In the UK, Masons working in the justice system, such as judges and police officers, were from 1999 to 2009 required to disclose their membership. While a parliamentary inquiry found that there has been no evidence of wrongdoing, it was felt that any potential loyalties Masons might have, based on their vows to support fellow Masons, should be transparent to the public. The policy of requiring a declaration of masonic membership of applicants for judicial office (judges and magistrates) was ended in 2009 by Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who had initiated the requirement in the 1990s). The rescinding of the rule did not change the disclosure requirements for police officers.
What do the following people all have in common?
John Abbott Canadian Prime Minister
Emilio Aguinaldo President of the Philippines
Agustín I of Mexico, emperor of Mexico
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Astronaut.
José Eloy Alfaro Delgado - President of Ecuador
Salvador Allende Socialist president of Chile
James Anderson, Presbyterian minister best known for his influence on the early development of Freemasonry.
Raymond Apple, Chief Rabbi, Great Synagogue (Sydney), Australia
Constantin Argetoianu, Prime Minister of Romania
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk National hero and founder of the modern Republic of Turkey.
Mikhail Bakunin, Russian revolutionary
Diego Martínez Barrio, Prime minister of Spain
Frederic Bartholdi, Sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Edmund Barton, first Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia
Daniel Carter Beard, Founder of the Boy Scouts.
Gunning Bedford, Jr, Signer of the US Constitution
Edvard Beneš, President of Czechoslovakia
R.B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada
Simón Bolívar, Leader of South American independence
Andrés Bonifacio, Leader during Philippine Revolution
Omar Bongo, President of Gabon
Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada
Mackenzie Bowell, Prime Minister of Canada
William D. Boyce, founder of the Boy Scouts of America
Dimitrie Brătianu, Prime Minister of Romania
Anders Behring Breivik, arrested for 2011 Norway attacks
Sir Israel Brodie KBE, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain
James Buchanan, U.S. President
Plutarco Elías Calles, President of Mexico
George Canning, British politician and Prime Minister.
Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Prime Minister of Romania
Carol II King of Romania (1930–40)
José Miguel Carrera, Chilean General and President
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Émile Combes, French Prime Minister
Leroy Cooper, U.S. astronaut
Francesco Crispi, Prime Minister of Italy
Miron Cristea Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Aleister Crowley, English occultist
Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico
John George Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada
Jean Henri Dunant founder of the Red Cross
Edward VII, King of Great Britain
Edward VIII, King of Great Britain
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Gustave Eiffel, Designer and architect of the Eiffel Tower
Geoffrey Fisher, the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury
Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist and pharmacologist.
Dr. Walter Fleming, co-founder of the Shriners.
William J. Florence, co-founder of the Shriners.
Gerald Ford, President of the United States
Benjamin Franklin, American inventor and statesman.
James A. Garfield, U.S. President.
George IV, King of Great Britain
George VI, King of Great Britain
Ion Ghica, twice Prime Minister of Romania
Sir W S Gilbert, one half of 'Gilbert and Sullivan'
John H. Glenn, Jr., Astronaut and US Senator
Octavian Goga, Prime Minister of Romania (1937–38).
Alexandru G. Golescu, Prime Minister of Romania
E. Urner Goodman, co-founder of the Boy Scouts' Order of the Arrow
Virgil I. Grissom, American astronaut.
Warren G. Harding, U.S. President.
J. Edgar Hoover, First Director of the FBI
William Howley, the 90th Archbishop of Canterbury
Andrew Johnson, U.S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. President
Benito Juárez, President of Mexico
David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii
Mihail Kogălniceanu Prime Minister of Romania
Leopold I, King of Belgium
Pascal Lissouba, president of the Republic of the Congo
Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada
George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, Jacobite politician
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, Co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
William McKinley, U.S. President.
Sir Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia
James Monroe, U.S. President,
Mateja Nenadović, Serbian orthodox priest and politician
James Cash Penney Founder of J. C. Penney department stores
Peter I of Serbia
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, Prince-Bishop of Montenegro
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II
James K. Polk, U.S. President.
Manuel L. Quezon, First president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
George Reid, 4th Prime Minister of Australia
Cecil Rhodes, Prime Minister of the Cape Colony
Charles Riley, Anglican Archbishop
Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. President.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, U.S. President
Manuel Roxas, was the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta (1825–1903) Prime Minister of Spain
Harland Sanders, American businessman and founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken
Antonio López de Santa Anna, (Santa Ana) Mexican general and President
Richard Seddon, Longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand (1893–1906)
Joseph Smith, Jr., Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
Joseph Smith, Sr., Mormon leader
Dimitrie Sturdza, four-time Prime Minister of Romania
Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sullivan of 'Gilbert and Sullivan
William Howard Taft, U.S. President
Mehmed Talat, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
Harry S Truman, U.S. President
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod three-time Prime Minister of Romania
Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, Founder of the Belgian Liberal Party
Harry M. Warner, Film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros.
Jack L. Warner, Film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros.
Samuel L. Warner, Film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros.
George Washington General, Politician, and First President of the United States.
Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati
William IV, King of Great Britain
Steve Wozniak Co-founder of Apple Computers.
