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 among countries; it is either the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman, or refers to the oldest or longest-serving woman without reference to male members.
See main article: Father of the House (United Kingdom).
The Father of the House is a title that is bestowed on the senior male 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 earlier, as listed in Hansard, is named as Father of the House.[3] Traditionally, however, the qualifications 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. The first recorded usage of the term dates to 1788, in an obituary of Thomas Noel. In 2017, Harriet Harman was described as "Mother of the House" by Prime Minister Theresa May, in recognition of her status as the longest-continuously serving woman MP.[4] During speeches at the re-opening of Parliament after the 2024 General Election, Diane Abbott was also described as the "Mother of the House" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and then Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak.[5]
The only formal duty of the Father of the House is to preside over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Father of the House may also participate in ceremonial events, and is the second member to be sworn in after the Speaker.[6]
Among the twentieth-century Fathers, there were several very prominent figures; four former Prime Ministers became Father of the House,[7] and a fifth, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, was simultaneously Father of the House and Prime Minister from 22 May 1907 until shortly before his death on 22 April 1908.[8]
In the Senedd of Wales, Father of the House is an official title bestowed on the longest-serving Member of the Senedd. The first to hold the title was Rod Richards, who was the first member to be sworn in following the first election to the legislature in 1999, while the current father is John Griffiths, who was also elected in 1999.[9] [10] [11] In the Scottish Parliament, both Father of the House and Mother of the House are used for the longest serving Members of the Scottish Parliament.[12] [13] The current mother is Christine Grahame while the current father is John Swinney, who were both first elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election.[14] [15] The Northern Ireland Assembly also grants the title of Father of the House to its longest serving male member.[16] [17] The current father is Alan Chambers.[18]
See main article: List of longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia.
The titles "Father of the House" and "Father of the Senate" are sometimes used to refer to the members of each chamber of the Parliament of Australia with the longest continuous service.[19] The current Father of the House is Bob Katter (MP since 1993) and the current Mother of the Senate is Penny Wong (senator since 2002).
According to House of Representatives Practice, the title Father of the House is a "completely informal designation" with "no functions attached to it".[20] The equivalent publication for the Senate, Odgers' Australian Senate Practice, describes the title Father of the Senate as "now seldom referred to or used". It also notes that "as no woman senator has ever been in this situation, it is not clear what the title would be in that circumstance".[21]
See 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 current Dean of the House is Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon, who was first elected to the Commons as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1984 and serving as the Dean of the House since 2008.
In the Chamber of Deputies, if previous President of the Chamber of Deputies or his deputies are not elected, the oldest MP serves as the Acting President presiding over the constitutive session, before new president is elected.[22]
In the Senate, if previous President of the Senate or his deputies are not elected for the next term, the oldest Senator serves as the Acting President presiding over the opening session gathered every two years, before election of the new president.[23]
See main article: Oldest Member (European Parliament). Until 2009, the oldest member of the European Parliament presided over the opening of a new session and the election of the President of the European Parliament.[24]
| Member | Born | Entered parliament | Became oldest member | - | 1840 | 1907–1908 | - | 1840 | 1908–1909 | - | 1839 | 1910–1913 | - | John Hedberg | 1840 | 1908 | 1914 | - | 1848 | 1917 | - | Rabbe Wrede | 1851 | 1917–1918 | - | 1854 | 1919 | - | 1854 | 1920–1921 | - | 1852 | 1922–1926 | - | 1859 | 1927–1929 | - | Anders Forsberg | 1864 | 1929–1930 | - | 1861 | 1930–1931 | - | 1865 | 1932 | - | 1866 | 1933–1935 | - | 1866 | 1936–1947 | - | 1876 | 1948–1950 | - | 1881 | 1951–1953 | - | Matti Lahtela | 1881 | 1954–1957 | - | Väinö Tanner | 1881 | 1907 | 1958–1961 | - | Raino Hallberg | 1890 | 1962–1965 | - | 1896 | 1966–1969 | - | 1903 | 1970–1975 | - | Evald Häggblom | 1905 | 1975, 1976 | - | 1906 | 1976–1978 | - | Mikko Kaarna | 1911 | 1960 | 1979–1982 | - | 1910 | 1983–1986 | - | 1914 | 1987–1989 | - | Tuure Junnila | 1910 | 1951 (again 1990) | 1990 | - | Maunu Kohijoki | 1923 | 1991–1994 | - | Martti Tiuri | 1925 | 1995–2002 | - | Kalevi Lamminen | 1935 | 2003–2006 | - | 1937 | 2007–2008 | - | Jacob Söderman[25] | 1938 | 2008[26] [27] -2010 | - | 1940 | 2011–2013 | - | 1933 | 1987 (again 2013) | 2014 | - | 1940 | 2015–2018 | - | 1946 | 2019–2022 | - | 1951 | 2023– |
|---|
See main article: President by right of age of the Bundestag. 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 of the Bundestag by stating his date of birth and asking if anyone is present who was born before this date. If no older member of the Bundestag is present he will formally declare that he indeed is the Alterspräsident and will start proceedings. (In 2017, as explained below, the position was changed to refer to the longest sitting member. Prospective Alterspräsident state the number of years served in the Bundestag and asks if anyone has served more years.)
The Alterspräsident then delivers the first programmatic speech and supervises the election of the President of the Bundestag, to whom he then immediately yields his power. The newly elected president 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 preside over sessions 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 Alterspräsidents opening speech usually draws a certain amount of public attention, the position has recently attracted controversy, when the Party of Democratic Socialism (the successor 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.[28]
| Bundestag | Name | Term | Parliamentary party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1949–1953 | Paul Löbe (1875–1967) | 1949–1953 | longtime Reichstagspräsident during the Weimar Republic | |
| 2 | 1953–1957 | Marie Elisabeth Lüders (1878–1966) | 1953–1957 | 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 | |
| Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) | 1963–1965 | CDU | assumed the position after his resignation as Chancellor | ||
| 5 | 1965–1969 | Konrad Adenauer | 1965–1967 | CDU | died in 1967 |
| William Borm (1895–1987) | 1967–1969 | ||||
| 6 | 1969–1972 | William Borm | 1969–1972 | FDP | |
| 7 | 1972–1976 | Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977) | 1972–1976 | ||
| 8 | 1976–1980 | Ludwig Erhard | 1976–1977 | CDU | died in 1977 |
| Johann Baptist Gradl (1904–1988) | 1977–1980 | CDU | |||
| 9 | 1980–1983 | Herbert Wehner (1906–1990) | 1980–1983 | ||
| 10 | 1983–1987 | Willy Brandt (1913–1992) | 1983–1987 | SPD | stood in for Egon Franke, who refused the position because of criminal investigations conducted against him at the beginning of the legislative period |
| 11 | 1987–1990 | Willy Brandt | 1987–1990 | SPD | |
| 12 | 1990–1994 | Willy Brandt | 1990–1992 | SPD | died in 1992 |
| Alfred Dregger (1920–2002) | 1992–1994 | ||||
| 13 | 1994–1998 | Stefan Heym (1913–2001) | 1994–1995 | resigned his seat in 1995 | |
| Alfred Dregger (1920–2002) | 1995–1998 | ||||
| 14 | 1998–2002 | Fred Gebhardt (1928–2000) | 1998–2000 | died in 2000 | |
| Hans-Eberhard Urbaniak (born 1929) | 2000–2002 | ||||
| 15 | 2002–2005 | Otto Schily (born 1932) | 2002–2005 | SPD | |
| 16 | 2005–2009 | 2005–2009 | SPD | ||
| 17 | 2009–2013 | Heinz Riesenhuber (born 1935) | 2009–2013 | ||
| 18 | 2013–2017 | 2013–2017 | CDU | ||
| 19 | 2017–2021 | Hermann Otto Solms (born 1940, member of parliament for 33 years, 1980–2013 and 2017–2021) | 2017–2021 | 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 nominated (and subsequently elected) President of the Bundestag, so that he would not have to preside over his own election. |
| 20 | since 2021 | Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–2023, member of parliament 1972–2023) | 2021–2023 | CDU | |
| Peter Ramsauer (born 1954, member of parliament since 1990) | since 2023 | CSU | |||
See main article: Senior Unofficial Member. 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 in 1995 and 1992 respectively.
After the handover of Hong Kong, the member of the Legislative Council with the highest order of precedence, determined according to the length of continuous service in the council, was tasked with presiding over the election of President of the council, until 2017.
In Hungary, the term Hungarian: országgyűlés korelnöke (President by the age) 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.
It is also worth mentioning that József Madarász who was Father of the House from 1892 to his death in 1915 at the age of 100, was also member of the Parliament from 1848 (whenever it was convened) and prior to that he was emissary of the Hungarian Diet, the predecessor of Parliament in Hungary, from 1832. Thus making him the longest serving member of Parliament in Hungary at a record of 82 years.
| 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 † | ||
| FKGP | 1990 | 1994 | 1994 | |||
| KDNP | 1994 | 1994 | 2003 † | |||
| Fidesz | ||||||
| János Horváth | Fidesz | 1998 | 2003 | 2014 | ||
| Béla Turi-Kovács | Fidesz | 1998 | 2014 | 2023 † | ||
In the beginning of some Knessets, the oldest member assumes temporary duties of the speaker before the election of a permanent speaker, In the past it was the oldest member of Knesset, now it is the longest-serving member. The oldest member of the 24th Knesset is Benny Begin.
See main article: Father of the Dáil. In Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the longest-serving Teachta Dála (TD) in Dáil Éireann. The current Fathers of the Dáil are Richard Bruton and Willie O'Dea having both been first elected to the Dáil in the February 1982 general election. On a number of occasions, two or more people have shared the position of Father of the Dáil.
In Luxembourg, the longest-serving member of the Chamber of Deputies, per the Chamber's regulations, serves as President of the Chamber during the first session of a legislature, until a President is formally elected. They are assisted in this task by the two youngest members.[29]
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 until former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was reelected to the Dewan Rakyat at the age of 92, and now he is of age. Both of them ended their long serving in the Dewan Rakyat after being defeated in 2022 Malaysian general election. As of 2022, Muhyiddin Yassin took in place as he served from 1978 to 1986 and continued from 1995 until now.
See main article: Father of the House (New Zealand).
In New Zealand, the terms "Father of the House" and "Mother of the House", as unofficial titles, designate the longest-continuously serving male or female MP of the House of Representatives, respectively. The Father and Mother of the House have no official role in Parliament. The current Father of the House is Gerry Brownlee who has served continuously since . The current Mother of the House is Judith Collins who has served continuously since .[30]
See main article: Senior Marshal. Following a general election, the eldest member of each of the lower (Sejm) and upper (Senate) houses of the Polish parliament is given the honorary post of Senior Marshal until the new permanent leaders of the houses, the Marshal of the Sejm and the Marshal of the Senate, are elected in a vote by their respective members. This normally takes place as the first item on the agenda at the first session, over which the Senior Marshal presides. Most recently, the title of Senior Marshal was bestowed on Marek Sawicki, member of the X Sejm, and Michał Seweryński, senator of the XI Senate. Both assumed their roles on 13 November 2023, following the formation of the new parliament as a result of the 15 October general election.
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:
| Elected | Name | Constituency | < | -- Do NOT use colspan! It breaks sorting --> | Party | Age when elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal list | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
| Tomsk | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
| Federal list | ||||||
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.
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.[31], emeritus Senior Minister and former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong later became Father of the House, as the longest-serving MP (Marine Parade).[31] Upon Goh's retirement in 2020, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong is Father of the House having served since 1984.
In Sweden, the 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 since the abolition of bicameralism:
In the United States, the title "Father" of the House (although used for about a century starting in 1816)[32] 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 has since 1945 gained the position through seniority, but who also must be a member of the party holding a majority in the Senate.
Since March 2022, with the death of Don Young, the Dean of the House has been Hal Rogers, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980 and began serving in 1981.