Sister Monica Joan points out that she spends most of her time praying for forgiveness. Sister Bernadette eventually breaks down and turns to Sister Julienne for help, confessing that what she really wants is a family and children of her own. As of the 2012 Christmas Special and from Series 2 onward, it becomes clear that Sister Bernadette has fallen in love with the local physician, Dr Turner.

text: After recovering from a short bout of tuberculosis, Sister Bernadette leaves the convent and reverts to her birth name of Shelagh (née Mannion). She becomes engaged to Dr Turner, who has also fallen in love with her. They marry in the 2013 Christmas Special and she becomes stepmother to his 11-year-old son Timothy. They later adopt a baby girl called Angela after a struggle with infertility. However, she still remains close to her faith, joining the Nuns at compline. At times she is struggling, in series four it becomes clear Shelagh desperately misses her nursing and midwifery so she returns to full-time work at the surgery and maternity home, first as a medical secretary, and then also as the sister-in-charge at the surgery after Dr Turner is taken ill. She is now the medical sister-in-charge at the surgery and works alongside the other midwives and nuns at the surgery, but still doesn't perform house calls. When at the clinic or being the acting Sister-in-charge at Nonnatus House in Sister Julienne's absence, Shelagh dons smart civilian dress, rather than uniform of the order's other lay nurses, although she eventually obtained a uniform to wear when serving in a nursing capacity at Dr. Turner's surgery.

text: Shelagh also feels guilty after thalidomide is prescribed for women suffering from morning sickness. When it's linked to with birth deformities of the kind observed in recent months, she says she is as guilty as Patrick because she supported the drug being prescribed.

text: In series 6, Shelagh is overcome with joy when she falls pregnant with her first biological child. However, she suffers complications and is taken ill during an inspection of the maternity home and rushed to hospital fearing a miscarriage, forcing Barbara and Phyllis to take over the running of the surgery. This puts her pregnancy in jeopardy and even after she is released from hospital she could have still lost the baby.[2] But she gives birth to a son (Edward 'Teddy' Patrick Turner) with the help of Sister Julienne in the series finale.

text: After a year of materity leave Shelagh returns to Nonnatus House as senior midwife and nursing sister to cover for Barbara who is taken ill and eventually dies.

text: Sister Winifred[edit]

text:
Sister Winifred

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Victoria Yeates

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, midwife and nurse, former teacher (before 1959)

text: Sister Winifred arrives at Nonnatus House at the beginning of Series 3. Sister Winifred is the same age as Jenny, Trixie and Cynthia. She finds midwifery hard. She tries twice to make a harvest loaf for the Harvest Festival, stating 'my mother made it look so easy.' She eventually succeeds on the second attempt. She seems to be close to Patsy Mount. She is now close to Sister Mary Cynthia since she joined the order and is very passionate about her work in Poplar. In series 5 episode 3 it is revealed that Sister Winifred is missing teaching and takes a temporary job teaching a class replacing one of her patients who was fired due to pregnancy. In episode 4 she had returned to midwifery. She is seen to be close to Cynthia since she joined the order. In series 6 she sets about learning to drive with Phyllis' help.

text: Phyllis Crane[edit]

text:
Phyllis Crane

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Linda Bassett

Duration
2015–

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 2

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Senior nurse, midwife, Deputy Sister-in-charge (medical)

text: Phyllis is a veteran nurse who also arrives at Nonnatus House in mid-1960. When she pulls up in her sparkling car everybody knows that she's going to be a tiny bit snobby and she is. She is vegetarian and is not scared to put her ideas forward to improve Nonnatus House. She confides in Vaughan Seller, the father of a terminated baby, that she was born an illegitimate child, and to former street walker Roseanne Dawley that Phyllis' mother too was a prostitute. In series 5 it is seen that she has formed more of a relationship with Barbara and has taken quite a high role in Nonnatus House. Having discovered Patsy and Delia's relationship, she is supportive of heartbroken Delia when Patsy sails to Hong Kong to care for her dying father.

text: She is also very close to her roommate, Barbara, and serves as something of a surrogate mother figure to her much younger colleague. In the sixth series after her return from Africa, Sister Julienne becomes Deputy Sister-in-Charge to Sister Ursula, meaning Phyllis is demoted to Nursing Sister. Although Sister Ursula leaves and Phyllis is reinstated as deputy sister in charge again.

text: Driving back from a successful delivery, Phyllis knocks over one of the family's other children with her car and is left devastated by the possible consequences. She faces suspension by the Central Midwives Board, over her actions and is told by Sister Julienne to focus on the administrative duties. But, the family ask Sergeant Noakes to drop the case.

text: When Shelagh is unwell and goes on maternity leave, it expected she will take over as acting sister in charge of the surgery. Following Patsy's departure she took over as a leader of the local Wolf Cub Scouts.

text: In Series 7, Phyllis nearly dies after a fire destroys a local shop.

text: Valerie Dyer[edit]

text:
Valerie Dyer

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jennifer Kirby

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 2

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, midwife

[show]Family

Aunts
Jean
Florrie

text: Valerie first appears following an explosion in Episode 2 of series 6 coming to the aid of Shelagh following a fire in the docks. She was an Army nurse, but resigned her commission when she grew weary of the routinness of such nursing. A native of Poplar, she took a barmaid job while sorting out her ambitions.

text: In episode 4, she becomes a midwife at the Nonnatus House. Sister Monica Joan somehow immediately recognises Valerie as having been a baby whom she delivered, reciting the details as if it had been yesterday. But it's a baptism of fire as Valerie is caught up with a woman who had FGM which creates difficulties for the pregnancy and the woman is rushed to hospital. Later she finds out the woman had sent her younger sister to be cut in Somalia and with Barbara rushes to stop the girl from boarding the boat. But it's too late.

text: Frederick "Fred" Buckle[edit]

text:
Fred Buckle

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Cliff Parisi

Duration
2012-

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Handyman, Scout Leader, Civil Defence Corps Deputy Party Leader

[show]Family

Wife
Mrs Buckle (deceased)
Violet Gee (1960-)

Daughters
Marlene Dooley
Dolly

Grandsons
Anthony

Granddaughters
Samantha

First cousins
Ivy Jackson

Other relatives
Reggie Jackson

text: Fred is the handyman at Nonnatus House since the end of the war.[3] In the evenings, he volunteers as a scout leader and as a deputy party leader[4] in charge of the neighbourhood Civil Defence Corps squad. He is friends with all of the midwives and often gives them help and advice. He's always got a new money-making scheme under his belt, but none of them is ever much good. Fred is the father of two daughters – Dolly, who lives in Australia with her husband and their two children, Anthony and Samantha; and Marlene, who is also married and has recently moved back to England after living in Canada for several years.

text: Before becoming the handyman at Nonnatus he was in the British Army, during which time his wife was killed leaving his daughters to be shuffled around between several of his family members, causing him great pain and temptation to desert. In series four, after twenty years of being a widower, Fred takes an interest in local shop owner Violet Gee; after several months of flirting during their community volunteering duties, Fred asks Violet to a charity dance. By the end of series four Fred proposes to Violet – and, after dealing with his clingy daughter Marlene – he and Violet marry.

text: Dr. Patrick Turner[edit]

text:
Patrick Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Stephen McGann

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
General practitioner

[show]Family

Wife
Widowed
Shelagh Mannion (1958-)

Sons
Timothy Turner
Edward "Teddy" Turner[1]

Daughters
Angela Turner (adopted)

text: Dr Turner is Poplar's local physician, as well as being the GP to all the midwives and nuns. He works closely with the midwives, helping at clinics, deliveries and at the birthing hospital and is incredibly dedicated to his patients and to his work, including fighting bureaucratic red tape to save lives with a tuberculosis x-ray screening van. He is a widower and father to Timothy and does his best to juggle the demands of being a single parent with his responsibilities as a doctor. In Series 2, it becomes apparent that he has fallen in love with Sister Bernadette, but her vows stand in the way of that love. After her diagnosis with tuberculosis forces her to examine what she truly wants, he makes it quietly clear to her that while the decision is hers, he is in love with her and wishes to share his life with her. She leaves the convent and chooses a different path, accepting his proposal of marriage after she has overcome her tuberculosis.

text: When trying to adopt, it is revealed that he suffered mental health issues after the war. Overwork and a misdiagnosis in Series 4, drives him to illness forcing Shelagh and Patsy to take over the running of the practice. While in the next series the Turner's go on holiday, with a locom who puts a mother in danger. Also he had regularly prescribed thalidomid for women suffering from morning sickness. When it's linked to with birth deformities of the kind observed in recent months, he must deal with his guilt.

text: In series 6, Dr Turner is overcome with joy when Shelagh falls pregnant with her first biological child. However, she suffers complications and is taken ill during an inspection of the maternity home and rushed to hospital fearing a miscarriage. This puts her pregnancy in jeopardy and even after she is released from hospital she could have still lost the baby. But she gives birth to a son (Edward 'Teddy' Turner) with the help of Sister Julienne in the series finale, with Dr Turner in the room.

text: Tom Hereward[edit]

text:
Tom Hereward

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jack Ashton

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Curate

[show]Family

Wife
Barbara Gilbert (deceased) (1962-1963)

text: Tom arrives in series 3 as the new Poplar curate. He lives just across the road from Nonnatus House and is shown to have a relationship with Trixie, whom he met when the two were working the same shift in a women's prison. Their engagement is broken off in series 4. Now he is seen doing a lot with the children's group and is getting a bit closer to Nurse Barbara Gilbert. Tom asks Barbara to marry him while they are out in South Africa after consulting with his former fiancée Trixie. They are married in a hurried wedding at the end of series 6, when Barbara learns that her father has accepted a three year missionary posting in New Guinea, so he can marry them.

text: Sadly, Tom later becomes a widower after Barbara dies from meningococcal septicemia.

text: Lucille Anderson[edit]

text:
Lucille Anderson

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Leonie Elliott

Duration
2018–

First appearance
Series 7

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, midwife

text: Nurse Anderson arrives at Nonnatus House in series 7 as their first West Indian nurse.

text: Supporting characters[edit]

text: Timothy Turner[edit]

text:
Timothy Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Max Macillan

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jenny Worth

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Student

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner (step-mother)

text: Timothy is the son of Patrick Turner and stepson of Shelagh Turner. He is very smart and tall and goes to the local grammar school. In 2013 Christmas special he suffers from polio which affects his legs. He slowly recuperates and is now fully recovered. He is seen to have an interest in medicine, and in Series 5 he helps his mother and father out more in the surgery. Timothy sets off on a crusade to make his parents give up smoking after seeing the damage it's doing to their health. He is pleased when, in the following series, his stepmother gives birth to his brother.

text: Angela Turner[edit]

text:
Angela Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Alice Brown

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3, Episode 8

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner

Brothers
Timothy Turner (half-brother), Edward "Teddy" Turner[1]

text: Angela is the adopted daughter of Shelagh and Patrick Turner. She is first seen in the series 3 finale and is briefly seen in series 4 and 5 usually with Shelagh, Patrick or Timothy. She was born to a 16-year-old mother, and was put up for adoption after birth, when the Turners adopted her. It is mentioned in the series that she has a fear of squirrels.

text: Edward Turner[edit]

text:
Edward Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
TBC

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 8

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner

text: Edward is the son of Shelagh and Patrick Turner, born in the final episode of series 6.

text: Violet Buckle[edit]

text:
Violet Buckle

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Annabelle Apsion

Duration
2015-

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Haberdashery owner, Girls' Brigade Leader

[show]Family

Husband
Bert Gee (deceased)
Fred Buckle (1960-)

text: Violet Buckle is the second wife of Fred Buckle. She owns her own haberdashery called Violet Gee. She has a son who lives in Plymouth. She also had a previous husband called Bert who was killed in the war like Fred's deceased wife. She volunteers as a uniformed leader of the local Girls' Brigade, replacing Patsy when she returns to Hong Kong.

text: Christopher Dockerill[edit]

text:
Christopher Dockerill

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jack Hawkins

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 5

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Dentist

[show]Family

Wife
Moira (divorced)

Daughters
Alexandra Dockerill

text: Introduced in Series 6 when Trixie escorts a patient to see him who has a fear of dentists. After carrying out work on the woman which brings on her labour while he is in theatre, Trixie is forced to deliver the baby with his assistance after the general anaesthetic brings on labour. Later Trixie believes he's seeing another woman after he cancels a number of dates, but he tells her he has been looking after his daughter from a previous marriage.

text: Previous characters[edit]

text: Nurse Jenny Lee[edit]

text:
Jenny Lee

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jessica Raine
Vanessa Redgrave (mature)

Duration
2012–14

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 4, Episode 0

Introduced by
Herself

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, midwife, nursing sister (Series 3)

text: Nurse Jenny Lee arrives at Nonnatus House in 1957, at the age of 22, completely unaware of the world she is about to enter. Believing she has accepted a job with a small private hospital, she is somewhat surprised to find she's moving into a convent. Furthermore, the deprivation of the East End is a huge culture shock for the young woman who has enjoyed a privileged upbringing in the home counties and spent time in Paris before training as a nurse. However, although initially shocked by the conditions in which her patients live, Jenny comes to accept the material limitations of the world in which she works and to love the people who must live there.

text: She went to London to escape her forbidden love to a married man, Gerald. Her best friend Jimmy arrives and although he makes her feel more at ease, he also makes things more complicated by revealing that he's in love with her. She turns him down and they remain friends. She becomes good friends with all of her colleagues and patients and always tries to help those around her. Toward the end of Series 2 and halfway through Series 3, she starts dating Alec, a friend of Jimmy's. After Alec's death and her return to Nonnatus House after taking time off to grieve, Jenny decides to begin working at the London Hospital in the Maternity Ward although she leaves soon after, not liking the hospital's policy of requiring impersonal relationships between nurses and their patients.

text: At the end of Series 3, she meets Phillip Worth (her future husband), the cousin of an expectant mother for whom she is caring and begins a relationship with him. She eventually decides to pursue a career change to care for those with terminal illnesses; she leaves Nonnatus House to work at the Marie Curie Hospital in Hampstead. It is shown in the Series 3 Christmas Special that she eventually married Phillip and started a family, and still kept in contact with the friends she made at Nonnatus House.

text: Camilla "Chummy" Noakes (née Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne)[edit]

text:
Camilla "Chummy" Noakes

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Miranda Hart

Duration
2012–15

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 2

Last appearance
Series 4, Episode 8

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and nurse, Matron Aston Lodge

[show]Family

Family
Peter Noakes (husband), Fred Noakes (son), Lady Browne (mother)

text: By the end of Series 1, after a string of dates she marries Police Constable Peter Noakes. After clinic, she swaps her nursing uniform for a scouting one, as Akela of the local Wolf Cubs whom she leads with Fred - a role later taken on by Patsy. In Series 2, Chummy applies for a place as a CMS missionary in Sierra Leone, Africa. She is accepted and she and Peter move to Africa for six months. Upon their return, Chummy reveals that she is pregnant, much to the delight of her fellow nurses. In the final episode of Series 2 Chummy goes into labour and, despite complications, she gives birth to a son, Fred. Chummy once stated that she had never been happier than when she was at Nonnatus House. In series 4 Chummy, Peter and Freddie move to Aston Lodge mother and baby home, where Chummy is employed as the temporary, replacement matron.

text: Sister Evangelina[edit]

text:
Sister Evangelina

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Pam Ferris

Duration
2012–16

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 5, Episode 8

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, midwife and nurse

text: Sister Evangelina is the only one of the sisters who comes from the same tough, uncompromising background as the community they serve. Physically vigorous, she has a robust sense of humour. Her energy and drive make her extraordinarily effective at her job. However, she does not suffer fools gladly and her blunt speech and attitude often offend. She has a particularly contentious relationship with the aristocratic Sister Monica Joan, who often provokes her to breaking point. Growing up in poverty has toughened her up, making her a very comical character in the show.

text: Sister Evangelina knows a lot about the poverty and hardships in Poplar and often shares her insights with the young midwives. She is very close to Sister Julienne, to whom she often serves as a sounding board. In Series 3, it is revealed she has several siblings including an older brother who was killed on active service in a war and a younger brother, Vincent, who returns to her life after being absent for several years during her golden jubilee. It was seeing the birth of Vincent that inspired a young Sister Evangelina to become a nun during her formative years, a goal she achieved in 1909. In 1960 Sister Evangelina has to have an operation due to illness. Her pre-order name was Enid Atwood. In 1961, Sister Evangelina temporarily left Nonnatus House for an enclosed order. She returns in episode 7. She announces that she had a stroke 2 months after she left the convent and has now lost movement in her left arm. In episode 8, Sister Evangelina passes away following a second stroke.

text: Despite her gruff exterior and apparent lack of patience with others, she is deeply cherished and respected by not only her colleagues, but her Poplar community, a great many of whom she delivered—as evidenced by the masses who turned out to congratulate her on the occasion of her jubilee, and to pay their final respects two years later.

text: Sister Ursula[edit]

text:
Sister Ursula

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Harriet Walter

Duration
2017

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 4

Classification
Former; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Sister-in-charge, nun, midwife and nurse

text: Sister Ursula arrives to replace Sister Julienne when she went to South Africa, as the new sister in charge in 1962. She appears to have a strict running form when the staff return following their return, clashing with Shelagh over the way clinic is run and the behaviour of Sister Monica Joan. Patsy and Delia appear to be keen for her to return to the mother house. She orders Sister Mary Cynthia to return to the mother house, before being informed of her sexual assault. She returns to the mother house after she is deemed unfit to run Nonnatus House.

text: Sister Mary Cynthia[edit]

text:
Sister Mary Cynthia

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Bryony Hannah

Duration
2012–17

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 6

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, midwife; later nun (series 4-)

text: Nurse Cynthia Miller, like Trixie, is also a resident at Nonnatus House when Jenny arrives. She volunteers as a uniformed leader of the local Girls' Brigade.

text: Cynthia is the most sensitive of the young midwives, and gets very emotionally involved with some of her patients.

text: In Series 2, when a child she delivers dies, the people of Poplar suspect her of making a mistake that cost the baby its life. Cynthia begins to doubt her abilities, which takes a heavy toll on her work and health. She suffers a breakdown, but recovers with the help of Sister Julienne. An autopsy report confirms that the baby's death was due to lungs that never fully inflated. In the 2014 Christmas Special, Cynthia decides to become a postulant and leaves Nonnatus House for six months of training, promising Trixie and Patsy that she will return. In Series 4, Cynthia returns to Nonnatus House after her training is complete, having chosen the religious name of Sister Mary Cynthia. Though she now spends less time with her friends, she remains close to Trixie and ultimately convinces her to get help for her alcoholism. She is also close with Sister Winfred and Barbara.

text: In series 5 episode 6 Sister Mary Cynthia is violently attacked at the docks by a man. She thinks it is a test of faith but with the help of Sister Monica Joan, she goes to the police, and is able to return to her own quiet, kind religious self. But when Sister Ursula asks about her life vows, it becomes clear that the attack is still affecting her. In series 6, Sister Mary Cynthia is sent to the Mother House by Sister Ursula.

text: When Trixie returns to Poplar from South Africa, it is realised that Sister Mary Cynthia has gone missing from the Mother House. She is found in an asylum where she has been admitted as a patient, but it is apparent that she isn't getting the help she needs. Dr Turner and Sister Julienne work to get her discharged into their care, and send her to a community for mental health care. She reverts to her birth name Cynthia.

text: Peter Noakes[edit]

text:
Peter Noakes

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Ben Caplan

Duration
2012–2017

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 2

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 7

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Police sergeant

text: Peter is a Police Constable, and later Sergeant, in Poplar. He is first introduced in Series 1, when he is run over by Chummy on her bicycle and takes an immediate shine to her. Throughout series 1, they go on a string of dates, eventually marrying in the series' final episode. In series 2, he follows Chummy to Sierra Leone while she fulfills her desire to be a missionary. In the final episode of that series, he and Chummy have a baby, whom they name Fred. During his service in the Second World War, he earned the 1939–1945 Star, Defence Medal, France and Germany Star, and War Medal 1939–1945, as shown on his uniform tunic.

text: Patience "Patsy" Mount[edit]

text:
Patience "Patsy" Mount

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Emerald Fennell

Duration
2013–17

First appearance
Series 2, Episode 3

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 8

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and nurse

text: Patsy is first seen in Series 2, episode 3, as a nurse in the male surgical ward at the London Hospital. She then appears in Series 3, Episode 5 as a new midwife. She is tall elegant and favours slightly tailored clothes and becoming the first midwife to wear trousers. She has a very brisk manner but later reveals that at the age of 9 that she and her mother and sister were sent to a Japanese war camp, and that she was the only one to survive of the three of them. Like Chummy before her, Patsy works with Fred as a leader of the local Wolf Cub Scouts; she recruits Delia to help teach first aid. It is then seen in Series 4 that she has a very close friendship with veteran Nurse Trixie and new Nurse Barbara. She is also quite close to Sister Mary Cynthia and Sister Winifred. Patsy is seen to have a very close and romantic relationship with female surgical Nurse Delia Busby, with whom she had previously worked at the London. They plan to move into a flat together at the end of Series 4, but their future is shattered when Delia is involved in a cycling accident and suffers a serious head injury which results in amnesia, leaving her with no memory of Patsy. The amnesia is only temporary however and Patsy and Delia are reunited in Series 5 when Delia accepts an offer from Sister Julienne to live at Nonnatus House. Later in Series 5 Patsy and Delia go to the Gateways Club, a private club for lesbians. It is revealed in the Series 5 finale that Patsy and Delia are going to Paris together in Spring 1962. She shares a room with Nurse Trixie, replacing Jenny Lee. Series 6, sees her temporarily leave Nonnatus House after learning her father is dying in Hong Kong. Delia is upset that she can't go with her as support, as she is training to be a midwife. Following her father's death Patsy seemed to drop all correspondence with Delia, and it looked like she wouldn't return to Nonnatus House, but she came back to London on the day of Tom and Barbara's wedding.

text: Delia Busby[edit]

text:
Delia Busby

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Kate Lamb

Duration
2015–17

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 2

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 8

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Staff nurse at the London (until 1961), trainee midwife, nurse, St John Ambulance volunteer

text: Originally from Wales, Delia is a very close friend of Patsy's, having worked together in the London Hospital's male surgical ward. She resides in the hospital's nurses home,[5] and volunteers evenings for St John Ambulance. In her St John capacity, she works with Patsy's and Fred's scouts, principally teaching them first aid. She is revealed to be in a romantic relationship with Patsy, but together they conceal their feelings due to society's view of homosexuality at the time. At the end of Series 4, just as the two of them have found a flat to share, she is involved in a cycling accident which leaves her with amnesia, leaving Patsy heartbroken. By the following Christmas, she has regained her memories of Patsy and their relationship, and at the start of Series 5, despite continued efforts from her mother to take her home to Wales, Delia accepts Sister Julienne's invitation to board at Nonnatus House when she returns to work at the London in the coming months. By the end of series 5, she appears to be quite close to Trixie and Barbara, and is delighted when Trixie confides in her that she attends Alcoholics Anonymous each week.

text: In the final episode of series five Busby considers additional training as a midwife after successfully talking a young mother through her delivery over the telephone earlier in the series. Busby undertakes training in the following series.

text: Barbara Hereward (neé Gilbert)[edit]

text:
Barbara Hereward

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Charlotte Ritchie

Duration
2015–2018

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 7, Episode 7

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Former; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and nurse

[show]Family

Father
Canon Arthur Gilbert

Sisters
Margaret

Husband
Tom Hereward (1962-1963)

text: Barbara Gilbert arrived in Poplar in the early 1960s still finding her feet in district nursing and midwifery. While she was educated and middle class, she was surprisingly in tune with the needs of the community she serves, having grown up the daughter of a Canon serving in an impoverished area of Liverpool. She was hard working, optimistic, and somewhat naïve. In addition to her nursing duties, she helped teach Sunday school at the local church. In series 5 she began a romantic relationship with Tom Hereward after they become close while working together in the parish. She was also quite close to her roommate, Nurse Phyllis Crane, who served as something of a surrogate mother figure to her much younger colleague. Tom asked her to marry him while they are out in South Africa after consulting with his former fiancée Trixie. They were married in a hurried wedding at the end of series 6, after Barbara learned that her father has accepted a three year missionary posting in New Guinea. In Series 7, Barbara dies after contracting meningococcal septicemia, leaving Tom, Nonnatus House and the rest of the Poplar community heartbroken and shattered.

text: Previous recurring characters[edit]

text: George Rainsford as James "Jimmy" Wilson (Series 1–2)

text: Jimmy is an old friend of Jenny's. In Series 1, Jimmy is madly in love with Jenny, even though she still pines for the married man, the reason she escaped to London. Jenny convinces Jimmy they are "just friends" and he stops pursuing her. In Series 2, the tables are turned when Jimmy returns, having graduated school and now working as a municipal surveyor/architect. Jenny sees Jimmy as a grown man for the first time which instantly turns her head, but unfortunately she discovers that Jimmy is engaged to pregnant Francine, whom Jenny met at the prenatal clinic. Jimmy and Francine marry and have a baby, Caroline.

text: Dorothy Atkinson as Jane Sutton (Series 2)

text: Jane is the medical orderly at Nonnatus House. She arrives to fill in for Chummy while she's in Africa. Jane is very shy and does not talk unless it is necessary. We later find out the reason for her being shy – her parents sent her to an asylum when she was young, leaving her with no self-esteem. Throughout the series, she grows in confidence and makes friends with her fellow nurses. She also finds love with Reverend Applebee-Thornton (Jason Watkins), a local Anglican priest. She does not return for Series 3, with a deleted scene from the 2013 Christmas special explaining that she has gone to nursing school.

text: Leo Staar as Alec Jesmond (Series 2–3)

text: Alec is a friend of Jimmy's who develops romantic feelings for Jenny. They eventually start dating after a long period in which Jenny continues to mourn her loss of Jimmy, but who encourages her to enjoy life and Alec. Alec and Jenny eventually date, but Jenny's abundant caution about affairs of the heart lead to a misunderstanding and argument. Castigating his co-worker in anger, Alec falls through an old staircase in the building they are renovating. In the hospital, his foot is amputated and he seems to be recovering. He later dies, thought to be because of a blood clot in his wounded leg, and his funeral is attended by a distraught Jenny and the other midwives and the nuns.

text: Cheryl Campbell as Lady Browne, Chummy's mother (Series 1, Series 3)

text: Lady Browne is Chummy's upper-class, snobby mother. She formerly lived in Madeira before she separated from Chummy's father. When she moved to Poplar she was diagnosed with TB and Cancer. In series 1 she was featured in the series finale before Chummy and Peter's wedding. She moved to Poplar in 1959 and was diagnosed with TB and cancer by Dr. Turner. She died peacefully in Chummy and Peter's bed in the series 3 finale.

text: Maxine Evans as Mrs. Busby, Delia's mother (Series 4–5)

text: Mrs. Busby is the mother of Delia Busby. Her first appearance was when Delia was in hospital with was the series finale of series 4, she was also seen in 1960 Christmas special, series 5, episode 1 and the series finale of series 5. She is still not happy that Delia has decided to stay in Poplar at the convent. She also seems not to accept her decision to become a midwife and doesn't really like Patsy. It is clear that, by the end of series 5, she is aware of Delia's and Patsy's sexual relationship and does not approve.


document_title: United States presidential line of succession

question_text: who takes over as vice president if the president dies

root

text: Current order[edit]

text: The current presidential order of succession is as follows:[4]

tag: p

text:
Key
Eligible Democrat (D)

Eligible Republican (R)

Eligible Independent (I)

Eligible unknown

Not eligible

tag: table

text:
No.
Office
Current officer

1
Vice President
Mike Pence (R)

2
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Paul Ryan (R)

3
President pro tempore of the Senate
Orrin Hatch (R)

4
Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson (R)

5
Secretary of the Treasury
Steven Mnuchin (R)

6
Secretary of Defense
James Mattis (I)

7
Attorney General
Jeff Sessions (R)

8
Secretary of the Interior
Ryan Zinke (R)

9
Secretary of Agriculture
Sonny Perdue (R)

10
Secretary of Commerce
Wilbur Ross (R)

11
Secretary of Labor
Alex Acosta (R)

12
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Eric Hargan (R)[a]
Acting

13
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Ben Carson (R)

–
Secretary of Transportation
Elaine Chao (R)[b]

14
Secretary of Energy
Rick Perry (R)

15
Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos (R)

16
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
David Shulkin (I)

17
Secretary of Homeland Security
Elaine Duke (I)[a]
Acting

^ Jump up to: a b This listing assumes that acting officers whose prior appointment required Senate confirmation are eligible for the line of succession. See Acting officers below.
Jump up ^ Not a natural-born citizen (acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization) and thus ineligible for the Presidency.

text: Cabinet officers are in line according to the chronological order of their department's creation or the department of which their department is the successor (the Department of Defense being successor to the Department of War, and the Department of Health and Human Services being successor to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare).[a]

text: Eligibility[edit]

text: Eligibility requirements[edit]

text: To be eligible to serve as President, a person must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years of age, and a resident within the United States for at least 14 years. These eligibility requirements are specified both in the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, and in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19(e)).

text: Acting officers[edit]

text: Acting officers may be eligible. In 2009, the Continuity of Government Commission, a private non-partisan think tank, reported,

text: The language in the current Presidential Succession Act is less clear than that of the 1886 Act with respect to Senate confirmation. The 1886 Act refers to "such officers as shall have been appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate to the office therein named..." The current act merely refers to "officers appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." Read literally, this means that the current act allows for acting secretaries to be in the line of succession as long as they are confirmed by the Senate for a post (even for example, the second or third in command within a department). It is common for a second in command to become acting secretary when the secretary leaves office. Though there is some dispute over this provision, the language clearly permits acting secretaries to be placed in the line of succession. (We have spoken to acting secretaries who told us they had been placed in the line of succession.)[5]

text: Motivation for changes to the succession in 1945[edit]

text: Two months after succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Harry S. Truman proposed that the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate be granted priority in the line of succession over the Cabinet so as to ensure the President would not be able to appoint his successor to the Presidency.[6]

text: The Secretary of State and the other Cabinet officials are appointed by the President, while the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate are elected officials. The Speaker is chosen by the U.S. House of Representatives, and every Speaker has been a member of that body for the duration of their term as Speaker, though this is not technically a requirement; the President pro tempore is chosen by the U.S. Senate and customarily the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service fills this position. The Congress approved this change and inserted the Speaker and President pro tempore in line, ahead of the members of the Cabinet in the order in which their positions were established.

text: In his speech supporting the changes, Truman noted that the House of Representatives is more likely to be in political agreement with the President and Vice President than the Senate. The succession of a Republican to a Democratic Presidency would further complicate an already unstable political situation. However, when the changes to the succession were signed into law, they placed Republican House Speaker Joseph W. Martin first in the line of succession after the Vice President.[7]

text: Some of Truman's critics said that his ordering of the Speaker before the President pro tempore was motivated by his dislike of the then-current holder of the latter rank, Senator Kenneth McKellar.[8] Further motivation may have been provided by Truman's preference for House Speaker Sam Rayburn to be next in the line of succession, rather than Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.[7]

text: Constitutional provisions[edit]

text: The line of succession is mentioned in three places in the Constitution:

text:
Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 makes the Vice President first in the line of succession and allows the Congress to provide by law for cases in which neither the President nor Vice President can serve. The current such law governing succession is the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19).
Section 3 of the 20th Amendment provides that if the President-elect dies before his term begins, the Vice President-elect becomes President on Inauguration Day and serves for the full term to which the President-elect was elected. The section also provides that if, on Inauguration Day, a president has not been chosen or the President-elect does not qualify for the presidency, the Vice President-elect acts as president until a president is chosen or the President-elect qualifies. Finally, Section 3 allows the Congress to provide by law for cases in which neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect is eligible or available to serve.
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, clarified Article II, Section 1: that the Vice President is the direct successor of the President. He or she becomes President if the President dies, resigns or is removed from office. The amendment also provides for the situation where the President is temporarily disabled, such as if the President has a surgical procedure or becomes mentally unfit.
The amendment also provides for Vice Presidential succession, by requiring Vice Presidential vacancies to be filled by the President and confirmed by both houses of the Congress. Previously, whenever a Vice President had succeeded to the Presidency or had otherwise left the office empty (through death, resignation, or removal from office), the Vice Presidency remained vacant until the next Presidential and Vice Presidential terms began.

tag: ul

text: Acting President and President[edit]

text: Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution provides that:

text: In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President ... until the disability be removed, or a President elected.

text: This originally left open the question whether "the same" refers to "the said office" or only "the powers and duties of the said office." Some historians, including Edward Corwin[9] and John D. Feerick,[9] have argued that the framers' intention was that the Vice President would remain Vice President while executing the powers and duties of the Presidency; however, there is also much evidence to the contrary, the most compelling of which is Article I, section 3, of the Constitution itself, the relevant text of which reads:

text:
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse  [sic] their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

text: This text appears to answer the hypothetical question of whether the office or merely the powers of the Presidency devolved upon the Vice President on his succession. Thus, the 25th Amendment merely restates and reaffirms the validity of existing precedent, apart from adding new protocols for Presidential disability.[original research?] Not everyone agreed with this interpretation when it was first actually tested, and it was left to Vice President John Tyler, the first presidential successor in U.S. history, to establish the precedent that was respected in the absence of the 25th Amendment.

text: Upon the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841 and after a brief hesitation, Tyler took the position that he was the President and not merely acting President upon taking the presidential oath of office. However, some contempories—including John Quincy Adams,[9][10] Henry Clay[11] and other members of Congress[10][11] Whig party leaders[11] and even Tyler's own cabinet[10][11]—believed that he was only acting as President and did not have the office itself.

text: Nonetheless, Tyler adhered to his position, even returning, unopened, mail addressed to the "Acting President of the United States" sent by his detractors.[12] Tyler's view ultimately prevailed when the Senate voted to accept the title "President,"[11] and this precedent was followed thereafter. The question was finally resolved by Section 1 of the 25th Amendment, which specifies that "In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President." The Amendment does not specify whether officers other than the Vice President can become President rather than Acting President in the same set of circumstances. The Presidential Succession Act refers only to other officers acting as President rather than becoming President.

text: History of succession law set by Congress[edit]

text: Presidential Succession Act 1792[edit]

text:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Presidential Succession Act 1792

text: The Presidential Succession Act of 1792 was the first succession law passed by Congress. The act was contentious because the Federalists did not want the then Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, who had become the leader of the Democratic-Republicans, to follow the Vice President in the succession. There were also separation of powers concerns over including the Chief Justice of the United States in the line. The compromise they worked out established the President pro tempore of the Senate as next in line after the Vice President, followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

text: In either case, these officers were to "act as President of the United States until the disability be removed or a president be elected." The Act called for a special election to be held in November of the year in which dual vacancies occurred (unless the vacancies occurred after the first Wednesday in October, in which case the election would occur the following year; or unless the vacancies occurred within the last year of the presidential term, in which case the next election would take place as regularly scheduled). The people elected President and Vice President in such a special election would have served a full four-year term beginning on March 4 of the next year, but no such election ever took place.

text: Presidential Succession Act 1886[edit]

text:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Presidential Succession Act 1886

text: In 1881, after the death of President Garfield, and in 1885, after the death of Vice President Hendricks, there had been no President pro tempore in office, and as the new House of Representatives had yet to convene, no Speaker either,[13] leaving no one at all in the line of succession after the vice president. When Congress convened in December 1885, President Cleveland asked for a revision of the 1792 act, which was passed in 1886. Congress replaced the President pro tempore and Speaker with officers of the President's Cabinet with the Secretary of State first in line. In the first 100 years of the United States, six former Secretaries of State had gone on to be elected President, while only two congressional leaders had advanced to that office. As a result, changing the order of the line of succession seemed reasonable.[citation needed]

text: Presidential Succession Act 1947[edit]

text:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Presidential Succession Act 1947

text: The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, added the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore back in the line, but switched the two from the 1792 order. It remains the sequence used today[update]. Since the reorganization of the military in 1947 had merged the War Department (which governed the Army) with the Department of the Navy into the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense took the place in the order of succession previously held by the Secretary of War. The office of Secretary of the Navy, which had existed as a Cabinet-level position since 1798, had become subordinate to the Secretary of Defense in the military reorganization, and so was dropped from the line of succession in the 1947 Succession Act.

text: Postmaster General removed 1971[edit]

text: Until 1971, the Postmaster General, the head of the Post Office Department, was a member of the Cabinet, initially the last in the presidential line of succession before new officers were added. Once the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch, the Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the Cabinet and was thus removed from the line of succession.[14]

text: Secretary of Homeland Security added 2006[edit]

text: The United States Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002. On March 9, 2006, pursuant to the renewal of the Patriot Act as Pub.L. 109–177, the Secretary of Homeland Security was added to the line of succession. The order of Cabinet members in the line has always been the same as the order in which their respective departments were established. Despite custom, many in Congress had wanted the Secretary to be placed at number eight on the list – below the Attorney General, above the Secretary of the Interior, and in the position held by the Secretary of the Navy prior to the creation of the Secretary of Defense – because the Secretary, already in charge of disaster relief and security, would presumably be more prepared to take over the presidency than some of the other Cabinet secretaries.[citation needed] Despite this, the 2006 law explicitly specifies that the "Secretary of Homeland Security" follows the "Secretary of Veterans Affairs" in the succession, effectively at the end of the list.[15]

text: Successions beyond Vice President[edit]

text: While nine Vice Presidents have succeeded to the office upon the death or resignation of the President, and two Vice Presidents have temporarily served as acting President, no other officer has ever been called upon to act as President. On March 4, 1849, President Zachary Taylor's term began, but he declined to be sworn in on a Sunday, citing religious beliefs, and the Vice President was not sworn either. As the last President pro tempore of the Senate, David Rice Atchison was thought by some to be next in line after the Vice President, and his tombstone claims that he was US President for the day. However, Atchison took no oath of office to the presidency either, and his term as Senate President pro tempore had by then expired.[16][17]

text: In 1865, when Andrew Johnson assumed the Presidency on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the office of Vice President became vacant. At that time, the Senate President pro tempore was next in line to the presidency. In 1868, Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives and subjected to trial in the Senate, and if he had been convicted and thereby removed from office, Senate President pro tempore Benjamin Wade would have become acting President. This posed a conflict of interest, as Wade's "guilty" vote could have been decisive in removing Johnson from office and giving himself presidential powers and duties. (Johnson was acquitted by a one-vote margin.)

text: In his book The Shadow Presidents, which he published in 1979, Michael Medved describes a situation that arose prior to the 1916 election, when the First World War was raging in Europe. In view of the contemporary international turmoil, President Woodrow Wilson thought that if he lost the election it would be better for his opponent to begin his administration straight away, instead of waiting through the lame duck period, which at that time had a duration of almost four months. President Wilson and his aides formed a plan to exploit the rule of succession so that his rival Charles Evans Hughes could take over the Presidency as soon as the result of the election was clear. The plan was that Wilson would appoint Hughes to the post of Secretary of State. Wilson and his Vice President Thomas R. Marshall would then resign, and as the Secretary of State was at that time designated next in line of succession, Hughes would become President immediately. As it happened, President Wilson won re-election, so the plan was never put into action.[18]

text: Since the 25th Amendment's ratification, its Second Section, which addresses Vice Presidential succession as noted above, has been invoked twice.

text: During the 1973 Vice Presidential vacancy, House Speaker Carl Albert was first in line. As the Watergate scandal made President Nixon's removal or resignation possible, Albert would have become Acting President and—under Title 3, Section 19(c) of the U.S. Code—would have been able to "act as President until the expiration of the then current Presidential term" on January 20, 1977. Albert openly questioned whether it was appropriate for him, a Democrat, to assume the powers and duties of the presidency when there was a public mandate for the Presidency to be held by a Republican. Albert announced that should he need to assume the Presidential powers and duties, he would do so only as a caretaker. However, with the nomination and confirmation of Gerald Ford to the Vice Presidency, which marked the first time the Second Section of the Twenty-fifth Amendment was invoked, these series of events were never tested. Albert again became first-in-line during the first four months of Ford's Presidency, before the confirmation of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller,[citation needed] which marked the second time Section 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment was invoked.

text: In 1981, when President Ronald Reagan was shot, Vice President George H. W. Bush was traveling in Texas. Secretary of State Alexander Haig responded to a reporter's question regarding who was running the government by stating:

text: Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.[19]

text: A bitter dispute ensued over the meaning of Haig's remarks. Most people believed that Haig was referring to the line of succession and erroneously claimed to have temporary Presidential authority, due to his implied reference to the Constitution. Haig and his supporters, noting his familiarity with the line of succession from his time as White House Chief of Staff during Richard Nixon's resignation, said he only meant that he was the highest-ranking officer of the Executive branch on-site, managing things temporarily until the Vice President returned to Washington.[citation needed]

text: Constitutional concerns[edit]

text: Several constitutional law experts have raised questions as to the constitutionality of the provisions that the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate succeed to the presidency.[20] James Madison, one of the authors of the Constitution, raised similar constitutional questions about the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 in a 1792 letter to Edmund Pendleton.[21] Two of these issues can be summarized:

text:
The term "Officer" in the relevant clause of the Constitution is most plausibly interpreted to mean an "Officer of the United States", who must be a member of the Executive or Judicial Branch. The Speaker and the President pro tempore are not officers in this sense.
Under the principle of separation of powers, the Constitution specifically disallows legislative officials from also serving in the executive branch. For the Speaker or the Senate President pro tempore to become Acting President, they must resign their position, at which point they are no longer in the line of succession. This is seen by some to form a constitutional paradox. However, the current Act specifies that the Speaker becomes President "upon his resignation as Speaker" and as a member of Congress,[22] allowing for a seamless transition.

text: In 2003 the Continuity of Government Commission suggested that the current law has "at least seven significant issues ... that warrant attention", specifically:[23]

text:
The reality that all figures in the current line of succession work and reside in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. In the event of a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, it is possible that everyone on the list would be killed or incapacitated.
Doubt (such as those expressed above by James Madison) that congressional leaders are eligible to act as President.
A concern about the wisdom of including the President pro tempore in the line of succession as the "largely honorific post traditionally held by the longest-serving Senator of the majority party". For example, from January 20, 2001, to June 6, 2001, the President pro tempore was then-98-year-old Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
A concern that the current line of succession can force the presidency to abruptly switch parties mid-term, as the President, Speaker, and the President pro tempore are not necessarily of the same party as each other.
A concern that the succession line is ordered by the dates of creation of the various executive departments, without regard to the skills or capacities of the persons serving as their Secretary.
The fact that, should a Cabinet member begin to act as President, the law allows the House to elect a new Speaker (or the Senate, a new President pro tempore), who could in effect remove the Cabinet member and assume the office themselves at any time.
The absence of a provision where a President is disabled and the vice presidency is vacant (for example, if an assassination attempt simultaneously wounded the President and killed the Vice President).

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