Father of the House (New Zealand)
Father or Mother of the House is an unofficial title applied to the longest-serving member of Parliament (MP) sitting in the New Zealand House of Representatives. In New Zealand, no duties or special distinctions are associated with the position. The position is usually determined by "continuous" service, not aggregate time in parliament. When more than one MP have served equally long periods, the title is assigned to whomever was sworn in first, a process which happens alphabetically by surname. The current Father of the House is Trevor Mallard, who is also the incumbent  Speaker. He has served continuously in the House of Representatives since 6 November 1993, and also served two earlier terms from 1984 to 1990. In New Zealand's first general 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. In March 2005 then Prime Minister Helen Clark became the first to be dubbed "Mother of the House". List of Fathers and Mother of the House. Key Table footnotes: Father of