Father of the House

Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously-serving member, while in others it refers to the oldest member. Recently, the title 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[edit]

House of Commons[edit]

Kenneth Clarke, current Father of the UK House of Commons

The Father of the House is a title that is bestowed on the senior member of the House of Commons who has the longest continuous service.^[1]^[2] 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.^[3] Traditionally, however, the qualification used for the Father of the House are not entirely clear and may have included the oldest member, the member with the longest aggregate service, or the member who entered the House longest ago.^[2]

The only formal duty of the Father of the House is to preside over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons. However, 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; until 1971, the Clerk of the House of Commons presided over the election of the speaker. As the clerk is never a member, and therefore is not permitted to speak, he would silently stand and point at the Member who was to speak. However, this procedure broke down at the election of a new Speaker in 1971 and was changed upon the recommendation of a Select Committee.^[4]

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.^[5]^[6]^[3]

The first recorded usage of the title dates back to 1816 an engraved portrait of Whitshed Keene by Charles Picart, dated 1 February. Henry Campbell-Bannerman was simultaneously Father of the House and Prime Minister from May 1907 until soon before his death during April 1908.^[2] On 13 June 2017, Harriet Harman was dubbed "Mother of the House" by Prime Minister Theresa May, in recognition of her status as the longest-continuously-serving woman MP.^[7]

Name	Entered Parliament	Father (Standing Order No 1)	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 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 (1970–present)

Longest-serving member of the House of Lords[edit]

The title 'Father of the House' is not used in the House of Lords; the longest-serving member is recorded on the House website, though no duties or special distinctions are associated with the position^[8] As of 2018^[update], the longest-serving member is The Lord Denham (Conservative), who first took his seat on 13 December 1949^[9] (having succeeded his father in the peerage the previous year). The House of Lords Act 1999 repealed the automatic right of hereditary peers to be members of the House of Lords; Denham was one of those elected to continue as a member under section 2 of the Act.

As of 2018^[update], the longest-serving life peer is The Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench), who is also the longest-serving female member of the House. She first took her seat on 25 February 1970.^[10]

Australia[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Finland[edit]

Member	Born	Entered parliament	Became oldest member
Iisakki Hoikka	1840	1907	1907 – 1908
John Hedberg	1840	1908	1908 – 1909
Leo Mechelin	1839	1910	1910 – 1913
John Hedberg	1840	1908	1914
Axel Lille	1848	1916	1917
Rabbe Wrede	1851	1910	1917 – 1918
Wilhelmi Malmivaara	1854	1907	1919
Artur Wuorimaa	1854	1907	1920 – 1921
Waldemar Bergroth	1852	1917	1922 – 1926
Juho Torppa	1859	1907	1927 – 1929
Anders Forsberg	1864	1924	1929 – 1930
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud	1861	1907	1930 – 1931
K. J. Ståhlberg	1865	1908	1932
Matti Paasivuori	1866	1907	1933 – 1935
Miina Sillanpää	1866	1907	1936 – 1947
Akseli Brander	1876	1933	1948 – 1950
Väinö Tanner	1881	1907	1951 – 1953
Matti Lahtela	1881	1930	1954 – 1957
Väinö Tanner	1881	1907	1958 – 1961
Raino Hallberg	1890	1951	1962 – 1965
Kustaa Tiitu	1896	1945	1966 – 1969
Rafael Paasio	1903	1948	1970 – 1975
Evald Häggblom	1905	1966	1975, 1976
V. J. Sukselainen	1906	1948	1976 – 1978
Mikko Kaarna	1911	1960	1979 – 1982
Tuure Junnila	1910	1951	1983 – 1986
Johannes Virolainen	1914	1945	1987 – 1989
Tuure Junnila	1910	1951 (again 1990)	1990
Maunu Kohijoki	1923	1987	1991 – 1994
Martti Tiuri	1925	1983	1995 – 2002
Kalevi Lamminen	1935	1987	2003 – 2006
Claes Andersson	1937	1987	2007 – 2008
Jacob Söderman^[11]	1938	1972	2008^[12]^[13] - 2010
Kauko Tuupainen	1940	2011	2011 – 2013
Jörn Donner	1933	1987 (again 2013)	2014
Pertti Salolainen	1940	1970	2015 – 2018
Erkki Tuomioja	1946	1970	2019 –

Germany[edit]

Starting with the Frankfurter Nationalversammlung (Frankfurt Parliament) of 1848, all German parliaments had a father of the House, usually called Alterspräsident (President by right of age); this tradition was continued into the Weimar Republic and, after being discontinued in Nazi Germany, was resumed by the present Parliament (Bundestag) in the Federal Republic, whose rules of procedure mandate that the father of the house presides over the Parliament (Bundestag) at the start of each legislative period.

In accordance with tradition, the Alterspräsident first ascertains himself that he is indeed the oldest member (since: 2017 longest sitting member) of the Bundestag by stating his date of birth (since 2017: the number of years, he or she has served in the Bundestag) and asking if anyone is present, who was born before this date (since 2017: who has served more years). If no older (longer-serving) 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 election of the President of the Bundestag, he then yields his power to the newly elected President of the Bundestag, who will in turn supervise the elections of the Vice Presidents of the Bundestag.

The rules of order of the Bundestag also state that the Alterspräsident shall act as President of the Bundestag at any given time during a legislative period, if the whole Presidium (i.e. the President and the Vice Presidents of the Bundestag) is altogether unable to perform its duties.

As the Alterspräsident's opening speech usually draws a certain amount of public attention, the position has recently attracted controversy, when the Party of Democratic Socialism (the succcesor of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany) obtained the position by including aged independents (Stefan Heym in 1994, Fred Gebhardt in 1998) in their party lists. In 2017, the Bundestag changed its rules of procedure to have the member with the longest service in the Bundestag serve as father of the house, rather than the oldest member.^[14]

Alterspräsidenten of the German Bundestag
Bundestag		Name	Term	Parliamentary party	Notes
1	1949–1953	Paul Löbe (1875–1967)	1949–1953	SPD	longtime Reichstagspräsident during the Weimar Republic
2	1953–1957	Marie Elisabeth Lüders (1878–1966)	1953–1957	FDP	stood in for Konrad Adenauer, the oldest member, who refused the position due to his position as Chancellor
3	1957–1961	Marie Elisabeth Lüders	1957–1961	FDP
4	1961–1965	Robert Pferdmenges (1880–1962)	1961–1962	CDU
4	1961–1965	Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967)	1963–1965	CDU	assumed the position after his resignation as Chancellor^{[citation needed]}
5	1965–1969	Konrad Adenauer	1965–1967	CDU	died in 1967
5	1965–1969	William Borm (1895–1987)	1967–1969	FDP
6	1969–1972	William Borm	1969–1972	FDP
7	1972–1976	Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977)	1972–1976	CDU
8	1976–1980	Ludwig Erhard	1976–1977	CDU	died in 1977
8	1976–1980	Johann Baptist Gradl (1904–1988)	1977–1980	CDU
9	1980–1983	Herbert Wehner (1906–1990)	1980–1983	SPD
10	1983–1987	Willy Brandt (1913–1992)	1983–1987	SPD	stood in for Egon Franke, who refused the position
11	1987–1990	Willy Brandt	1987–1990	SPD
12	1990–1994	Willy Brandt	1990–1992	SPD	died in 1992
12	1990–1994	Alfred Dregger (1920–2002)	1992–1994	CDU
13	1994–1998	Stefan Heym (1913–2001)	1994–1995	PDS	resigned his seat in 1995
13	1994–1998	Alfred Dregger	1995–1998	CDU
14	1998–2002	Fred Gebhardt (1928–2000)	1998–2000	PDS	died in 2000
14	1998–2002	Hans-Eberhard Urbaniak (born 1929)	2000–2002	SPD
15	2002–2005	Otto Schily (born 1932)	2002–2005	SPD
16	2005–2009	Otto Schily	2005–2009	SPD
17	2009–2013	Heinz Riesenhuber (born 1935)	2009–2013	CDU
18	2013–2017	Heinz Riesenhuber	2013–2017	CDU
19	2017–present	Hermann Otto Solms (born 1940 and member of parliament for 33 years, 1980–2013 and since 2017)		FDP	The first father of the house under the changed rules of procedure. Stood in for Wolfgang Schäuble (member of parliament for 45 years, since 1972), who was subsequently elected President of the Bundestag.

Hong Kong[edit]

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.

After the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong, James To became the de facto longest-serving member of the Legislative Council since 2016 after several members who had been served since the 1st Legislative Council retired.

Hungary[edit]

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.

	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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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 was the oldest-serving MP aged 82 years, 2 months until former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was reelected to the Dewan Rakyat at 93 years, 11 months of age.

New Zealand[edit]

In New Zealand, the term "Father of the House" (alternatively, "Mother of the House"), as an unofficial title, designates the longest-continuously-serving MP of the House of Representatives; the Father of the House has no official role in Parliament. Former Cabinet Minister Nick Smith became the longest-serving member in March 2018, having served continuously since the 1990 general election.^[15]

Norway[edit]

Norway doesn't have such a tradition. In most cases the Stortingspresident or a member of the presidium from the previous term are asked to lead the proceedings until a new President is elected.

Russia[edit]

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

Serbia[edit]

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[edit]

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;^[16] as of April 2015^[update], Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong is Father of the House, as the longest-serving MP (Marine Parade).^[16]

Sweden[edit]

In Sweden the Riksdagsordningen law states that the member of the Riksdag who has held their elected seat for the longest shall be the Ålderspresident, which translates to President by age; the Ålderspresident acts as speaker of the Riksdag after each election, before the Speaker of the Riksdag has been elected. The Ålderspresident also acts as speaker in case of hindrance on behalf of the Speaker and all three Deputy Speakers.

Members of the Riksdag who has held the position of Ålderspresident:

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) 2015–2018
Beatrice Ask (first elected 1994) 2018–present

United States[edit]

In the United States, the title "Father" of the House does not exist, but in the lower house, the House of Representatives the position known as Dean of the House is almost exactly the same position—that is, it is a largely ceremonial position bestowed on the member with the longest continuous service. Less similar is the position in the Senate (the upper house) known as President Pro Tempore, the holder of which gains the position through seniority, but who also must be a member of the party holding a majority in the Senate.

Since 2017, the Dean of the House has been Don Young, who was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 1973. Young is the first Alaskan to hold the position.