Father of the Nation

File:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg

George Washington, commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, president of the Constitutional Convention, and the first president of the United States, is commonly considered the Father of the Nation in the United States

The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by the Senate on heroes, and later on emperors. In monarchies, the monarch is often considered the "father/mother of the nation" or as a patriarch to guide his family. This concept is expressed in the divine right of kings espoused in some monarchies, while in others it is codified into constitutional law.

In the United States, George Washington, commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, president of the Constitutional Convention, and the first president of the United States, is commonly considered the Father of the Nation. In Spain, the monarch is considered the personification and embodiment, the symbol of unity and permanence of the nation. In Thailand, the monarch is given the same recognition, and any person who expresses disrespect toward the reigning monarch faces severe criminal penalties.

Many dictators bestow titles upon themselves, which rarely survive the end of their regime. Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo's titles included "father of the nation", "older brother", and "Guide of the People". Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire from 1971 to 1997, was referred to as "Father of the nation", "the Guide", "the Messiah", "the Leopard", "the Sun-President", and "the Cock who Jumps on Anything That Moves". In postcolonial Africa, "father of the nation" was a title used by many leaders both to refer to their role in the independence movement as a source of legitimacy, and to use paternalist symbolism as a source of continued popularity. On Joseph Stalin's seventieth birthday in 1949, he was bestowed with the title "Father of Nations" for his establishment of "people's democracies" in countries occupied by the USSR after World War II.

The title "Father of the Nation" is sometimes politically contested. The 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh declared Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be "father of the nation". A motion in the Parliament of Slovakia to proclaim controversial pre-war leader Andrej Hlinka "father of the nation" barely failed in September 2007.

List

The following people are still often called the "Father" or "Mother" of their respective nations.

Name	Nation	Title (native)	Title (translation)	Notes
Ahmad Shah Durrani	Afghanistan	Ahmad Shāh Baba	Ahmad Shah the Father	Founder of the Afghan Durrani Empire
Mohammad Zahir Shah			Father of the Nation	Last and longest-reigning king of Afghanistan (1933–1973)
Ismail Kemal	Albania		Father of the Nation	Led the Albanian national movement against the Ottoman Empire
Ahmed Ben Bella	Algeria		Father of the Nation	First President of Algeria and first Prime Minister of Algeria
V. C. Bird	Antigua and Barbuda		Father of the Nation	First prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and founder of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.
Agostinho Neto	Angola		Father of the Nation	Leader of the MPLA during the Angolan War of Independence and the first President of Angola.
José de San Martín	Argentina Chile Template:Flagicon Peru		Father of the Fatherland / Founder of the Republic and Protector of Peru	Primary leader of the Argentine War of Independence and the Spanish American wars of independence in southern South America
María Remedios del Valle	Argentina		Mother of the Homeland	Important officer in the Argentine Army during the War of Independence, referred to as the "Mother of the Homeland" since her lifetime. In 1829, the Chamber of Representatives of the province of Buenos Aires named her "Mother of the Homeland" and granted her the position of sergeant major.
(Hayk)	Armenia	()	Head of the Family Patriarch	Legendary founder of the Armenian nation
Sir Henry Parkes, Template:Post-nominals	Australia		Father of Federation	Gave the Tenterfield Oration, which is believed to be pivotal in the process of the Federation of Australia.
Heydar Aliyev	Azerbaijan		Great Leader	3rd President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to his death in 2003, considered the founder of the modern Azerbaijani state.
Sir Lynden Pindling	The Bahamas		Father of the Nation	Leader at independence in 1973.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	Bangladesh	()	Friend of Bengal	Founding leader of Bangladesh. Leader during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Errol Barrow	Barbados		Father of Independence	The third and final premier of Barbados, serving from 1961 to 1966, who lead Barbados to independence from the British Empire in 1966. He became the first prime minister and served three terms (1966–76, 1986–87) dying in office of illness during his third.
Konstanty Kalinowski	Belarus	()	Creator of the Belarusian Nation	Used among other titles. Military and political leader during the January Uprising. Usage opposed by those who view Kalinowski's nationality as Polish, rather than Belarusian.
George Cadle Price	Belize		Father of the Nation	Former Chief Minister, Premier and two-term Prime Minister before retiring in 1997.
Simón Bolívar	Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Panama Peru Venezuela		The Liberator	Primary leader of the Spanish American wars of independence in northern South America.
Seretse Khama	Botswana		Father of Independence	Leader of the independence movement and first President of Botswana. Creator of democracy in Botswana
Dom Pedro I, Maria Leopoldina of Austria and José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva	Brazil		Father of the Nation and Patriarch of Independence	Founder and the first Emperor of Brazil (1822) during the independence of Brazil. Maria Leopoldina was the first Empress of Brazil. Bonifácio was the advisor of Pedro I.
Omar Ali Saifuddien III	Brunei		Architect of Modern Brunei. Builder of the Modern Nation and Father of Independence	28th Sultan of Brunei and First Minister of Defence (1914–1986).
Thomas Sankara	Burkina Faso		Father of The Nation and Hero of Burkina Faso	First president of Burkina Faso. Renamed the country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso and writer of the national anthem, Ditanyè.
Louis Rwagasore	Burundi		Father of Independence	Burundi independence movement leader, second and youngest Prime Minister of Burundi and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Burundi.
Asparuh	Bulgaria	(Kanasubigi)		Founder and first ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire.
Norodom Sihanouk	Cambodia	()	King Father	Secured independence from France.
John A. Macdonald and the other Fathers of Confederation	Canada	Fathers of Confederation	Father of Confederation	The 36 Canadian politicians who negotiated Canadian Confederation
Bernardo O'Higgins	Chile		Father of the fatherland	Principal leader of the Chilean War of Independence.
Sun Yat-sen	Republic of China	()	Father of the Nation	Sun played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution. The Nationalist government decreed the title in 1940. Sun is more widely known in the People's Republic of China as the "Forerunner of the Revolution".
José María Castro Madriz	Costa Rica		Founder of the Republic	First President of the Republic of Costa Rica.
Ante Starčević	Croatia		Father of the Homeland	His diverse activities and works laid the foundations for the modern Croatian state.
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes	Cuba		Father of the Fatherland	Leader of the first Cuban independence movement which fought the Ten Years' War.
Archbishop Makarios III	Cyprus	()	Ethnarch	First and longest President of Cyprus, leader of Greek Cypriot nationalist movement during Cypriot intercommunal violence
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor	Czech Republic		Father of the Homeland	King of Bohemia. Title coined by the rector of the Charles University of Prague at the emperor's funeral.
František Palacký			Father of the Nation	Politician and historian, influential in Czech National Revival movement. Whereas "homeland" included all inhabitants, "nation" comprised only Czech people.
Tomáš Masaryk		/	Father of the Fatherland / President Liberator	First President of Czechoslovakia, helped negotiate establishment of Czechoslovakia with the Allies of World War I.Template:Clarification needed
Juan Pablo Duarte	Dominican Republic		Father of the Fatherland	Foremost of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic and the key leader responsible for shaping the modern revolutionary ideology that opposed all foreign rule.
Presbyter, Dr. José Matías Delgado	El Salvador		Father of the fatherland	One of the founding fathers of El Salvador, and principal leader of the First Shout of Independence.
Ilia Chavchavadze	Template:Country data Georgia	() (Template:Not a typo)	The Crownless King / Father of the Nation
Members of the Parlamentarischer Rat	Germany		Fathers and mothers of the Basic Law	Drafted the Basic Law, the constitution of (then West) Germany
Kwame Nkrumah	Ghana	OsagyefoTemplate:Which lang	Father of the nation	First president and prime minister of Ghana during decolonization, the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve full independence.
Alexander the Great	Greece	()	Father of the Greeks	Founder of the Macedonian Empire responsible for spreading Greek culture during the Hellenistic period.
Cheddi Jagan	Guyana		Father of the Nation	President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint Louverture	Haiti		Father of the Fatherland	Primary leaders of the Haitian Revolution.
Dionisio de Herrera	Honduras			First Head of State of Honduras within the Federal Republic of Central America
Árpád	Hungary		Founder of the Homeland	Second Grand Prince of the Hungarians, leader of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian basin.
Mahatma Gandhi	India	(Rashtrapita) Bapu (Father)	Father of the Nation	Leader of the Indian independence movement from British Raj.
Soepomo Mohammad Yamin Sukarno Mohammad Hatta Sutan Sjahrir	Indonesia		Father(s) of the Nation The Proclamators Duumvirate	Main leaders of the Indonesian National Revolution, wrote and signed the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, as well as served as the first President and Vice President of Indonesia, respectively.
Cyrus the Great	Iran (Persia)	Shahanshah	King of Kings	The founder of the first Persian Empire
David Ben-Gurion	Israel	Israel's founding father	Father of the Nation	Formally proclaimed the establishment of Israel and served as its first prime minister
Theodor Herzl		(, Template:Lit)	Spiritual Father of the Jewish State	Father of modern political Zionism
Julius Caesar	Italy	Pater Patriae	Father of the Fatherland	Gave the Roman citizenship to all the inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula
Augustus		Pater Patriae	Father of the Fatherland	Gave administrative unity to the Italian Peninsula, by defining the regions of Roman Italy.
Template:Plainlist			Father of the Fatherland	Authors of Italian unification
Emperor Jimmu	Japan	()		Legendary first Emperor of Japan
Kerei Khan and Janibek Khan	Kazakhstan	()	Founders	Founders and first rulers of the Kazakh Khanate, who led the Kazakh War of Independence against the Uzbek Khanate and established the first independent Kazakh state.
Members of the Alash				Kazakh intellectuals who took part in the national liberation movement and formed the Alash Orda provisional government during the Russian Revolution.
Jomo Kenyatta	Kenya		Father of the Nation/Freedom Fighter	First President of Kenya from 1963 to his death in 1978 who helped create the Kenyan Constitution.
Ibrahim Rugova	Kosovo		Father of the Nation	First president of the First Republic of Kosovo. President of Serbian Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metochia under UN administration after the Kosovo War.
Muammar Gaddafi	Libya		Father of the Nation	Leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011. He styled himself as the Father of the Nation, in addition to using other titles. He was also styled as such by Libyan state media.
Jonas Basanavičius	Lithuania		Patriarch of the Nation	Various cultural activities during the Lithuanian National Revival.
Tunku Abdul Rahman	Malaysia	Template:Plainlist	Template:Plainlist	The first Prime Minister of Malaysia. A prince from the Kedah Sultanate, the Cambridge-educated Tunku led the negotiated independence of Federation of Malaya from the British Empire in 1957. Later formed Malaysia through the union of Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak in 1963.
Muhammad Fareed Didi	Maldives			Founder of modern Maldives and last sultan of Maldives.
Giorgio Borġ Olivier	Malta		Father of Independent Malta	First post-independence Prime Minister of Malta between 1950–1955 and 1962–1971.
Dom Mintoff		Template:Plainlist	Template:Plainlist	A Maltese statesman and leading politician. He twice served as Prime Minister of Malta (from 1955 to 1958, and from 1974 to 1984) as the Leader of the Labour Party, a position he held from 1949 to 1984. In 1974, with him as Prime Minister, Malta negotiated a series of constitutional reforms leading to the establishment of the Maltese Republic and the removal of the British monarch as head of state. In 1979, the last Royal Navy ships left Malta, marking the country's transformation into a fully independent nation. Mintoff is also credited with the establishment of the Maltese welfare state and the socialist-style nationalisation and collectivisation of various key industries.
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam	Mauritius		Father of the Nation	First post-independence Prime Minister, in 1968.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla	Mexico		Father of the Mexican Nation	First revolutionary leader in the Mexican War of Independence.
Genghis Khan	Mongolia	()	Father of the Mongols, Founding Father of Mongolia	After unifying the many nomadic tribes of northeastern Asian steppe peoples, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire and became the first Great Khan and Emperor. He eventually led a conquest of the majority of Eurasia, and his unified homeland would become Mongolia.
Mohammed V		Template:Plainlist	Father of the Moroccan Nation	King of Morocco during its independence in 1956, seen by most Moroccans as Father of the Nation.
Aung San	Myanmar	Template:Plainlist	Father of Nation, Father of Independence, Father of Tatmadaw (Burmese Army)	He was the founder of Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) and he was the 5th Prime Minister of Burma during the British Era from 1946 to 1947. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his goal was realized.
Sam Nujoma	Namibia		Founding Father of the Namibian Nation	Primary leader of SWAPO during the South African Border War and first President of Namibia, 1990–2005; title conferred by Act of Parliament in 2005.
Prithvi Narayan Shah	Nepal	(Template:Translit)	Father of the Nation	King of Nepal during the Unification of Nepal.
William the Silent	Netherlands		Father of the Fatherland	Leader of the successful Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Empire, which led to the Dutch Republic, the first independent Dutch state.
Diriangén	Nicaragua	Padre de la Patria Nicaragüense	Father of the Nicaraguan Fatherland	Native Nicaraguan tribal leader
Nnamdi Azikiwe	Nigeria		Father of Nigerian Nationalism	First president of Nigeria when it became a republic on 1 October 1963, and was the last governor general of Nigeria.
Krste Misirkov	Template:Country data North Macedonia	()	Father of the Nation	Prominent linguist, writer and activist.
Einar Gerhardsen	Norway		Father of the Nation	First post–World War II prime minister of Norway.
Kim Il Sung	North Korea	()	Eternal Leader	Founder of the North Korean state, progenitor of Juche, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea from 1949 to 1994.
Qaboos bin Said	Oman		Father of the Nation	Sultan from 1970 to 2020, transitioned the country to independence from Britain and promulgated the Basic Statute of Oman.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah	Pakistan	Baba-e-Qaum/Quaid-e-Azam	Father of the Nation/Great Leader	Led the Pakistan Movement and served as first governor-general of Pakistan.
Yasser Arafat	Template:Country data Palestine		The Father of Palestine	Led the Palestinian liberation movement and served as president of the State of Palestine from 1994 to 2004.
Sir Michael Somare	Papua New Guinea	Papa Blo Kantri (Tok Pisin)	Father of the Nation	Leader at independence in 1975; also known as "the chief" and "the old man".
Emilio Aguinaldo	Philippines		First President of the Philippines	Military Leader of the Philippine Revolution and the First President of the Philippines through the 1899 Malolos Congress, which oversaw the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution. His birthday, 22 March 1869, is celebrated as Emilio Aguinaldo Day.
Andrés Bonifacio			Father of the Revolution	Political Leader of the Philippine Revolution, which saw armed resistance against the Spanish Empire. His birthday, 30 November 1863, is a national holiday.
José Rizal			National Hero	Colloquially known as the "National Hero". Rizal's works and writings–which helped start the Philippine Revolution–are part of the national curriculum as mandated by Republic Act No. 1425. The anniversary of his 30 December 1896 execution by the Spanish colonial government is a national holiday.
Ignacy Daszyński, Roman Dmowski, Wojciech Korfanty, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Józef Piłsudski, Wincenty Witos	Poland	,	Fathers of Independence, Fathers of Reborn Poland	After World War I six fathers of independence jointly took advantage of the favorable conditions and led to the birth of the Second Polish Republic.
Mieszko I			Founder of the Polish state	Mieszko I united slavic tribes of Poland, baptized the country and became the first historical ruler of Poland.
Afonso I of Portugal	Portugal		Father of the Nation a.k.a. The Conqueror	Founder and first King of Portugal (1139), recognized by the Holy See in 1179.
Peter I of Russia	Russia	()	Father of the Fatherland	Was granted the title in 1721 by the Governing Senate, along with "Emperor of Russia" and "The Great".
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed	Western Sahara		Father of the Nation	Leader of the Polisario Front, First President of the SADR. Fought against Spanish colonial army & against the invasion of the Moroccan and Mauritanian armies in the Western Sahara conflict.
Sir John Compton	Saint Lucia		Father of the Nation	Prime Minister at independence in 1979. Also known as "Daddy Compton".
Saint Marinus	San Marino			Founder of a chapel and monastery in central Italy, in 301 (traditional date: 3 September). From this initial community the state of San Marino later grew.
Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	()/ ()	Father of the Nation/The Founder	Unified the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula and established the modern Saudi state. He descended from the noble House of Saud, the dynasty which had ruled most of Arabia in the 18th century. His son King Salman is the current head of state of Saudi Arabia. Five other older sons – Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd and Abdullah – served as former heads of state.
Donald Dewar	Scotland		Father of the Nation	The inaugural holder of the office of First Minister of Scotland following the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. He is known as the Father of the Nation for his role in overseeing the introduction of Scottish devolution.
Dobrica Ćosić	Serbia	()	Father of the Nation	Yugoslav and Serbian politician, writer, and political theorist.
Karađorđe and Miloš the Great		()	Father of the Nation	Leaders of the First and Second Serbian Uprising during the Serbian Revolution.
Saint Sava		()	Father of the Fatherland	Founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Lee Kuan Yew	Singapore		Father of Singapore	First Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for over 30 years. Leading figure throughout Singapore's time as a part of Malaysia and its later independence.
Primož Trubar and Janez Bleiweis	Slovenia		Father of the Nation	A consolidator of Slovene and the author of the first Slovene printed book (Trubar) and a politician, national awakener and promotor of the United Slovenia political program (Bleiweis).
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan	Somalia		Father of the fatherland	The emir of Dervish and Diiriye Guure.
Nelson Mandela	South Africa		Our Father	Primary leader of internal resistance to apartheid as chairman of the African National Congress, and first President of post-apartheid South Africa.
Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabella)	Spain		Catholic Monarchs of the Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon	The unifiers of Spain. They unified the territories of Castille, Aragon and Al-Andalus, all the territories of the Iberian Peninsula, except Portugal. During their reign America was discovered and started the Spanish Empire.
Don Stephen Senanayake	Sri Lanka	()	Father of the Nation	First Prime Minister, from 1947 to 1952.
Johan Ferrier	Suriname		Father of the Nation	First president after the independence of the country in 1975 (the term has its roots in the Netherlands).
Gustav I of Sweden	Sweden		Father of the Nation	Broke Sweden from Danish rule under Christian II.
Per Albin Hansson			Father of the Nation	Prime Minister 1932–1946 and founder of The People's Home.
Julius Nyerere	Tanzania		Father of the Nation	First President of Tanzania.
Henry Alcazar, Victor Bryan, Tubal Uriah Butler, Rudranath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Arthur Andrew Cipriani, Albert Gomes, Solomon Hochoy, A. P. T. James, Audrey Jeffers, Ranjit Kumar, Emmanuel Mzumbo Lazare, Chanka Maharaj, Bhadase Sagan Maraj, Quintin O'Connor, Michael Pocock, Adrian Cola Rienzi (Krishna Deonarine), Alfred Richards, Harold Robinson, Timothy Roodal, Lionel Seukeran, Ashford Sinanan, Mitra Sinanan, Sarran Teelucksingh, Louis de Verteuil, Gerald Wight, Eric Williams, Hugh Wooding	Trinidad and Tobago		Moulders of the Nation	They helped shape the country's future as an independent nation and laid the foundation of democracy.
Eric Williams			Father of the Nation	First and three-term Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1956 to his death in 1981, first Premier of Trinidad and Tobago from 1961 to 1966, second Chief Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1956 to 1961, founder of the People's National Movement (PNM) and was instrumental in writing the Trinidad and Tobago constitution and gaining the country independence and republicanism from British rule.
Habib Bourguiba	Tunisia	()	The Supreme Warrior	Father of the independence of Tunisia and first President of Tunisia. He led the Tunisian national movement against the French colonial empire. After Tunisian independence, he founded a modern state, built schools and hospitals and gave the Tunisian women rights that are still unique in the Arab World today.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	Turkey		Father of the Turks (always used as a last name and not a title proper)	Founder of the Republic of Turkey and first President of Turkey. He led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence, and enacted the reforms that made Turkey a democratic nation-state. Granted in accordance with the 1934 Surname Law establishing surnames in Turkey.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky	Ukraine		Father of the Nation	Leader of the Khmelnytsky Uprising against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and founder of the Cossack Hetmanate, the first independent Ukrainian state.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan	United Arab Emirates	()	Father of the Nation	President of the UAE for its first 33 years (1971–2004).
George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and other Signers and Framers	United States		Founding Fathers	The Signers signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Framers were delegates to the Constitutional Convention and took part in framing or drafting the proposed United States Constitution.
George Washington			Father of His Country	George Washington is particularly highlighted out of the Founding Fathers of the United States as being the "father of his country" for his role as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, his resignation of command at the end of the war, the presidency of the Constitutional Convention and for his tenure (and voluntary retirement) as the first President of the United States.
José Gervasio Artigas	Uruguay	,	Father of Uruguayan independence, Defender of the Free and Chief of the eastern people	Fought against the Spanish Royalists for independence in the Río de la Plata.
Ho Chi Minh	Vietnam		Father of the people	Leader of the Viet Minh, who fought for independence from France in the First Indochina War and decisively defeated them at the bloody Battle of Dien Bien Phu, resulting in the establishment of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north of the country in 1954. Vietnam would eventually be united under Communist Party of Vietnam rule after his death with the Fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Rhodri Morgan	Wales	Tad y Genedl	Father of the Nation	First Minister of Wales from 2000 to 2009. He is credited with stabilising Welsh devolution after the short and unstable premiership of his predecessor, the first First Minister Alun Michael.
Kenneth Kaunda	Zambia	TataTemplate:Which lang	Father of the nation	First president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He founded the Zambian African National Congress (ANC), later becoming the head of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) which led to attaining independence.

See also

• List of national founders

See also

• Family as a model for the state
• Fathers of Confederation
• Founding fathers of the European Union
• Founding Fathers of the United States
• List of national founders
• Pater Patriae
• Victory title