In the United States, the first spouse is the term used to refer to the spouse of a chief executive—that is, of the spouse of the president of the United States (the first lady of the United States and the first gentleman of the United States) and the spouses of the governors of the 50 U.S. states and U.S. territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands) and the spouse of the mayor of the District of Columbia. (The spouses of many mayors are often called the "first lady" or "first gentleman" of the city as well, and the use of the terms sometimes extends even to the spouses of college presidents).