From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Father of the Nation is a term used by many countries to describe a political or symbolic leader seen as a founding father of the nation. He may also be key figure from the nation's history whose perceived heroism and moral authority make him a source of patriotic inspiration and worthy of respect or veneration. His image is often elevated to that of a national symbol and is likely to be featured on items such as banknotes, stamps and national memorabilia. In some countries, a cult of personality may also be established about him.
The ancient Roman Senate conferred the term Pater Patriae (Latin for "father of the fatherland") upon its most venerated citizens. Most famously, Roman Emperors counted the title one among many bestowed upon (and/or adopted by) them. A "PP" on imperial coinage frequently stands for this title.
Not all "Fathers of the Nation" are retained, especially when historical research indicates they were not all they seemed. During his period of rule in the Soviet Union, for example, Joseph Stalin was promoted and seen by millions of Soviet citizens as a father figure and a father of the nation. The esteem in which he was held was such that a wave of suicides was recorded following the announcement of his death, suggesting that some citizens had sincerely come to believe that life without Stalin was unthinkable or unbearable. Within only a few years, however, the scale of his repression began to be made evident, leading to his denunciation by successor Nikita Khruschev and the removal of his body from the mausoleum where it had been laid alongside his predecessor (and founder of the Soviet Union) Vladimir Lenin.
Another example is Eamon de Valera, three times head of government in the Republic of Ireland. Many Irish people saw him as a "Father of the Nation", but a re-evaluation of his reputation since the 1980s has seen attention focus on other leaders such as Michael Collins.
"Father of the Nation" (Guófù, 國父) is the title officially given to Sun Yat-sen in the Republic of China on Taiwan. It also unofficially refers to Sun Yat-sen the People's Republic of China on mainland China.
The 2003 draft constitution of Afghanistan, drawn up under the presidency of Hamid Karzai, explicitly awarded the title "Father of the Nation" to the deposed King of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir Shah. This unusual step has been interpreted as an attempt to accommodate Afghans keen to restore a monarchy.
[edit] Some "Fathers of the Nation" (alphabetically by nation)
Image:Sun Yat-sen 2.jpg
| Nation | Name
|
| Afghanistan | Mohammed Zahir Shah
|
| Albania | Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (Skanderbeg)
|
| Algeria | Ahmed Ben Bella
|
| Antigua and Barbuda
| Sir Vere Cornwall Bird
|
| Argentina | José de San Martín
|
| Australia | Sir Edmund Barton
|
| Bahamas
| Sir Lynden Pindling
|
| Bangladesh | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
|
| Barbados | Errol Barrow
|
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,
Panama, Peru, Venezuela
| Simón Bolívar
|
| Botswana | Sir Seretse Khama
|
| Brazil | Pedro I, José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva
|
| Burma | U Aung San
|
| Burundi | Louis Rwagasore
|
| Cambodia | Norodom Sihanouk
|
| Canada | Sir John A. Macdonald
|
| Central African Republic
| Barthélemy Boganda
|
| Chile | Bernardo O'Higgins, José Miguel Carrera
|
| People's Republic of China
| Sun Yat-sen
|
| Republic of China
|
| Côte d'Ivoire | Félix Houphouët-Boigny
|
| Croatia | Ante Starčević, Franjo Tuđman
|
| Cuba | Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, José Martí
|
Czechoslovakia,
Czech Republic
| Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor,
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
|
| Dominican Republic
| Juan Pablo Duarte
|
| East Timor | Xanana Gusmão
|
| Egypt | Saad Zaghlul
|
| Ethiopia | Menelik I
|
| El Salvador | José Matías Delgado
|
| Fiji | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
|
| Finland | Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
|
| Gambia
| Sir Dawda Jawara
|
| Germany | Otto von Bismarck
|
| Ghana | Kwame Nkrumah
|
| Greece | Ioannis Kapodistrias
|
| Guinea | Ahmed Sékou Touré
|
| Haiti | Jean-Jacques Dessalines
|
| Honduras | Francisco Morazán
|
| Hungary | Lajos Kossuth
|
| Iceland | Jón Sigurðsson
|
| India | Mahatma Gandhi
|
| Indonesia | Sukarno
|
| Iran | Cyrus the Great
|
| Ireland | Michael Collins, Eamon de Valera
|
| Italy | Giuseppe Garibaldi
|
| Israel | Theodor Herzl
|
| Kenya | Jomo Kenyatta
|
| Laos | Prince Phetsarath
|
| Lesotho | Moshoeshoe I
|
| Malawi | Hastings Banda
|
| Malaysia | Tunku Abdul Rahman
|
| Malta | George Borg Olivier
|
| Mauritania | Moktar Ould Daddah
|
| Mauritius | Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
|
| Mexico | Miguel Hidalgo
|
| Mongolia | Genghis Khan
|
| Montenegro | Milo Djukanovic
|
| Morocco | Mohammad V
|
| Namibia | Sam Nujoma
|
| Netherlands | William the Silent
|
| Nigeria | Nnamdi Azikiwe
|
| North Korea | Kim Il-sung
|
| Pakistan | Muhammad Ali Jinnah
|
| Palestine
| Yasser Arafat
|
| Philippines | José P. Rizal
|
| Poland | Józef Piłsudski
|
| Portugal | Alfonso I of Portugal
|
| Russia | Vladimir Lenin
|
| St. Lucia | Sir John Compton
|
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines
| Sir James F. Mitchell
|
| Saudi Arabia | Ibn Saud
|
| Senegal | Léopold Sédar Senghor
|
| Serbia | Stephen Nemanya, Saint Abbas
|
| Sierra Leone | Sir Milton Margai
|
| Singapore | Lee Kuan Yew
|
| South Africa | Nelson Mandela
|
| South Korea | Kim Gu
|
| Soviet Union | Vladimir Lenin
|
| Sri Lanka | Don Stephen Senanayake
|
| Sudan | Ismail al-Azhari
|
| Sweden | Birger jarl,Gustav Wasa
|
| Tanzania | Julius K. Nyerere
|
| Tunisia | Habib Bourguiba
|
| Turkey | Kemal Atatürk
|
| Uganda | Milton Obote
|
| Ukraine | Kyi, Schek and Khoriv
|
| United Arab Emirates
| Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al Nahayan
|
| United States | George Washington
|
| Uruguay | José Gervasio Artigas
|
| Uzbekistan | Tamerlane
|
| Vietnam | Phan Boi Chau
|
| Western Sahara | El Ouali Mustafa Sayed
|
| Yugoslavia | Alexander Karađorđević
|
[edit] See also
nl:Vader des vaderlands
no:Landsfader
sv:Landsfader
zh:国父
