What is "father of the house"

Father \Fa"ther\ (f[aum]"[th][~e]r), n. [OE. fader, AS. f[ae]der; akin to OS. fadar, D. vader, OHG. fatar, G. vater, Icel. fa[eth]ir Sw. & Dan. fader, OIr. athir, L. pater, Gr. path`r, Skr. pitr, perh. fr. Skr. p[=a] protect. [root]75, 247. Cf. Papa, Paternal, Patriot, Potential, Pablum.]

1. One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a generator; a male parent.

   A wise son maketh a glad father.
   --Prov. x. 1.

2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or family; -- in the plural, fathers, ancestors.

   David slept with his fathers.
   --1 Kings ii. 10.

   Abraham, who is the father of us all.
   --Rom. iv. 16.

3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance, affetionate care, counsel, or protection.

   I was a father to the poor.
   --Job xxix. 16.

   He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house.
   --Gen. xiv. 8.

4. A respectful mode of address to an old man.

   And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him [Elisha], . . . and said, O my father, my father!
   --2 Kings xiii. 14.

5. A senator of ancient Rome.

6. A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a confessor (called also father confessor), or a priest; also, the eldest member of a profession, or of a legislative assembly, etc.

   Bless you, good father friar !
   --Shak.

7. One of the chief ecclesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.

8. One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any art, profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or teacher.

   The father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
   --Gen. iv. 21.

   Might be the father, Harry, to that thought.
   --Shak.

   The father of good news.
   --Shak.

9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first person in the Trinity. Our Father, which art in heaven. --Matt. vi. 9. Now had the almighty Father from above . . . Bent down his eye. --Milton. Adoptive father, one who adopts the child of another, treating it as his own. Apostolic father, Conscript fathers, etc. See under Apostolic, Conscript, etc. Father in God, a title given to bishops. Father of lies, the Devil. Father of the bar, the oldest practitioner at the bar. Fathers of the city, the aldermen. Father of the Faithful.

   1. Abraham.
      --Rom. iv.
      --Gal. iii. 6-9.

   2. Mohammed, or one of the sultans, his successors. Father of the house, the member of a legislative body who has had the longest continuous service. Most Reverend Father in God, a title given to archbishops and metropolitans, as to the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Natural father, the father of an illegitimate child. Putative father, one who is presumed to be the father of an illegitimate child; the supposed father. Spiritual father.

      1. A religious teacher or guide, esp. one instrumental in leading a soul to God.

      2. (R. C. Ch.) A priest who hears confession in the sacrament of penance.

         The Holy Father (R. C. Ch.), the pope.

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. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers to the longest-serving member. The term Mother of the House or Mother of Parliament is also found, although the usage varies between countries. It is used simply as the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman.

Father or Mother of the New Zealand Parliament, often called Father of the House, is an unofficial title applied to the longest continuously serving MP in the house, regardless of their position. The Father of the House has no official role in Parliament. The current Father of the House in the New Zealand Parliament is Peter Dunne, the leader of the United Future party, having served continuously since the 1984 general election.

In New Zealand's first election of , the electorate was the first to declare the election of a successful candidate, Hugh Carleton, who was returned unopposed. In the subsequent General Assembly of 1854, Carleton liked to be known as the Father of the House.