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EXHIBIT 31(1)

                            CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
             RULE 13A-14(A) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
                             AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, John F. Welch certify that:

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of CNA Surety Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly 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 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)) and internal control over
   financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)
   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)  designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such
       internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our
       supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
       financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
       external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
       principles;

   c)  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 quarterly report based on such evaluation; and

   d)  disclosed in this quarterly 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 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: August 2, 2005                      /s/ John F. Welch
                                          --------------------------------------
                                          John F. Welch
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer

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