Dean of the House (United States)
E779160
The Dean of the House (United States) is the informal title given to the longest continuously serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who often performs certain ceremonial duties such as administering the oath of office to the Speaker.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Dean of the United States House of Representatives | 1 |
Statements (37)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
informal title
ⓘ
parliamentary role ⓘ |
| appliesToBody | United States House of Representatives NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| ceremonialRole |
administers oath of office to the Speaker-elect at the start of a new Congress
ⓘ
may lead or participate in ceremonial events recognizing long service ⓘ presides over the House during the election of the Speaker until a Speaker is chosen, when custom so dictates ⓘ |
| country | United States of America ⓘ |
| customaryPractice | Dean is usually from the majority or minority party depending solely on seniority, not party rules NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| definition | longest continuously serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives ⓘ |
| determinedBy | seniority in continuous House service ⓘ |
| hasCharacteristic |
based on continuous length of service
ⓘ
informal and not established by statute ⓘ not an official leadership position ⓘ |
| hasInfluence | may have informal influence due to seniority and experience ⓘ |
| hasNoFormalPowers |
does not confer additional legislative authority
ⓘ
does not guarantee committee chairmanships or leadership posts ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalStatus |
not created by federal statute
ⓘ
not defined in the U.S. Constitution ⓘ |
| legislativeChamber | House of Representatives NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notToBeConfusedWith |
Dean of the United States Senate
ⓘ
formal House leadership positions such as Speaker or Majority Leader ⓘ |
| officeHolderMustBe | sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives ⓘ |
| officeHolderTitle | Dean of the House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | United States Congress traditions ⓘ |
| recognizedBy | House customs and media usage ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Father of the House (United Kingdom)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
seniority in the United States Congress ⓘ |
| scope | applies only to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, not the Senate ⓘ |
| selectionCriterion |
continuous service rather than total cumulative service
ⓘ
longest unbroken tenure in the House of Representatives ⓘ |
| successionRule | if the Dean leaves office, the next most senior continuously serving member becomes Dean ⓘ |
| symbolizes | institutional memory of the House of Representatives ⓘ |
| timeQualifier | status can change at the beginning or during a Congress when membership changes ⓘ |
| traditionStatus | longstanding custom in the U.S. House of Representatives ⓘ |
| usedFor | symbolic recognition of longest-serving member ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Dean of the United States House of Representatives