EXHIBIT 31.1

                CERTIFICATION OF REGISTRANT'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE
                     OFFICER REQUIRED BY RULE 13a-14(a)


I, Peter J. Murphy, certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Parlex
Corporation;

2.    Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
this report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.    The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible
for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a 15(e) and 15d 15(e)) for the registrant
and have:

            a.  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
      such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
      supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
      registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
      us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
      which this report is being prepared;

            b.  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
      controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
      about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
      of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
      evaluation; and

            c.  Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
      internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
      registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
      fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
      affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
      registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.    The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):

            a.  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
      design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
      which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
      ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
      information; and

            b.  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
      management or other employees who have a significant role in the
      registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: May 12, 2004                     /s/ Peter J. Murphy
                                       -----------------------
                                       Peter J. Murphy
                                       President & Chief Executive Officer


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