A Second Lady is a title sometimes used in reference to the wife of a vice president

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

 or a lieutenant governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

, styled relative to the title of First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

, the wife of a president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 or governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

. Although no country grants any legal power to second ladies, their duties often include the following:

• hosting during receptions at the vice presidential residence
• presiding over selected welfare institutions
• accompanying the spouse in official travels
• various ceremonial duties.

According to the United States State Department Office of Protocol

Chief of Protocol of the United States

The Chief of Protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the President of the United States, the vice president, and the secretary of state on matters of national and international diplomatic protocol...

, the term is considered an anachronism

Anachronism

An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...

.

Other usage

Monica Lewinsky

Monica Lewinsky

Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...

, who was involved in a relationship with President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, was jokingly referred to as the "Second Lady". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/294989.stm

See also

• Second Lady of the United States
  Second Lady of the United States
  Second lady of the United States is an informal title for the wife of the vice president of the United States, coined in contrast to the first lady ....
  
  
• First Lady
  First Lady
  First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
  
  
• First Lady of the United States
  First Lady of the United States
  First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
  
  
• The Second lady
  The Second Lady
  The Second lady is a political thriller by Irving Wallace. During a good-will visit to the Soviet Union, the American president's wife is kidnapped and replaced with a Russian spy who is visibly indistinguishable from the first lady...
  
  - Novel by Irving Wallace