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 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.

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.^[2] The first recorded usage of the term dates to 1788, in an obituary of Thomas Noel.^[1] 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.^[1][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]

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]

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]

• 1993: Robert Dostál — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 1996: Zdeněk Jičínský — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 1998: Augustin Bubník — Civic Democratic Party
• 2002: Břetislav Petr [cz] — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2003: Zdeněk Jičínský — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2010: Karel Schwarzenberg — TOP 09
• 2021: Bohuslav Svoboda — Civic Democratic Party

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]

• 1996: Jaroslav Musial — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2000: Jaroslava Moserová — Civic Democratic Alliance
• 2004: Bedřich Moldan — Civic Democratic Party
• 2010: Jiří Dienstbier — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2011: Pavel Lebeda — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2014: František Čuba — Party of Civic Rights
• 2018: Jaroslav Malý — Czech Social Democratic Party
• 2020: Jaroslav Doubrava — Severočeši.cz
• 2022: Jan Pirk – TOP 09

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
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[25]	1938	1972	2008[26][27]-2010
Kauko Tuupainen	1940	2011	2011–2013
Jörn Donner	1933	1987 (again 2013)	2014
Pertti Salolainen	1940	1970	2015–2018
Erkki Tuomioja	1946	1970	2019–2022
Kimmo Kiljunen	1951	1995	2023–

Starting with the Frankfurter Nationalversammlung (Frankfurt Parliament) of 1848, and based on older regional traditions, basically all German nation-wide, state-level and lower parliaments had a father of the House at the start of each legislative period, usually called Alterspräsident (President by right of age). This elder statesman steps forward to break the tie among equal members, to open the proceedings and to arrange the very first self-organizing election without external help from e.g. parliament employees. Then, the elected president takes over.

This tradition was continued from the North German Confederation into the 1871 German Empire (also known as Weimar Republic after 1918) and, after being discontinued in Nazi Germany, was resumed in 1949 by the present Parliament (Bundestag) in the Federal Republic until it was discontinued again before the 2017 German federal election to prevent any member of the upcoming Alternative for Germany (AfD), or any other new party, as the position was changed to refer to the longest sitting member. Thus the meaning of Alter (age, literally oldness) was shifted from Lebensalter (age of life) to Dienstalter (age of service).

In accordance with tradition up to 2013, the Alterspräsident first ascertained himself that he was 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 was present he would formally declare that he indeed is the Alterspräsident and will start proceedings. Starting from 2017, the prospective Alterspräsident states the number of years served in the Bundestag and asks if anyone has served more years.

The Alterspräsident then greets the present members and delivers the first programmatic speech. After appointing members to write down notes, the identity, affiliation to parties or factions and number of members is checked. The largest faction usually is asked who they propose as candidate for president, and according to another tradition, this candidate is then elected without much controversy. After supervising the election of the President of the Bundestag the Alterspräsident immediately yields his power to the elected president who, after receiving congratulations, takes over. The newly elected president will in turn supervise the elections of the Vice Presidents who form the Presidium of the Bundestag that organizes parliament sessions. Usually, each recognized faction proposes a candidate that is elected without much controversy. Since 2017, none of over 40 AfD candidates has been elected as Bundestags-Vizepräsident, though, while some state parliaments have elected an AfD vice president. In addition, the factions appoint members for the Ältestenrat, the Council of Elders of the Bundestag, which organizes the parliament work behind the scenes.

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. With the number of vice presidents growing over time, this became unlikely.

As the Alterspräsident's opening speech usually draws a certain amount of public attention, the position has recently attracted controversy, when after German Reunification the Party of Democratic Socialism (the successor of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany which had ruled communist East Germany) obtained the position by including aged independents (writer Stefan Heym in 1994, Fred Gebhardt in 1998) in their party lists. In 2017, facing the new AfD, 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]

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
		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
		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
		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 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	CDU
13	1994–1998	Stefan Heym (1913–2001)	1994–1995	PDS	resigned his seat in 1995
		Alfred Dregger (1920–2002)	1995–1998	CDU
14	1998–2002	Fred Gebhardt (1928–2000)	1998–2000	PDS	died in 2000
		Hans-Eberhard Urbaniak (born 1929)	2000–2002	SPD
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	CDU
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

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 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 †
	Vince Vörös [hu]	FKGP	1990	1994	1994
	László Varga [hu]	KDNP	1994	1994	2003 †
		Fidesz
	János Horváth	Fidesz	1998	2003	2014
	Béla Turi-Kovács	Fidesz	1998	2014	2023 †
	János Fónagy	Fidesz	1998	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.

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. However, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who was elected in 1974, was the previous longest-serving MP in the Dewan Rakyat. He was also the oldest MP between 2008 and 2018 (then-age 81), when former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was reelected to the Dewan Rakyat at the age of 92. Both of them ended their long tenures in the Dewan Rakyat after being defeated in 2022 Malaysian general election.

Since 2022, Tan Kok Wai is now the "Father of the House", having served as MP continuously since 1986, firstly for Sungai Besi (1986–1995) and now Cheras (1995–present).

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 1996. The current Mother of the House is Judith Collins who has served continuously since 2002.^[30]

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		Party	Age when elected
1993	Georgy Lukava	Federal list		LDPR	68
1995	Grigory Galaziy	Federal list		NDR	73
1999	Yegor Ligachyov	Tomsk		CPRF	79
2003	Valentin Varennikov	Federal list		Rodina	79
2007	Zhores Alferov	Federal list		CPRF	77
2011	Vladimir Dolgikh	Federal list		United Russia	86
2016	Zhores Alferov	Federal list		CPRF	86
2021	Valentina Tereshkova	Federal list		United Russia	84

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
• 2020: Smilja Tišma — Independent
• 2022: Vladeta Janković — Independent
• 2024: Stojan Radenović — Independent

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] As of April 2015^[update], 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 Riksdagsordningen [sv] 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:

• 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 [sv] (first elected 1957) 1988–1994
• Ingvar Carlsson (first elected 1965) 1994–1996
• Börje Nilsson [sv] (first elected 1965) 1996–1998
• Jan Bergqvist [sv] (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 1988) 2018–2019
• Tuve Skånberg (first elected 1991) 2020–2022
• Carina Ohlsson (first elected 1998) 2022
• Karin Enström (first elected 1998) 2022
• Tomas Eneroth (first elected 1994) 2022–present

According to article 82 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the oldest deputy opens the first session of each new convocation of the Verkhovna Rada; he or she also reads aloud the oath. As the constitution was adopted in 1996, the rule was first applied to the opening of the third convocaton.^[32]

Convocation	Elected	Name		Party	Age when elected	Left Parliament
III	1998	Slava Stetsko		KUN	77	2003 †
IV	2002	Slava Stetsko		KUN	81
V	2006	Ivan Gerasymov		KPU	84	2008 †
VI	2007	Ivan Gerasymov		KPU	86
VII	2012	Yukhym Zvyahilsky		Party of Regions	79	2019
VIII	2014	Yukhym Zvyahilsky		Party of Regions	81
IX	2019	Yuliy Ioffe		OPZZh	78
				PZZhM

In the United States, the title "Father" of the House (although used for about a century starting in 1816)^[33] 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.

• 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
• Senior Marshal (Poland)

• Father of the House: House of Commons Background Paper, House of Commons Library, 2016