Father of the House

Father of the House is a term that has been by tradition bestowed unofficially on certain members of some 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 member longest-serving. (Recently, the term 'Mother of the House' or Mother of Parliament has also been used, although the usage varies between countries; it is simply the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman).

United Kingdom

House of Commons

The Father of the House is a title that is bestowed by tradition on the senior member of the House of Commons who has the longest continuous 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 task 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 member longest-serving is absent or is a government minister, the next member longest-serving presides).

The current Father of the House of Commons is Kenneth Clarke, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe, who began his continuous service at the 1970 general election.

Dennis Skinner, Labour MP for Bolsover, also began continuous service at the 1970 general election, but was sworn in after Clarke. Should Clarke's service conclude before Skinner's, Skinner would be next to serve as Father of the House,^[3][4] however he has stated he would refuse.^[2]

The Father of the House is not necessarily the current member with the earliest date of first election. David Winnick was first elected in 1966, and was the last sitting member to have served during the 1960s, but he was defeated for re-election in 1970 and did not return to Parliament until 1979, serving until he lost his seat in 2017. 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 soon before his death (when he was still Father of the House) during April 1908.^[1]

Name	Entered Parliament	Became Father	Left House	Party		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 continuous from 1689	1718	1724		Whig	Carmarthen
Lord William Powlett	1689	1724	1729		Tory	Winchester (1689–1710), (1715–29) Lymington (1710–15)
Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet	1685 continuous from 1694	1729	1730		Tory	Northampton (1685–90), (1694–98) Northamptonshire (1698–30)
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	1695 continuous from 1701	1747	1748		Tory	Northamptonshire
Sir Richard Shuttleworth	1705	1748	1749		Tory	Lancashire
Phillips Gybbon	1707	1749	1762		Whig	Rye
Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet	1713	1762	1768		Tory	Malmesbury (1713–22) Evesham (1722–68)
William Aislabie	1721	1768	1781		Whig	Ripon
Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore	1733	1781	1782		Whig	Thetford (1733–54), (1774–82) Hereford (1754–68) Heytesbury (1768–74)
The Earl Nugent	1741	1782	1784		Tory	St Mawes (1741–54), (1774–84) Bristol (1754–74)
Sir Charles Frederick	1741	1784			Tory	New Shoreham (1741–54) Queenborough (1754–84)
The Lord Mendip	1741	1784	1790		Tory	Cricklade (1741–47) Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1747–61), (1774–90) Aylesbury (1761–68) Petersfield (1768–74), (1791–95)
William Drake	1746	1790	1796			Amersham
Sir Philip Stephens, 1st Baronet	1759	1796	1806		Tory	Liskeard (1759–68) Sandwich (1768–1801)
Clement Tudway	1761	1806	1815			Wells
Sir John Aubrey, 6th Baronet	1768	1815	1826		Tory	Wallingford (1768–74), (1780–84) Aylesbury (1774–1780) Buckinghamshire (1780–90) Clitheroe (1790–96) Aldeburgh (1796–1801) Steyning (1812–20) Horsham (1820–26)
Sir Samuel Smith	1788	1826	1832		Tory	St Germans (1788–90) Leicester (1790–1818) Midhurst (1818–20) Wendover (1820–32)
George Byng	1790	1832	1847		Whig	Middlesex
Charles Williams-Wynn	1797	1847	1850		Conservative	Old Sarum (1797–99) Montgomeryshire (1797–1850)
George Harcourt	1806	1850	1861		Whig	Lichfield (1806–31) Oxfordshire (1831–62)
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 (1835–85) Wolverhampton South (1885–1898)
Sir John Mowbray, 1st Baronet	1853	1898	1899		Conservative	Durham City (1853–85) Oxford University (1885–1899)
William Wither Beach	1857	1899	1901		Conservative	North Hampshire (1857–85) Andover (1885–1901)
Michael Hicks Beach	1864	1901	1906		Conservative	Gloucestershire East (1864–85) Bristol West (1885–1906)
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	East Devon (1870–85) Honiton (1885–1910)
Thomas Burt	1874	1910	1918		Lib-Lab	Morpeth
T. P. O'Connor	1880	1918	1929		Irish Nationalist	Galway Borough (1880–85) Liverpool Scotland (1885–1929)
David Lloyd George	1890	1929	1945		Liberal	Caernarvon Boroughs
The Earl Winterton	1904	1945	1951		Conservative	Horsham (1904–18), (1945–51) Horsham and Worthing (1918–45)
Sir Hugh O'Neill	1915	1951	1952		UUP	Mid Antrim (1915–22) Antrim (1922–50) North Antrim (1950–52)
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	Lambeth North (1929–31), (1934–50) Vauxhall (1950–79)
John Parker	1935	1979	1983		Labour	Romford (1935–45) Dagenham (1945–83)
James Callaghan	1945	1983	1987		Labour	Cardiff South (1945–50) Cardiff South East (1950–83) Cardiff South and Penarth (1983–87)
Sir Bernard Braine	1950	1987	1992		Conservative	Billericay (1950–55) South East Essex (1955–83) Castle Point (1983–92)
Sir Edward Heath	1950	1992	2001		Conservative	Bexley (1950–74) Sidcup (1974–83) Old Bexley and Sidcup (1983–2001)
Tam Dalyell	1962	2001	2005		Labour	West Lothian (1962–83) Linlithgow (1983–2005)
Alan Williams	1964	2005	2010		Labour	Swansea West
Sir Peter Tapsell	1959 continuous from 1966	2010	2015		Conservative	Nottingham West (1959–64) Horncastle (1966–83) East Lindsey (1983–97) Louth and Horncastle (1997–2015)
Sir Gerald Kaufman	1970	2015	2017		Labour	Manchester Ardwick (1970–83) Manchester Gorton (1983–2017)
Kenneth Clarke	1970	2017	incumbent		Conservative	Rushcliffe

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 during 1940 (having succeeded to the title during 1938 while still a minor) and actually first took his seat during October 1945. After the House of Lords Act 1999 repealed the automatic right of hereditary peers to be members of 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 as a member.

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 by the provisions of the 1999 Act.

Name	Entered House	Became Father	Left House	Party
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	Party
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	1973		UUP

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

Australia

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, use 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 do not have any 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 during 1990, has been the Father of the Senate.

Philip Ruddock, who was first elected during 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

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 United States House of Representatives.

Germany

Starting with the Frankfurter Nationalversammlung (Frankfurt Parliament) of 1848, all democratic German parliaments had a Father of the House, usually called Alterspräsident (President by right of age). This tradition has been continued to the present Parliament (Bundestag), whose rules of procedure mandate that the Alterspräsident will preside over the Parliament (Bundestag) at the start of each legislative period.

Obeying 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 supervises the elections of the President of the Bundestag and the Vicepresidents of the Bundestag (Bundestagsvizepräsidenten). He then yields his power to the newly elected Bundestagspräsident.

As the title of Father of the House usually draws a certain public attention and traditionally belongs by right to the oldest member of the Bundestag (regardless of their length of service), the Party of Democratic Socialism (the predecessor of Die Linke, which consistently placed fifth in Bundestag elections during the 1990s) twice nominated old independents (Stefan Heym during 1994, Fred Gebhardt during 1998) on their party lists in order to obtain this office (and thereby have the chance to give the opening speech). This was considered a manipulation of the system, and neither of the two PDS Alterspräsidenten actually served a complete term (Heym resigned in 1996, and Gebhardt died in 2000). During 2017, the President of the Bundestag suggested changing the practice in order to have the member with the longest (continuous) service in the Bundestag serve as Alterspräsident, rather than the oldest member, apparently in an effort to prevent the party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) from gaining the office much in the way that the PDS had during the 1990s.

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	1961–1965	Robert Pferdmenges	1961–1963	CDU/CSU
		Konrad Adenauer	1963–1965	CDU/CSU	resumed the office after his resignation as Chancellor
5th	1965–1969	Konrad Adenauer	1965–1967	CDU/CSU	died in 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
		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
		Alfred Dregger	1992–1994	CDU/CSU
13th	1994–1998	Stefan Heym	1994–1995	PDS	resigned his seat in 1995
		Alfred Dregger	1995–1998	CDU/CSU
14th	1998–2002	Fred Gebhardt	1998–2000	PDS	died in 2000
		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

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, there is no such term as "Father of the House". Instead, the longest-serving member was termed the Senior Unofficial Member and was the highest-ranking unofficial member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council until the title was abolished during 1995 and 1992 respectively.

Hungary

In Hungary, the term refers to the oldest member of the National Assembly (previously House of Representatives, the lower house). Before the open session, the senior chairperson 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.

Member		Party	Entered Parliament	Became oldest member	Left House
	Géza Malasits	MSZDP	1924	1945	1948 †
		MDP
	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 †
		Fidesz
	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 during 2015, it was Amir Peretz.

Ireland

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. The current Father is the former 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 during 1974, has been the longest serving MP in the Dewan Rakyat. He is also the current oldest serving MP aged 80 years, 4 months.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the term Father or Mother of the House, as an unofficial title, designates the longest-serving MP of the House of Representatives. The Father of the House has no official role in Parliament. Peter Dunne, the manager 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, electing 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 title during 2009 until Dag Terje Andersen was elected.

Russia

Traditionally when a new Russian parliament is formed the eldest deputy opens and manages 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

Member	Became oldest member
Iisakki Hoikka	1907, 1908
John Hedberg	1908, 1909, 1909 , 1913
Leo Mechelin	1910, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913
John Hedberg	1914
Axel Lille	1917
Rabbe Wrede	1917 , 1918, 1918
Wilhelmi Malmivaara	1919
Artur Wuorimaa	1920, 1921
Waldemar Bergroth	1918, 1922 – 1926
Juho Torppa	1927, 1928, 1929
Anders Forsberg	1929 , 1930
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud	1930, 1931
K. J. Ståhlberg	1932, 1932
Matti Paasivuori	1933, 1934, 1935, 1935
Miina Sillanpää	1936 – 1947
Akseli Brander	1948 – 1950
Väinö Tanner	1951 – 1953
Matti Lahtela	1954 – 1957
Väinö Tanner	1958 – 1961
Raino Hallberg	1962 – 1965
Kustaa Tiitu	1966 – 1969
Rafael Paasio	1970 – 1975
Evald Häggblom	1975 , 1976
V. J. Sukselainen	1976, 1977, 1978
Mikko Kaarna	1979 – 1982
Tuure Junnila	1983 – 1986
Johannes Virolainen	1987 – 1989
Tuure Junnila	1990
Maunu Kohijoki	1991 – 1994
Martti Tiuri	1995 – 2002
Kalevi Lamminen	2003 – 2006
Claes Andersson	2007 – 2008
Jacob Söderman[6]	2008[7]- 2009[8]-2010
Kauko Tuupainen	2011 – 2013
Jörn Donner	2014
Pertti Salolainen	2015 –

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.^[9] As of April 2015, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong is Father of the House, as the longest serving MP (from the district named Marine Parade).^[9]

See also

• Oldest Member (European Parliament)
• Baby of the House
• Dean of the House (Canada)
• Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Father of the Dáil
• List of longest-serving members of the Australian House of Representatives
• President pro tempore of the United States Senate

References

External links

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