Father of the House

Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers to the longest-serving member. The term Mother of the House or Mother of Parliament is also found, although the usage varies between countries. It is used simply as the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman.

United Kingdom

House of Commons

Sir Gerald Kaufman, current Father of the UK House of Commons

The Father of the House is a title that is by tradition bestowed on the senior member of the House of Commons who has the longest unbroken service.^[1] If two or more members have the same length of current uninterrupted service, then whoever was sworn in earliest, as listed in Hansard, is named as Father of the House.^[2]

In the House of Commons, the only conventional leadership required of the Father of the House is to preside over the election of a new Speaker whenever that office becomes vacant. The relevant Standing Order does not refer to this member by the title of "Father of the House", referring instead to the longest-serving member of the House present who is not a Minister of the Crown (meaning that if the longest-serving member is absent or is a government minister, the next person in line presides).

The current Father of the House of Commons is Sir Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton, who began his continuous service from the 1970 general election.

Kenneth Clarke, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe, and Dennis Skinner, Labour MP for Bolsover, also began continuous service at the 1970 general election, but were sworn in after Kaufman. Should Kaufman's service conclude, Clarke, then Skinner, would be next in line to serve as Father of the House.^[3]^[4]

The Father of the House is not necessarily the sitting member with the earliest date of first election: David Winnick was first elected in 1966, and is the last current member to have served in the 1960s, but he lost his seat in 1970 and did not return to Parliament until 1979. Michael Foot was the only remaining member from the 1945 election between 1987 and 1992, but was never Father of the House because he had been out of Parliament between 1955 and a 1960 by-election. Similarly, though Sir Winston Churchill was first elected in 1900, he did not become Father of the House until 1959, because he had lost his seat in 1922, and did not return to the Commons until 1924.

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was simultaneously Father of the House and Prime Minister from May 1907 until shortly before his death (when he was still Father of the House) in April 1908.^[1]

Name	Entered House	Became Father	Left House		Constituency
Sir John Fagg	1654	1701	1701		Steyning
Thomas Turgis	1659	1701	1704		Gatton
Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet	1661	1704	1704		Westmorland
Thomas Strangways	1673	1704	1713		Dorset
Sir Richard Onslow	1679	1713	1715	Whig	Guildford (1713–14) Surrey (1714–15)
Thomas Erle	1679	1715	1718	Whig	Wareham
Edward Vaughan	1679	1718	1718	Whig	Cardiganshire
Richard Vaughan	1685	1718	1724	Whig	Carmarthen
Lord William Powlett	1689	1724	1729	Tory	Winchester
Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet	1694	1729	1730	Tory	Northamptonshire
Sir Charles Turner, 1st Baronet, of Warham	1695	1730	1738	Tory	King's Lynn
Sir Roger Bradshaigh	1695	1738	1747	Tory	Wigan
Sir Edward Ashe	1695	1747	1747	Tory	Heytesbury
Sir Thomas Cartwright	1701	1747	1748	Tory	Northamptonshire
Sir Richard Shuttleworth	1705	1748	1749	Tory	Preston
Phillips Gybbon	1707	1749	1762	Whig	Rye
Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet	1713	1762	1768	Tory	Evesham
William Aislabie	1721	1768	1781	Whig	Ripon
Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore	1733	1781	1782	Whig	Thetford
The Earl Nugent	1741	1782	1784	Tory	St Mawes
Sir Charles Frederick	1741	1784	1784	Tory	Queenborough
The Lord Mendip	1741	1784	1790	Tory	Weymouth and Melcombe Regis
William Drake	1746	1790	1796		Amersham
Sir Philip Stephens, 1st Baronet	1759	1796	1806	Tory	Sandwich
Clement Tudway	1761	1806	1815		Wells
Sir John Aubrey, 6th Baronet	1768	1815	1826	Tory	Steyning (1812–20) Horsham (1820–26)
Sir Samuel Smith	1788	1826	1832	Tory	Wendover
George Byng	1790	1832	1847	Whig	Middlesex
Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn	1799	1847	1850	Conservative	Montgomeryshire
George Harcourt	1806	1850	1861	Whig	Oxfordshire
Sir Charles Burrell, 3rd Baronet	1806	1861	1862	Conservative	New Shoreham
Henry Cecil Lowther	1812	1862	1867	Conservative	Westmorland
Thomas Peers Williams	1820	1867	1868	Conservative	Marlow
Henry Lowry-Corry	1825	1868	1873	Conservative	Tyrone
George Weld-Forester	1828	1873	1874	Conservative	Wenlock
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot	1830	1874	1890	Liberal	Glamorganshire (1830–85) Mid Glamorganshire (1885–90)
Charles Pelham Villiers	1835	1890	1898	Liberal Unionist	Wolverhampton South
Sir John Mowbray, 1st Baronet	1853	1898	1899	Conservative	Oxford University
William Wither Beach	1857	1899	1901	Conservative	Andover
Michael Hicks Beach	1864	1901	1906	Conservative	Bristol West
George Finch	1867	1906	1907	Conservative	Rutland
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	1868	1907	1908	Liberal	Stirling Burghs
Sir John Kennaway, 3rd Baronet	1870	1908	1910	Conservative	Honiton
Thomas Burt	1874	1910	1918	Lib-Lab	Morpeth
T. P. O'Connor	1880	1918	1929	Irish Nationalist	Liverpool Scotland
David Lloyd George	1890	1929	1945	Liberal	Caernarvon Boroughs
The Earl Winterton	1904	1945	1951	Conservative	Horsham
Sir Hugh O'Neill	1915	1951	1952	UUP	North Antrim
David Grenfell	1922	1952	1959	Labour	Gower
Sir Winston Churchill	1900 continuous from 1924	1959	1964	Conservative	Oldham (1900–06) Manchester North West (1906–08) Dundee (1908–22) Epping (1924–45) Woodford (1945–64)
R. A. Butler	1929	1964	1965	Conservative	Saffron Walden
Sir Robin Turton	1929	1965	1974	Conservative	Thirsk and Malton
George Strauss	1929 continuous from 1934	1974	1979	Labour	Vauxhall
John Parker	1935	1979	1983	Labour	Dagenham
James Callaghan	1945	1983	1987	Labour	Cardiff South and Penarth
Sir Bernard Braine	1950	1987	1992	Conservative	Castle Point
Sir Edward Heath	1950	1992	2001	Conservative	Old Bexley and Sidcup
Tam Dalyell	1962	2001	2005	Labour	Linlithgow
Alan Williams	1964	2005	2010	Labour	Swansea West
Sir Peter Tapsell	1966	2010	2015	Conservative	Louth and Horncastle
Sir Gerald Kaufman	1970	2015	Incumbent	Labour	Manchester Gorton

House of Lords

The current Father of the House of Lords is Lord Carrington (Conservative), who became eligible to take his seat on his 21st birthday in 1940 (having succeeded to the title in 1938 while still a minor) and actually first took his seat in October 1945. After the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, Carrington (along with all former Leaders of the House who were hereditaries) was given a life peerage to enable him to continue to sit.

Should Carrington cease to be a Member of the House of Lords, Lord Denham (Conservative) who sat first on 13 December 1949, would become eligible to be Father of the House. He is a hereditary peer who was elected to remain in the House under the provisions of the 1999 Act.

The senior sitting life peer by date of creation is Baroness Masham of Ilton, who entered the House in 1970.

Name	Entered House	Became Father	Left House
The Earl of Mansfield	1840	?	1898	Conservative
The Lord Templemore	1842	1898	1906	Conservative
The Earl of Leicester	1844	1906	1909	Conservative
The Earl Nelson	1845	1909	1913	Conservative
The Earl of Ducie	1853	1913	1921	Liberal
The Earl of Coventry	1859	1921	1930	Conservative
Viscount Hereford^[5]	1864	1930	1930
The Marquess of Huntly	1869	1930	1937	Liberal
The Marquess of Ailsa	4 June 1872	1937	1938	Conservative
The Lord Grantley	24 May 1878	1938	1943	Conservative
Unclear		1943	????
The Lord Romilly	4 August 1920	1975?	1983	Conservative
The Lord Oranmore and Browne	26 July 1927	1983	1999	Conservative
The Earl Jellicoe	25 July 1939	1999	2007	Conservative
The Lord Carrington	9 October 1945	2007	Incumbent	Conservative

House of Commons of Northern Ireland (defunct)

Name	Entered House	Became Father	Left House
J. M. Andrews	1921	1949	1953	UUP
Cahir Healy	1925	1953	1965	Nationalist
The Viscount Brookeborough	1929	1965	1968	UUP
Sir Norman Stronge, Bt	1938	1968	1969	UUP
Terence O'Neill	1946	1969	1970	UUP
Brian Faulkner	1949	1970	1972	UUP

The Parliament of Northern Ireland, including the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, was prorogued in 1972 and abolished completely in 1973 leaving the title of Father of the House defunct.

Australia

Main articles: Father of the Australian Senate, Father of the Australian House of Representatives, Father of the Australian Parliament, and Members of the Australian Parliament who have served for at least 30 years

In Australia, the current member of the House of Representatives with the longest period of continuous service, whether a Minister or not, is known as "Father of the House". Similarly, the current member of the Senate with the longest period of continuous service is known as "Father of the Senate". The longer serving of the two Fathers is called "Father of the Parliament".

As in Britain, these terms have no official status. However, unlike Britain:

the term Father of the House/Senate applies where there is one member whose continuous service is unequivocally longer than any other, as determined by the date of election (House) or the date of the start of the term (Senate). Where two or more members have equal length of continuous service, more than any other members, they are considered joint Fathers of the House/Senate. Some state parliaments, however, follow the British convention of giving precedence by order of swearing into office.
the Father of the House and the Father of the Senate in Australia have no parliamentary role at all. The election of the presiding officers is conducted by the Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate respectively.

Since 6 February 2015, Senator Ian Macdonald, who was first appointed in 1990, has been the Father of the Senate.

Philip Ruddock, who was first elected in 1973, was the Father of the House of Representatives and Father of the Parliament from 1 September 1998 until his retirement on 9 May 2016. He was succeeded by Senator Ian Macdonald as father of the parliament and Kevin Andrews as father of the House.

Canada

Main article: Dean of the House (Canada)

The longest-serving member of the House of Commons who is not a cabinet minister is known as the Dean of the House, and presides over the election of the Speaker at the beginning of each Parliament. The same term is used for the equivalent position in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Germany

Starting with the Frankfurter Nationalversammlung (Frankfurt Parliament) of 1848, all democratic German parliaments had a Father (or Mother) of the House, usually called Alterspräsident (President by right of age).

Under the current constitution (Grundgesetz) of 1949, the Alterspräsident will preside over the Parliament (Bundestag) at the start of each legislative period.

Following tradition, the Alterspräsident will first ascertain himself that he is the oldest member of the Bundestag by stating his birth date and asking if anyone is present who was born before his date. If no older member of the Bundestag is present (which is usually the case) he will formally declare that he indeed is the Alterspräsident and will start proceedings.

As acting President of the Bundestag (Bundestagspräsident) he delivers the first programmatic speech and oversees the elections of the President of the Bundestag and the Vicepresidents of the Bundestag (Bundestagsvizepräsidenten). He then stands down and yields his power to the newly elected Bundestagspräsident.

As the position of Father of the House usually draws a certain public attention, the Party of Democratic Socialism twice nominated old independents (Stefan Heym in 1994, Fred Gebhardt in 1998) to obtain this office. None of them served a complete term (Heym resigned in 1996, Gebhardt died in 2000). This was considered a manipulation.

Alterspräsidenten (Fathers of the House) of the German Bundestag
Bundestag		Name	Term	Parliamentary group	Notes
1st	1949–1953	Paul Löbe	1949–1953	SPD	longtime Reichstagspräsident during the Weimar Republic
2nd	1953–1957	Marie Elisabeth Lüders	1953–1957	FDP	stood in for Konrad Adenauer, the oldest member, who refused the office due to his position as Chancellor
3rd	1957–1961	Marie Elisabeth Lüders	1957–1961	FDP
4th	1961–1963	Robert Pferdmenges	1961–1963	CDU/CSU
4th	1961–1963	Konrad Adenauer	1963–1965	CDU/CSU	resumed the office after his resignation as Chancellor
5th	1965–1967	Konrad Adenauer	1965–1967	CDU/CSU	died in 1967
5th	1965–1967	William Borm	1967–1969	FDP
6th	1969–1972	William Borm	1969–1972	FDP
7th	1972–1976	Ludwig Erhard	1972–1976	CDU/CSU
8th	1976–1980	Ludwig Erhard	1976–1977	CDU/CSU	died in 1977
8th	1976–1980	Johann Baptist Gradl	1977–1980	CDU/CSU
9th	1980–1983	Herbert Wehner	1980–1983	SPD
10th	1983–1987	Willy Brandt	1983–1987	SPD	stood in for Egon Franke
11th	1987–1990	Willy Brandt	1987–1990	SPD
12th	1990–1994	Willy Brandt	1990–1992	SPD	died in 1992
12th	1990–1994	Alfred Dregger	1992–1994	CDU/CSU
13th	1994–1998	Stefan Heym	1994–1995	PDS	resigned his seat in 1995
13th	1994–1998	Alfred Dregger	1995–1998	CDU/CSU
14th	1998–2002	Fred Gebhardt	1998–2000	PDS	died in 2000
14th	1998–2002	Hans-Eberhard Urbaniak	2000–2002	SPD
15th	2002–2005	Otto Schily	2002–2005	SPD
16th	2005–2009	Otto Schily	2005–2009	SPD
17th	2009–2013	Heinz Riesenhuber	2009–2013	CDU/CSU
18th	2013–2017	Heinz Riesenhuber	since 2013	CDU/CSU

Hungary

In Hungary, term refers to the oldest member of the National Assembly (previously House of Representatives, the lower house). Before the open session, the senior chair and junior notaries review the mandates of all the elected MPs in addition to their own. He or she presides over the newly elected parliament until the appointment of the officials.

	Party	Entered Parliament	Became oldest member	Left House
Géza Malasits	MSZDP	1924	1945	1948 †
Géza Malasits	MDP	1924	1945	1948 †
Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám	FMDP	1947	1948	1949
Ferenc Harrer	Ind.	1949	1949	1969 †
Janka Stark	MSZMP	1958	1969	1975
László Pesta	MSZMP	1949	1975	1990
Kálmán Kéri	MDF	1990	1990	1994 †
Vince Vörös	FKGP	1990	1994	1994
László Varga	KDNP	1994	1994	2003 †
László Varga	Fidesz	1994	1994	2003 †
János Horváth	Fidesz	1998	2003	2014
Béla Turi-Kovács	Fidesz	1998	2014	Incumbent

Israel

In the beginning of each Knesset, before the election of a permanent speaker, there is a temporary speaker. In the past it was the oldest member of Knesset, now it is the longest-serving member. Michael Eitan is the most recent Knesset member to serve in this capacity, doing so from February 24 - March 30, 2010. In 2013 it was Benyamin Ben-Eliezer who had this position, and in 2015, it was Amir Peretz.

Ireland

Main article: Father of the Dáil

In the Republic of Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the longest-serving Teachta Dála (TD) in Dáil Éireann, regardless of their position. The current Father is the Taoiseach and Fine Gael party leader, Enda Kenny, TD, since the retirement of Séamus Pattison at the 2007 general election. On a number of occasions two or more people have shared the position of Father of the Dáil.

Malaysia

In Malaysia the term "Father of the House" is rarely used. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who was elected in 1974, has been the longest serving MP in the Dewan Rakyat. He is also the current oldest serving MP aged 79 years, 7 months.

New Zealand

Main article: Father of the House (New Zealand)

In New Zealand, the term Father or Mother of the House, as an unofficial title, designates the longest-serving MP in the House of Representatives, regardless of their position. The Father of the House has no official role in Parliament. Peter Dunne, the leader of the United Future party, holds the title in the New Zealand Parliament, having served continuously since the 1984 general election.

In New Zealand's first election of 1853, the Bay of Islands electorate became the first to declare the election of a successful candidate, returning Hugh Carleton unopposed. In the subsequent General Assembly of 1854, Carleton liked to be known as the "Father of the House".

Norway

In Norway it is the representative of the Storting with longest seniority that is temporary Stortingspresident (speaker). Per Kristian Foss had this position in 2009 until Dag Terje Andersen was elected.

Russia

Traditionally when a new Russian parliament is formed the eldest deputy opens and leads the first session until a chairman is elected. In the history of the post-Soviet Dumas these were:

1993 Georgy Lukava - Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
1995 Grigory Galaziy - Our Home – Russia
1999 Yegor Ligachev - Communist Party of the Russian Federation
2003 Valentin Varennikov - Rodina
2007 Zhores Alferov - Communist Party of the Russian Federation
2011 Vladimir Dolgikh - United Russia
2011 Zhores Alferov - Communist Party of the Russian Federation
2016 Zhores Alferov - Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Finland

Note: this is a list of longest-serving Finnish MPs; however, before the election of the Speaker, the Finnish Parliament is chaired by the oldest MP, not the longest-serving one.

Kyösti Kallio (first elected 1907) -1937
Kalle Lohi (first elected 1909) 1937-1945
Miina Sillanpää (first elected 1907, re-elected 1914, 1919 and 1936) 1945-1948
Jussi Tolonen (first elected 1914, re-elected 1919 and 1927) 1948-1951
John Österholm (first elected 1919) 1951-1960
Viljo Rantala (first elected 1922) 1960-1962
Karl-August Fagerholm (first elected 1930) 1962-1966
Eino Raunio (first elected 1939) 1966-1970
Hertta Kuusinen (first elected 1945) 1970-1972
Johannes Virolainen (first elected 1945) 1972-1983
Veikko Vennamo (first elected 1945, re-elected 1966) 1983-1987
Johannes Virolainen (re-elected 1987) 1987-1991
Henrik Westerlund (first elected 1966) 1991-1995
Pertti Salolainen (first elected 1970) 1995-1996
Håkan Malm (first elected 1975) 1996-1999
Paavo Väyrynen (first elected 1970, re-elected 1999) 1999
Esko-Juhani Tennilä (first elected 1975) 1999-2011
Ilkka Kanerva (first elected 1975) 2011-

Sweden

Tage Erlander (first elected 1932) 1971–1973
Torsten Nilsson (first elected 1941) 1973–1976
Henry Allard (first elected 1945) 1976–1979
Gunnar Sträng (first elected 1946) 1979–1985
Ingemund Bengtsson (first elected 1951) 1985–1988
Stig Alemyr (first elected 1957) 1988–1994
Ingvar Carlsson (first elected 1965) 1994–1996
Börje Nilsson (first elected 1965) 1996–1998
Jan Bergqvist (first elected 1969) 1998–2002
Anders Björck (first elected 1969) 2002–2003
Bo Lundgren (first elected 1976) 2003–2004
Lennart Nilsson (first elected 1976) 2004–2006
Per Westerberg (first elected 1979) 2006–2014
Göran Hägglund (first elected 1991) 2014–2015
Krister Örnfjäder (first elected 1993) 2015–present

Serbia

In the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the oldest MP serves as the Acting Speaker presiding over the constitutive session, before the Speaker is elected.

2001 Zaharije Trnavčević - Democratic Party
2004 Velimir Simonović - Democratic Party of Serbia
2007 Borka Vučić - Socialist Party of Serbia
2008 Jovan Krkobabić - Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
2012 Zaharije Trnavčević - Rich Serbia
2014 Milan Korać - Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
2016 Dragoljub Mićunović - Democratic Party

Singapore

Until his death on 23 March 2015, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was the longest serving Member of Parliament (Tanjong Pagar) and thus the Father of the House.^[6] As of April 2015, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong is Father of the House, as the longest serving MP (Marine Parade).^[6]

References

1 2 "The Father of the House" (PDF). Factsheet M3. London: House of Commons Information Office. March 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
↑ Moss, Stephen (2 May 2015). "Labour's Dennis Skinner at 83: 'Father of the House? You must be joking'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
↑ "Members Sworn". Hansard. Hansard Digitisation Project. 30 June 1970. Retrieved 2009-10-05. (Kaufman was the 351st member to take the oath in 1970, Clarke 365th.)
↑ "Members Sworn". Hansard. Hansard Digitisation Project. 1 July 1970. Retrieved 2009-12-01. (Meacher was the 540th member to take the oath, Skinner 579th.)
↑ "The Father of the House". London: The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
1 2 Singapore's Veteran MPs

External links

House of Commons Information Office PDF document on Fathers of the House

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