Difference between revisions 63173991 and 64182253 on enwiki

'''Father of the Nation''' is a term used by many countries to describe a political or symbolic leader seen as a [[Founding Fathers|founding father]] of the nation. He may also be key figure from the nation's history whose perceived heroism and moral authority make him a source of [[patriotism|patriotic]] inspiration and worthy of respect or veneration. His image is often elevated to that of a [[national symbol]] and is likely to be featured on items such as [[banknote]]s, [[stamp]]s and national memorabilia. In some countries, a [[cult of personality]] may also be established about him.

[[Image:Washington (3).jpg|200px|right|thumb|[[George Washington]], known as the "Father of [[United States|his country]]" and one of the world's most famous national founders.]]
Not all "Fathers of the Nation" are retained, especially when historical research indicates they were not all they seemed. During his period of rule in the [[Soviet Union]], for example, [[Joseph Stalin]] was promoted and seen by millions of Soviet citizens as a father figure and a father of the nation. The esteem in which he was held was such that a wave of suicides was recorded following the announcement of his death, suggesting that some citizens had sincerely come to believe that life without Stalin was unthinkable or unbearable. Within only a few years, however, the scale of his [[Political repression|repression]] began to be made evident, leading to his denunciation by successor [[Nikita Khruschev]] and the removal of his body from the [[mausoleum]] where it had been laid alongside his predecessor (and founder of the Soviet Union) [[Vladimir Lenin]].

Another example is [[Eamon de Valera]], three times head of government in the [[Republic of Ireland]]. Many [[Irish people]] saw him as a "Father of the Nation", but a re-evaluation of his reputation since the [[1980]]s has seen attention focus on other leaders such as [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]]. 

"Father of the Nation" (''Guófù'', 國父) is the title officially given to [[Sun Yat-sen]] in the [[Republic of China]] on [[Taiwan]]. It also unofficially refers to Sun Yat-sen the [[People's Republic of China]] on [[mainland China]].

The 2003 draft [[constitution of Afghanistan]], drawn up under the presidency of [[Hamid Karzai]], explicitly awarded the title "Father of the Nation" to the deposed King of Afghanistan, [[Mohammed Zahir Shah]]. This unusual step has been interpreted as an attempt to accommodate Afghans keen to restore a monarchy.

==Some "Fathers of the Nation" (alphabetically by nation)==
[[Image:Cyrus portrait.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Cyrus the Great]], founder of the first [[Iran]]ian Empire. Best known for his first charter of [[human rights]].]]
[[Image:Simon Bolivar.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Simón Bolívar]], considered a "founding father" of several nations in [[South America]].]]
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Mandelaza.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Nelson Mandela]], father of [[South Africa]].]] -->
[[Image:Sun Yat-sen.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Sun Yat-sen]], father of Modern China.]]
[[Image:WilliamOfOrange1580.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[William I]], Prince of Orange ("William the Silent"), father of the Netherlands.]]
[[Image:Mohandas Gandhi resized for biography.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Mohandas Gandhi]] ("Mahatma Gandhi"), father of [[India]].]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! Nation !! Name
|-
| [[Afghanistan]] || [[Mohammed Zahir Shah]]
|-
| [[Albania]] || [[Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu]] (Skanderbeg)
|-
| [[Algeria]] || [[Ahmed Ben Bella]]
|-
| [[Antigua and Barbuda]] || Sir [[Vere Cornwall Bird]]
|-
| [[Argentina]] || [[José de San Martín]]
|-
| [[Australia]] || Sir [[Edmund Barton]]
|-
| [[The Bahamas]] || Sir [[Lynden Pindling]]
|-
| [[Bangladesh]] || [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]]
|-
| [[Barbados]] || [[Errol Barrow]]
|-
| [[Bolivia]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]],<br>[[Panama]], [[Peru]], [[Venezuela]] || [[Simón Bolívar]]
|-
| [[Botswana]] || Sir [[Seretse Khama]]
|-
| [[Brazil]] || [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro I]] and [[José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva|José Bonifácio]]
|-
| [[Burma]] || U [[Aung San]]
|-
| [[Burundi]] || [[Louis Rwagasore]]
|-
| [[Cambodia]] || [[Norodom Sihanouk]]
|-
| [[Canada]] || Sir [[John A. Macdonald]]
|-
| [[Central African Republic]] || [[Barthélemy Boganda]]
|-
| [[Chile]] || [[Bernardo O'Higgins]], [[José Miguel Carrera]]
|-
| [[People's Republic of China]] ||rowspan=2| [[Sun Yat-sen]]
|-
| [[Republic of China]] 
|-
| [[Côte d'Ivoire]] || [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]]
|-
| [[Croatia]] || [[Ante Starčević]]
|-
| [[Cuba]] || [[Carlos Manuel de Céspedes]], [[José Martí]]
|-
| [[Czechoslovakia]], <br>[[Czech Republic]] || [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]],<br>[[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]]
|-
| [[Dominican Republic]] || [[Juan Pablo Duarte]]
|-
| [[East Timor]] || [[Xanana Gusmão]]
|-
| [[Egypt]] || [[Saad Zaghlul]]
|-
| [[El Salvador]] || [[José Matías Delgado]]
|-
| [[Fiji]] || Ratu Sir [[Kamisese Mara]]
|-
| [[The Gambia]] || Sir [[Dawda Jawara]]
|-
| [[Germany]] || [[Otto von Bismarck]]
|-
| [[Ghana]] || [[Kwame Nkrumah]]
| [[Greece]] || [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]]⏎
|-
| [[Guinea]] || [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]]
|-
| [[Haiti]] || [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]]
|-
| [[Honduras]] || [[Francisco Morazán]]
|-
| [[Hungary]] || [[Lajos Kossuth]]
|-
| [[Iceland]] || [[Jón Sigurðsson]]
|-
| [[India]] || [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
|-
| [[Indonesia]] || [[Sukarno]]
|-
| [[Iran]] || [[Cyrus the Great]]
|-
| [[Ireland]] || [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]], [[Eamon de Valera]]
|-
| [[Italy]] || [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]
|-
| [[Israel]] || [[Chaim Weizmann]], [[David Ben-Gurion]]
|-
| [[Kenya]] || [[Jomo Kenyatta]]
|-
| [[Kosovo]] || [[Ibrahim Rugova]]
|-
| [[Laos]] || Prince [[Phetsarath]]
|-
| [[Lesotho]] || [[Moshoeshoe I]]
|-
| [[Malaysia]] || Tunku [[Tunku Abdul Rahman|Abdul Rahman]]
|-
| [[Malta]] || [[Manwel Dimech]]
|-
| [[Mauritania]] || [[Moktar Ould Daddah]]
|-
| [[Mauritius]] || Sir [[Seewoosagur Ramgoolam]]
|-
| [[Mexico]] || [[Miguel Hidalgo]]
|-
| [[Mongolia]] || [[Genghis Khan]]
|-
| [[Morocco]] || [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Mohammad V]]
|-
| [[Namibia]] || [[Sam Nujoma]]
|-
| [[Netherlands]] || [[William I, Prince of Orange]]
|-
| [[Nigeria]] || [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]]
|-
| [[North Korea]] || [[Kim Il-sung]]
|-
| [[Pakistan]] || [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah]]
|-
| [[State of Palestine|Palestine]] || [[Yasser Arafat]]
|-
| [[Philippines]] || [[José P. Rizal]]
|-
| [[Poland]] || [[Józef Piłsudski]]
|-
| [[Portugal]] || [[Afonso I of Portugal]]
|-
| [[St. Lucia]] || Sir [[John Compton]]
|-
| [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|St. Vincent and the Grenadines]] || Sir [[James F. Mitchell]]
|-
| [[Scotland]] || [[Donald Dewar]]
|-
| [[Saudi Arabia]] || [[Ibn Saud]]
|-
| [[Senegal]] || [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]
|-
| [[Serbia]] || [[Karađorđe]],[[Dobrica Cosic]]
|-
| [[Sierra Leone]] || Sir [[Milton Margai]]
|-
| [[Singapore]] || [[Lee Kuan Yew]]
|-
| [[South Africa]] || [[Nelson Mandela]]
|-
| [[Soviet Union]] || [[Vladimir Lenin]]
|-
| [[Sri Lanka]] || [[Don Stephen Senanayake]]
|-
| [[Sudan]] || [[Ismail al-Azhari]]
|-
| [[Sweden]] || [[Gustav I Vasa]]
|-
| [[Tanzania]] || [[Julius K. Nyerere]]
|-
| [[Tunisia]] || [[Habib Bourguiba]]
|-
| [[Turkey]] || [[Kemal Atatürk]]
|-
| [[Uganda]] || [[Milton Obote]]
|-
| [[United Arab Emirates]] || Sheikh [[Zayed ibn Sultan Al Nahayan]]
|-
| [[United States]] || [[George Washington]]
|-
| [[Uruguay]] || [[José Gervasio Artigas]]
|-
| [[Uzbekistan]] || [[Tamerlane]]
|-
| [[Vietnam]] || [[Phan Boi Chau]]
|-
| [[Western Sahara]] || [[El Ouali Mustafa Sayed]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Founding Fathers]]
* ''[[Pater Patriae]]''
* ''[[Mother Motherland]]''
* [[Mother of the Nation]]
* [[List of people known as father or mother of something]]


<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Men]]
[[Category:National symbols]]

<!--Other languages-->
[[he:אבי האומה]]
[[nl:Vader des vaderlands]]
[[zh:国父]]