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Longest serving continuous member of parliament

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 member of the House of Commons who has the longest continuous service. 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. 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 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. 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". 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".

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. As of September 2021, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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. as of 2015, emeritus Senior Minister and former pm Goh Chok Tong later became Father of the House, as the longest serving MP (Marine Parade). 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.