Father of the House
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- There is also the designation of Father of the House of Lords
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.
The term Mother of the House is also found, although the usage varies between countries. Sometimes, it is used simply as the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman. Sometimes, however, it is treated as a separate designation, and is given to the longest serving female legislator.
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[edit] United Kingdom
The longest continuously serving member of the House of Commons who is not a Minister of the Crown is traditionally known as Father of the House. If two or more MPs have equal lengths of service, then whoever was sworn in first is named Father.
In the House of Commons, the sole duty of the Father of the House is to assume the Speaker's chair and 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 "Father of the House", referring instead to the longest-serving non-Minister member of the House who is present (meaning that if the Father is absent, the next person in line presides).
The current Father of the House of Commons is Alan Williams, Labour MP for Swansea West, who was first elected in the 1964 general election. The member with the second longest period of continuous service is often referred to as the Uncle of the House, and is presently Sir Peter Tapsell, Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, who began his continuous service from the 1966 general election.
It should be noted that the Father of the House is not the sitting MP with the earliest date of first election; at the moment that is Sir Peter Tapsell, who was first elected in 1959, and is the only remaining 1950s MP, but lost his seat in 1964 and was out of Parliament until the following election. Similarly, Michael Foot, as the only remaining MP from the 1945 election between 1987 and 1992 was never Father of the House because he was out of Parliament between 1955 and a by-election in 1960.
There are no other MPs with continuous service since the 1960s which means that following the retirement or death of Williams and Tapsell, MPs with continuous service from the 1970 general election will become eligible to be Father of the House. The members with this length of service are presently: Kenneth Clarke, Sir Patrick Cormack, Sir Gerald Kaufman, Michael Meacher, Ian Paisley, John Prescott, Dennis Skinner and Gavin Strang.
[edit] Fathers of the House in the UK
[edit] Fathers of the House in Northern Ireland
- John Miller Andrews, Unionist (1929-1953)
- Cahir Healy, Nationalist (1953-1965)
- Basil Stanlake Brooke, Unionist (1965-1968)
- Sir Norman Stronge, Unionist (1968-1969)
- Terence O'Neill, Unionist (1969-1970)
- Brian Faulkner, Unionist (1970-1972)
[edit] Canada
The term "Father of the House" is not used in Canada. In Canada, the longest-serving member of the House of Commons who is not a cabinet minister is known as the Dean of the House, after the equivalent position in the American House of Representatives.
[edit] Australia
Main article: List of longest-serving members of the Australian House of Representatives.
In Australia, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, whether a Minister or not, is sometimes known as "Father of the House". Similarly, the longest-serving member of the Senate is sometimes known as "Father of the Senate", and the longer serving of the two fathers is sometimes called "Father of the Parliament".
As in Britain, these terms have no official status. However, unlike Britain:
- the term Father of the House applies only where there is one person whose service is unequivocally longer than any other, as determined by the date of swearing in. Where two or more members with equal length of service were sworn in on the same day, none of them is considered Father of the House. Only when all the other candidates have left parliament or died, would the remaining member be called Father.
- 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.
The term is being used less and less in Australia, as it is seen as a British usage, and is also objected to by women MPs as gender-biased.
The longest-serving member of the House of Representatives is Phillip Ruddock, who was first elected in 1973. The longest-serving member of the Senate is Senator John Watson, who was elected in 1978.
[edit] New Zealand
In New Zealand, the term Father- or Mother of the House is an unofficial title applied to the longest serving MP in the house, regardless of their position. In fact, the current Mother of the House in the New Zealand Parliament is the current Prime Minister, Helen Clark. Although Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen entered Parliament on the same day, the alphabetical order of swearing in means that Clark has served for slightly longer. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters entered parliament in 1978, three years before Clark, but was out of parliament between 1981 and 1984.
Until his retirement in April 2005, the Father of the House was the Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt, first elected in 1966.
In New Zealand's first elections of 1854, the Bay of Islands electorate was the first to declare the election of a successful candidate, the unopposed candidate Hugh Francis Carleton. In the subsequent General Assembly of 1854, Carleton liked to be known as the Father of the House.
[edit] 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 the house, regardless of their position. The current Father of the Dáil is the current Leas-Cheann Comhairle (Deputy Speaker), Séamus Pattison. He has been a TD since 1961 and intends to retire at the next general election. After the 2007 Irish general election the current leader of the opposition, Enda Kenny TD, will (if re-elected) become the Father of the Dail. Some former Fathers of the Dáil include:
- Éamon de Valera (1957–1959)
- Dr. James Ryan (1959–1965)
- Frank Aiken (1965–1973)
- Paddy Smith (1973–1977)
- Liam Cosgrave (1977–1981)
- Oliver J. Flanagan (1981–1987)
- Neil T. Blaney (1987–1995)
- Séamus Pattison (1995–present)
[edit] See also
- List of longest-serving members of the Australian House of Representatives
- Dean of the House (Canada)
- Dean of the House
- Baby of the House
- President pro tempore of the United States Senate
- Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives
