Dean of the United States House of Representatives
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The Dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest-serving (in consecutive terms) member of the United States House of Representatives. The present Dean is John Dingell, a Democrat of Michigan.
The only duty customarily associated with this position is to swear in a Speaker of the House when he or she is elected; unlike the Father of the House in the United Kingdom House of Commons, he or she does not preside over the election but comes forward on the floor to administer the oath to the Speaker-elect before the new Speaker then administers the oath to the other members.
Seniority having other privileges attached, the Dean is usually allotted some of the most desirable office space, and (though a party caucus occasionally deems otherwise) either the chairmanship of an influential committee (if a member of the majority party), or the position of ranking minority member of one.
It is unclear when the position first achieved concrete recognition, though the seniority system and increasing lengths of service emerged in the early 20th century. As late as 1924, Frederick H. Gillett was Dean, and also Speaker, before becoming a Senator; modern Deans move into their positions so late in their careers that a move to the Senate is highly unlikely.
The Deanship can change hands unexpectedly; in the 1952 election, Adolph J. Sabath became the first Representative elected to a 24th term, breaking the record of 23 terms first set by former Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon, whose service had been discontinuous whereas Sabath's was not. North Carolina's Robert L. Doughton had not contested that election, as he was retiring at the age of 89 years and two months (a House age record broken only in 1998 by Sidney R. Yates, though Claude Pepper, who died early in his final term in 1989, holds the record for oldest winner of a House election). However, Sabath died before the new term began, and Doughton was Dean for the old term's final months, before Speaker Sam Rayburn became Dean in the new Congress.
More recently, Texas Democrat Jack Brooks was defeated for reelection in the year he was expected to succeed Jamie L. Whitten as Dean.
The second-longest serving member of the house is John Conyers (D-Michigan), since 1965; the third is Dave Obey (D-Wisconsin), 1969.
[edit] List of Deans of the House
Years as Dean are followed by name, party, state, and start of service in Congress.
All the members of the First Congress had equal seniority (as defined for the purpose of this article), but Muhlenberg as the Speaker was the first member to be sworn in. Muhlenberg, Hartley and Thatcher were among the thirteen members who attended the initial meeting of the House on March 4, 1789.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries some state delegations to the House were often not elected until after the term had begun. To avoid confusion this fact is ignored in the list below.
March 1797 Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg Federalist Pennsylvania March 4, 1789
(also Speaker 1789-91 and 1793-95)
December 1815 Nathaniel Macon Democratic-Republican North Carolina March 4, 1791
(also Speaker 1801-1807)
February 1842 Lewis Williams National Republican; Whig; Democratic North Carolina March 4, 1815
March 1925 Frederick H. Gillett Republican Massachusetts March 4, 1893
(also Speaker for these years)
[edit] Comparison with similar offices
As noted above, the Dean of the U.S. House, unlike the Father of the House in the British House of Commons, does not preside over election of the Speaker of the House, but rather only swears him or her in.
The title of Dean is shared with that of the oldest member of the Canadian House of Commons. As in Britain, the Canadian Dean does preside over the election of the Speaker.
