First Lady of North Korea

First Lady of North Korea
Incumbent Ri Sol Ju since 15 April 2018
Style	Respected First Lady
Residence	Ryongsong Residence, Pyongyang, North Korea
Inaugural holder	Kim Song-ae
Formation	17 December 1963

The first lady of North Korea is the wife of the supreme leader of North Korea and holds the official title of Respected First Lady (Korean: 존경하는 녀사). The inaugural holder of the title was Kim Song-ae, the second wife of the first supreme leader Kim Il Sung. The title was not used during the tenure of the second supreme leader Kim Jong Il, who had two estranged marriages and three domestic partners at different times. The title was revived by the third supreme leader Kim Jong Un, with his wife Ri Sol Ju being the second and incumbent holder.

History

As the wife of the first supreme leader Kim Il Sung, Kim Song-ae assumed the duties of first lady in 1963, eleven years after their marriage. The position was left vacant under the leadership of the second supreme leader Kim Jong Il, who married twice and had three domestic partnerships at different times.

The third supreme leader Kim Jong Un reestablished the position in April 2018 when Ri Sol Ju, whom he married in 2009, was elevated from the title of "comrade" to "Respected First Lady". The promotion occurred ahead of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit, where Ri and South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook were in attendance.

List

No.	Portrait	Name (birth – death)	Tenure	Age at tenure start	Husband (year married)
1		Kim Song-ae (1924–2014)	17 December 1963 – 15 August 1974	38 years, 353 days	Kim Il Sung (m. 1952)
2		Ri Sol Ju (b. 1989)	15 April 2018 – present	28 years, 158 days	Kim Jong Un (m. 2009)