List of national founders
Encyclopedia
The following list of national founders is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing their nation. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system
form of government, and constitution), of the country.
The Founder of Independent Egypt Saad Zaghloul (1859-August 23, 1927), was a great politician who served in many ministries of the Egyptian government, and was imprisoned by the British in Malta, but returned to Egypt to complete the revolution in 1919. Zaghloul then was able to make the Sultan of Egypt (later King) Fuad I to convince the British for Egypt's independence with a friendly British-Egyptian relationship and in 1922, Egypt was proclaimed an independent Kingdom, Kingdom of Egypt and Saad Zaghloul as it's Prime Minister.
Omar Al-Mukhtar - Libyan national hero who resisted the Italian colonialism of Libya from 1911 until 1931 when he was hanged by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini.
Kwame Nkrumah
(1909–1972) led the nation to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts
(1809–1876) was born a free man of Black American
descent. In 1829 his family moved to Liberia. In 1839, Roberts became Liberia's lieutenant governor and afterwards, its governor (1841–1848). He is known as the father of Liberia and officially declared Liberia's independence in 1847.
The founding father of Namibia is Hosea Kutako, who freed Namibia from South African occupation.
Herbert Macaulay
(1864–1946), Alvan Ikoku
(1900–1971), Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe
(1904–1996), Chief Obafemi Awolowo
(1909–1987), Sir Ahmadu Bello
(1910–1966), Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
(1912–1966), General Murtala Mohammed
(1938–1976), Al-Haji Aminu Kano
(1920–1983), Joseph Tarka
(1932–1980) and Dennis Osadebay
(1911–1994) are considered founding fathers of Nigeria. The troika of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Ahmadu Bello negotiated Nigeria's independence from Britain, aided by such figures as Chieftess Funmilayo Ransome Kuti.
Freetown, Sierra Leone was founded in part by an African American slave called Thomas Peters
in 1792 who convinced British abolitionists to help settle 1,192 Black Americans who fought for the British in return for freedom.
Peters alongside other Black Americans David George
and Moses Wilkinson
were influential in the establishment of Freetown, but it was Peters who is remembered today as the true influential leader and founder of Sierra Leone. A street was named for Thomas Peters in Freetown by the Krio
Mayor Winstanley Bankole Johnson
.
(1619–1677) was the first Governor of the Cape
and later of Batavia, he allowed for many more Europeans to go to the Cape
, later leading to the foundation of the Cape Colony.
The Voortrekkers
(1800s) were the Founding Fathers of the Transvaal Republic, Orange Free State
, and other Boer republics
which make up a vast area of present-day South Africa
.
Nelson Mandela
(1918– ) was the former President of South Africa
1994–1999. He led the campaign to racially integrate the country. He was the leader of the African National Congress
.
and founded Afghanistan in 1747. His mausoleum is in Kandahar
, Afghanistan, where he is fondly known as Ahmad Shah Baba (Father of Afghanistan).
is the founding father of Azerbaijan.
Mehemmed Emin Resulzade (Azerbaijani: Məhəmməd Əmin Axund Hacı Molla Ələkbər oğlu Rəsulzadə, Turkish: Mehmed Emin Resulzâde; 31 January 1884, Novkhana, near Baku — 6 March 1955, Ankara) was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Azerbaijan Republic (1918–1920). His expression "Bir kərə yüksələn bayraq, bir daha enməz!" ("The flag once raised will never fall!") has become the motto of the independence movement in Azerbaijan in the 20th century.
(1920–1975), is revered as the Father of the Nation
in Bangladesh
. A charismatic orator and popularly called "Bangabandhu" (friend of the Bengal), Mujib rose from student politics to become the leader of the Bengali nationalist
movement in Pakistan. He declared Bangladesh's independence in March, 1971 after the Pakistan Army refused to accept results of democratic elections and launched a brutal military crackdown
on the population of East Pakistan
. Mujib was arrested and kept in solitary confinement in West Pakistan
throughout the nine-month long Bangladesh Liberation War
that followed. He was released in January, 1972 and returned to Bangladesh to lead the newly independent country.
Mujib's administration would prove to be inept in governing the country wrecked by war and famine. On 15 August, 1975, a group of junior army officers staged a military coup by assassinating Mujib along with most of his family members at his private residence in Dhaka.
In an opinion poll conducted by the BBC Bengali service in 2003, he was voted "The Greatest Bengali of All Time".
is considered to be founding father of ancient Burmese Kingdom of Pagan
. General Aung San
is the founding father of modern Burma (also known as Myanmar). Although he did not live to see the country's independence, he is credited in forming the basic structure of the independence movement and government. Aung San started his political career in 1930 as the editor of Rangoon University's Newspaper – where he accused one of the British administrators of misconduct. In late 1940 he went to Japanese controlled Taiwan and Xiamen
to receive military training, and he led the Burmese National Army, spearheading the Japanese invasion of Burma
. Later, he switched sides to the Allies, and helped in the Burma Campaign
. After the war, he was appointed to the government of a returning British Administration, and was able to negotiate Burma's independence. He helped organized the Panglong Agreement
in February 1947, achieving independence for all Burmese territories. However, on Saturday, 19 July 1947, Aung San, along with his cabinet ministers, was assassinated at the secretariat building in Rangoon.
is revered as the "Father of the Country" (國父) in China. However, following the Chinese Civil War
, the Republic of China was split up into two states, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China, commonly referred to as Taiwan. Mao Zedong
is commonly accredited with being the architect of the People's Republic of China.
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869–1948) is often referred to as the founding father of India. He was one of the top leaders of the Indian National Congress
which struggled for the liberation from British rule
and engineer in unifying various South Asian districts into one unified state to be called India
. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
, India's First Deputy Prime Minister and Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889–1964), the first Prime Minister of India
, are also considered as founding fathers. It also refers to Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), the architect of the Indian constitution, also an educationist, prominent political figure and India's first law minister. Indian constitution provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and the outlawing of all forms of discrimination. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for yong boy. The Constitution was adopted on 9 August 1949 by the Constituent Assembly.
Although this usage is declining, when used in the plural, as the "Founding fathers" it usually refers to the members of the Constitutional Assembly's Draft Committee. Ironically the Drafting Committee also included women among its ranks.
are the founding fathers of Indonesia. They both signed the Proclamation of Independence which then read by Soekarno, proclaiming the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945. A day later, they were elected respectively as the first President and Vice President of Indonesia. As the Netherlands did not recognize the independece, both of them were prominent figures and were seen as symbol of unity among Indonesian people to fight against Dutch during the National Revolution
from 1945 to 1949. In August 1949, Hatta headed a delegation to the Hague for a Round Table Conference which then led to the recognition of Indonesian independence by the Netherlands in 23 December 1949.
(600 BC – 530 BC) was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty an empire without precedent—a first world-empire of historical importance and perhaps the most wealthy and magnificent in history.
(환웅;桓雄) and his son Dangun
Wanggeom (단군왕검; 檀君王儉) are legendary founders of Gojoseon
, the first kingdom of Korea. The founding date is usually calculated as 3 October 2333 BC; 3 October is a South Korean national holiday known as Gaecheonjeol
(개천절, 開天節, "Festival of the Opening of Heaven").
(8 February 1903 – 6 December 1990) usually known as "the Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia), and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia), was Chief Minister
of the Federation of Malaya
from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained Prime Minister after Sabah
, Sarawak
, and Singapore joined in 1963 to form Malaysia.
Chinggis Khagan (c.1162–1227), who by uniting the nomadic tribes founded the Mongol Empire
, is generally regarded as the father of modern-day Mongolia. Although downcast during the communist-era, Genghis Khan's reputation surged after the democratic revolution in 1990. Modern Mongolia is often called "Genghis's Mongolia".
Pakistan's founding father is Muhammad Ali Jinnah
(1876–1948), a Muslim Barrister, originally from the Indian National Congress
and later the Muslim League, who fought for the rights of Muslim minority in the British India, is widely held to be the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah is referred to as Quaid-e-Azam or the "Great Leader".
Mr. Jinnah started his career as firmly a secular nationalist and later on was reluctantly converted to the cause of Muslim nationalism through the efforts of Aga Khan III
, martyred Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan and Poet Philosopher Allama Iqbal all of whom are also revered to a certain extent as founding fathers. Aga Khan was also the founding president of the All India Muslim League. Choudhary Rahmat Ali
coined the term Pakistan and is considered the father of the word "Pakistan". Muslim modernist and reformist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the founder of Aligarh Educational Movement
, is sometimes referred to as the father of the Two-Nation Theory
, the basic principle on which Pakistan was founded.
Jose Rizal
did not live long enough to see the Philippine Declaration of Independence
from Spain. or the subsequent defeat of the fledgling government by the United States, but he did play a prominent role in building a sense of national identity in the Philippines. A novelist and a critic, he wrote very influential books, so influential that he was exiled by the Spanish government to the southern Philippine island of Mindanao
, and when he left exile, executed, on 30 December 1896. During the Philippine Commonwealth
, which was still under the rule of the United States, he was declared the official National Hero of the Philippines and subsequent to Philippine Independence laws were passed requiring courses on Rizal in all secondary schools and colleges.
is accredited with being the first leader and President of current-day Taiwan, the constitutional
Republic of China.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
(1881–1938) the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first President.
(1890-1969) is the founder of modern Vietnam
, a great leader for independence of Vietnam from Japan and France and also the leader for reunification of Vietnam.
One of the earliest people considered "father of Europe" is Benedict of Nursia
— a 6th century Italian saint and the most important architect of Western monasticism. The Benedictines, the followers of his rule, have also been called "Fathers of European civilization." Another 6th century monk was Columbanus
, the Irish missionary who Robert Schuman
considered a patron saint for all involved in the construction of a unified Europe. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said that "along with the Irishmen of his time", Columbanus "was aware of the cultural unity of Europe":
There are a number of men in modern times who have been considered founding fathers of European unity or, what is now, the European Union. These include Konrad Adenauer
(1876–1967), Joseph Bech (1887–1975), Winston Churchill
(1874–1965), Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972), Alcide De Gasperi
(1881–1954), Jacques Delors
(born 1925), Sicco Mansholt
(1908–1995), Jean Monnet
(1888–1979), Lorenzo Natali, Robert Schuman
(1886–1963), Mário Soares
(born 1924), Paul-Henri Spaak
(1899–1972), Altiero Spinelli
(1907–1986), and Pierre Werner (1913–2002).
.
Ismail Qemali
Hero of Albania was a distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement, founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government.
in 681. Modern day Bulgaria is a direct successor of this state.
in 925, when he was crowned as the first Croatian king in Delminium
, today Tomislavgrad
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bohemia
Although the first known ruler of Bohemia was Bořivoj I, the real unifier of various Slavic tribes in Bohemia and creator of nation was Duke Boleslaus I
. Emperor Charles IV
is regarded "Father of the Homeland
" in the Czech Republic, because during his time the kingdom of Bohemia
experienced the greatest prosperity. Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937) is widely revered as the Liberator President who played the chief role in the 1918 melding of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Ruthenia into the Czechoslovak Republic, and who served as President of the Republic from 1918 to 1935.
united all the frankish tribes in Gaul and gave them a common catholic religion.
(1815–1898), the "Iron Chancellor", engineered the unification of the numerous states of Germany. Modern, democratic Germany was decisively shaped by the "Fathers of the Basic Law
" in the 1948 Constitutional Convention at Herrenchiemsee
and by the first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer
.
(1757–1798) was a Greek writer and revolutionary, an eminent figure of the Greek Enlightenment, remembered as a Greek national hero, the first victim of the uprising against the Ottoman Empire
and a forerunner of the Greek War of Independence
.
the fejedelem who made the Magyars settle into the Carpathian Basin in 896 A.D. was Árpád
. His dynasty reigned over the Hungarian Kingdom from the ninth century until 1301. In Hungary Stephen I of Hungary is commonly regarded as the founder of the nation. He was Hungary's first king and united the Magyar people into the Kingdom of Hungary
which grew out to be one of the largest monarchies in medieval Europe. Amongst others, Lajos Kossuth
is supposed to be the Pater Patriae. He is known as the leader of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
against the Habsburg royalists, and therefore founder of the modern Hungarian Republic. Had the Hungarian Uprisings of 1956 succeeded, Imre Nagy and Malita Pál would have been noted as founding fathers of the socialist Republic of Hungary.
was established after the Irish War of Independence
(1919–21), in which Michael Collins
and Éamon de Valera
were key leaders. However, they became antagonists in the Irish Civil War
(1922–23), in which Collins was killed and de Valera defeated. For decades, the inheritors of the opposing factions bypassed these sensitivities to honour the earlier mad leaders of the Easter Rising
of 1916, in particular the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic: Patrick Pearse
, James Connolly
, Éamonn Ceannt
, Tom Clarke
, Seán Mac Diarmada, Thomas MacDonagh
, and Joseph Mary Plunkett
.
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Giuseppe Garibaldi
(1807–1882), Count Camillo Benso di Cavour (1810–1861), Giuseppe Mazzini
(1805–1872) have been referred to as other founding fathers of the Kingdom of Italy
also.
The members of the Assemblea Costituente (the Constitutional Assembly of 1946–1947, which wrote the Constitution
of the newborn Italian Republic) are considered as the "fathers" of the Italian Republic.
(president of Kruševo Republic
) and Kiro Gligorov
(first president of independent Macedonia). However, often, as "fathers" of the nation are considered Goce Delčev, Krste Misirkov
, Gjorgjija Pulevski and Dimitrija Čupovski
and other prominent authors and revolutionaries.
in 1814, consisting of 112 men from most of the country, in Norway often referred to as the Eidsvoll Men or the Fathers of the Constitution.
(1533–1584) or William the Silent, is known as the father of the Netherlands. He led the Dutch in their Revolt
against Spain for their independence. Today he is often called Vader des Vaderlands which in English means, Father of the Fatherland.
Mieszko I
(b. ca. 920/45 – d. 25 May 992), the first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I is considered as the de facto creator of the Polish state. He was a Duke of the Polans
from about 960 until his death. Mieszko I's marriage in 965 to the Přemyslid princess Dobrawa and his baptism
in 966 put him and his country in the cultural sphere of Western Christianity. According to existing sources, Mieszko I was a wise politician, a talented military leader and charismatic ruler. He successfully used diplomacy, concluding an alliance with Bohemia first, and then with Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire
. In foreign policy, he placed the interests of his country foremost, even entering into agreements with former enemies. On his death, he left to his sons a country of greatly expanded territory, with a well-established position in Europe. Mieszko I also appeared as "Dagome" in a papal document from about 1085, called "Dagome iudex
", which mentions a gift or dedication of Mieszko's land to the Pope
(the act took place almost a hundred years earlier).
(1066–1112), was appointed Count of Portugal as a reward for military services to Kingdom of León
, and with the purpose of expanding the territory southwards. And, more importantly, his son, Count Afonso I of Portugal
(1109–1185), a Templar Brother who took control of the county after Henry died and was recognized by the Holy See
, in 1179, as the first King of Portugal, through the Manifestis Probatum
bull.
was the founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301. Tradition holds that he was a stonemason by trade who came from the island of Rab
on the other side of the Adriatic Sea
(modern Croatia), fleeing persecution for his Christian beliefs in the Diocletianic Persecution.
is a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first chairman of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament
. He was the one to formally declare the independence of Slovenia on 25 June 1991. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of Slovenian democracy and independence. He is also considered, together with Peter Jambrek
, as the main author of the current Slovenian constitution. Jože Pučnik
was president of DEMOS
and one of the main persons at Slovenian fight for independence. Biggest Slovenian airport is named Letališče Jožeta Pučnika (Jože Pučnik airport). Lojze Peterle
was first prime minister of Slovenia
and Milan Kučan
was the first president.
, or the liberal statesmen who helped found the modern Swiss Confederation in 1848 can be considered the founding fathers of Switzerland. Among the latter, those who became the first members of the Swiss Federal Council
were perhaps the most notable: Ulrich Ochsenbein
, Jakob Stämpfli
, Jonas Furrer
, Martin J. Munzinger
, Daniel-Henri Druey, Friedrich Frey-Herosé
, Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
and Stefano Franscini
.
Charles I of Spain (1500–1558). First monarch of the Spanish realms and emperor of the Spanish Empire
.
– (c. 1595 – 6 August 1657) was a hetman
of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate
of Ukraine. He led an uprising
against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
magnate
s (1648–1654) which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state.
, Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1535, at the time of England's union with Wales; John Smith
and James Ogilvy
, Speakers of the English and Scottish Parliaments in 1707, when the Acts of Union united Scotland and England; Henry Addington and John FitzGibbon
, leaders of the British and Irish parliaments at the time of the Acts of Union 1801, uniting Great Britain and Ireland; and Prime Minister David Lloyd George
, who signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
, founding Northern Ireland.
(ca. 335 – 28 August 388). According to Welsh tradition, Magnus Maximus (Welsh: Macsen-Wledig) was a Roman General who was proclaimed Emperor of Rome by his soldiers in Britain in 383. As such, he was the first "Romano-Britain" ruler of Britain and Rome itself (although he was born in the Roman province of Hispania and was only stationed in Britain in 380.) His mytho-heroic founding of Wales is celebrated in the modern Welsh anthem Yma o Hyd
by Dafydd Iwan
. Other traditional "founding" heroes of Wales include Boudica
, Owen Glendower, and Llywelyn the Last
.
The name "Fathers of Confederation
" is given to those who attended the Charlottetown
and Quebec Conferences
in 1864, and the London Conference of 1866
, to establish the Canadian Confederation
. There were 36 original Fathers of Confederation. Queen Victoria, who supported and encouraged this process, is known as the Mother of Confederation. She was the first Monarch under the 1867 Constitution and personally chose Ottawa as Canada's capital city. The political leaders who brought the other provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to as "Fathers of Confederation."
(1813–1876), Francisco del Rosario Sánchez
(1817–1861) and Matías Ramón Mella (1816–1864) are considered the "Padres de la Patria" or Fathers of the Country. Duarte is featured on the $1 coin; Sanchez on the $5 coin and on the now discontinued $5 bill; Mella on the $10 coin and on the also discontinued $10 bill.
(20 May 1743 – 8 April 1803) and Jean-Jacques Dessalines
(20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) were revolutionary and early political leaders of Haiti.
México
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla are also considered founders and framers of the country Jose Maria Morelos
, Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez
, Leona Vicario
, Guadalupe Victoria
and Benito Juarez
.
Within the large group known as "the Founding Fathers", there are two key subsets, the Signers (who signed the Declaration of Independence
in 1776) and the Framers (who were delegates to the Federal Convention and took part in framing or drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States). Some historians have suggested a revised definition of the "Founding Fathers", including a significantly broader group of not only the Signers and the Framers but also all those who, whether as politicians or jurists or statesmen or soldiers or diplomats or ordinary citizens, took part in winning American independence and creating the United States of America. The eminent American historian Richard B. Morris
, in his 1973 book Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries, identified the following seven figures as the key founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin
, George Washington
, John Adams
, Thomas Jefferson
, John Jay
, James Madison
, and Alexander Hamilton
.
n territories. Unfortunately, he died before Australia federated, and was never able to see his plan come to fruition. Various other "founders" of Australia have also been unofficially recognised: Captain James Cook, the Englishman who claimed Australia; Captain Arthur Phillip
, the first governor of New South Wales
and founder of the first colony; and Sir Edmund Barton, the first Australian Prime Minister.
Sir Kamisese Mara
is widely viewed as the "Founding Father" of an independent Fiji.
Federated States of Micronesia
Chief Justice
Andon Amaraich
is regarded as "one of the founding fathers of the Federated States of Micronesia".
is viewed as the "Founding Father" of Papua New Guinea. The leading figure during the country's transition to independence from Australia, he was Papua New Guinea's first Prime Minister
.
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José de San Martín
, Simón Bolívar
, Antonio José de Sucre
, Francisco de Paula Santander
, Francisco de Miranda
have been referred to as the founding fathers of the northern countries of South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) and of Panama.
(1778–1842) and José Miguel Carrera
(1785–1821) are usually considered the founding fathers of Chile. Other people referred as founding fathers of Chile include Camilo Henríquez
and Manuel Rodríguez (1785–1818).
Political system
A political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems...
form of government, and constitution), of the country.
The Founder of Independent Egypt Saad Zaghloul (1859-August 23, 1927), was a great politician who served in many ministries of the Egyptian government, and was imprisoned by the British in Malta, but returned to Egypt to complete the revolution in 1919. Zaghloul then was able to make the Sultan of Egypt (later King) Fuad I to convince the British for Egypt's independence with a friendly British-Egyptian relationship and in 1922, Egypt was proclaimed an independent Kingdom, Kingdom of Egypt and Saad Zaghloul as it's Prime Minister.
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
(1909–1972) led the nation to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Joseph Jenkins Roberts was the first and seventh President of Liberia. Born free in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, Roberts emigrated to Liberia in 1829 as a young man. He opened a trading store in Monrovia, and later engaged in politics...
(1809–1876) was born a free man of Black American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
descent. In 1829 his family moved to Liberia. In 1839, Roberts became Liberia's lieutenant governor and afterwards, its governor (1841–1848). He is known as the father of Liberia and officially declared Liberia's independence in 1847.
The founding father of Namibia is Hosea Kutako, who freed Namibia from South African occupation.
Herbert Macaulay
Herbert Macaulay
Herbert Samuel Heelas Macaulay was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, engineer, journalist, and musician and considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Nigerian nationalism.- Early life :...
(1864–1946), Alvan Ikoku
Alvan Ikoku
Alvan Ikoku was a Nigerian educator, statesman, activist and politician. Born on August 1, 1900 in Arochukwu, present day Abia State, he was educated at Government School and Hope Waddell College, Calabar. In 1920, he received his first teaching appointment with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland...
(1900–1971), Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe and popularly known as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism who became the first President of Nigeria after Nigeria secured its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960; holding the...
(1904–1996), Chief Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...
(1909–1987), Sir Ahmadu Bello
Ahmadu Bello
Sir Ahmadu Bello was a Nigerian politician, and was the first premier of the Northern Nigeria region from 1954-1966. He was one of the prominent leaders in Northern Nigeria alongside Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, both of whom were prominent in negotiations about the region's place in an independent...
(1910–1966), Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, KBE was a Nigerian politician, and the only prime minister of an independent Nigeria. Originally a trained teacher, he became a vocal leader for Northern interest as one of the few educated Nigerians of his time...
(1912–1966), General Murtala Mohammed
Murtala Mohammed
General Murtala Ramat Mohammed born was a military ruler of Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976.-Role during 1960s coups:...
(1938–1976), Al-Haji Aminu Kano
Aminu Kano
Aminu Kano was a Muslim politician from Nigeria. In the 1940s he led an Islamic movement in the north of the country in opposition to British rule...
(1920–1983), Joseph Tarka
Joseph Tarka
Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka was a Nigerian politician from Benue State and a former minister for Transport and then Communications under General Yakubu Gowon...
(1932–1980) and Dennis Osadebay
Dennis Osadebay
Dennis Chukude Osadebay was a Nigerian politician, poet, journalist and former premier of the now defunct Mid-Western Region of Nigeria, which now comprises Edo and Delta State...
(1911–1994) are considered founding fathers of Nigeria. The troika of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Ahmadu Bello negotiated Nigeria's independence from Britain, aided by such figures as Chieftess Funmilayo Ransome Kuti.
Freetown, Sierra Leone was founded in part by an African American slave called Thomas Peters
Thomas Peters (black leader)
Thomas Peters was one of the Black Loyalist Founding Fathers of Sierra Leone. Peters, along with David George, Moses Wilkinson, Cato Perkins, and Joseph Leonard, were influential blacks who recruited African settlers in Nova Scotia for colonization of Sierra Leone...
in 1792 who convinced British abolitionists to help settle 1,192 Black Americans who fought for the British in return for freedom.
Peters alongside other Black Americans David George
David George (Baptist)
David George was an African-American Baptist preacher and a Black Loyalist from the American South who escaped to British lines, accepted transport to Nova Scotia and eventually resettled in Freetown, Sierra Leone....
and Moses Wilkinson
Moses Wilkinson
Moses 'Daddy' Wilkinson or Old Moses was an African American slave, and Methodist preacher in Nova Scotia, and Sierra Leone. Wilkinson was the main leader of the Methodists, and his congregation followed him to Sierra Leone where they established the first Methodist church in Settler Town, Sierra...
were influential in the establishment of Freetown, but it was Peters who is remembered today as the true influential leader and founder of Sierra Leone. A street was named for Thomas Peters in Freetown by the Krio
Sierra Leone Creole people
The Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...
Mayor Winstanley Bankole Johnson
Winstanley Bankole Johnson
Winstanley Bankole Johnson is a Sierra Leonean politician and served as mayor of Freetown from July 2004 until he was sacked by his fellow members of the Freetown-city Council on January 17, 2008. Johnson was appointed mayor in July 2004 and is a member of the opposition All Peoples Congress...
.
Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...
(1619–1677) was the first Governor of the Cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
and later of Batavia, he allowed for many more Europeans to go to the Cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
, later leading to the foundation of the Cape Colony.
The Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
(1800s) were the Founding Fathers of the Transvaal Republic, Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, and other Boer republics
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
which make up a vast area of present-day South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
(1918– ) was the former President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
1994–1999. He led the campaign to racially integrate the country. He was the leader of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
.
Afghanistan
Ahmad Shah Abdali (1723–1773) unified the Pashtun tribesPashtun tribes
The Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. Pashtun, tribes are divided into four supertribal confederacies: the Arbanee , Betanee , Gharghasht, and Karlanee .Traditionally, according to folklore, all Pashtuns are said to have descended, at...
and founded Afghanistan in 1747. His mausoleum is in Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, Afghanistan, where he is fondly known as Ahmad Shah Baba (Father of Afghanistan).
Azerbaijan
Mammed Amin RasulzadeMammed Amin Rasulzade
Mammad Amin Rasulzade was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan...
is the founding father of Azerbaijan.
Mehemmed Emin Resulzade (Azerbaijani: Məhəmməd Əmin Axund Hacı Molla Ələkbər oğlu Rəsulzadə, Turkish: Mehmed Emin Resulzâde; 31 January 1884, Novkhana, near Baku — 6 March 1955, Ankara) was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Azerbaijan Republic (1918–1920). His expression "Bir kərə yüksələn bayraq, bir daha enməz!" ("The flag once raised will never fall!") has become the motto of the independence movement in Azerbaijan in the 20th century.
Bangladesh
Sheikh Mujibur RahmanSheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
(1920–1975), is revered as the Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...
in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. A charismatic orator and popularly called "Bangabandhu" (friend of the Bengal), Mujib rose from student politics to become the leader of the Bengali nationalist
Bengali nationalism
Bengali nationalism is the political expression of ethno-national consciousness of the Bengali people, who inhabit the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The region's territory is divided between Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal...
movement in Pakistan. He declared Bangladesh's independence in March, 1971 after the Pakistan Army refused to accept results of democratic elections and launched a brutal military crackdown
Operation Searchlight
Operation Searchlight was a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in the erstwhile East Pakistan in March 1971. Ordered by the central government in West Pakistan, this was seen as the sequel to "Operation Blitz" which had been...
on the population of East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
. Mujib was arrested and kept in solitary confinement in West Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
throughout the nine-month long Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
that followed. He was released in January, 1972 and returned to Bangladesh to lead the newly independent country.
Mujib's administration would prove to be inept in governing the country wrecked by war and famine. On 15 August, 1975, a group of junior army officers staged a military coup by assassinating Mujib along with most of his family members at his private residence in Dhaka.
In an opinion poll conducted by the BBC Bengali service in 2003, he was voted "The Greatest Bengali of All Time".
Bhutan
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651) fled Tibet and unified the fiefdoms of Bhutan. He established the dual system of shared power between secular and Buddhist leadership that continues as a tradition to the present.Burma
AnawrahtaAnawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that formed the basis of modern-day Burma...
is considered to be founding father of ancient Burmese Kingdom of Pagan
Pagan Kingdom
The Pagan Kingdom or Pagan Dynasty was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute the modern-day Burma...
. General Aung San
Aung San
Bogyoke Aung San ; 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw....
is the founding father of modern Burma (also known as Myanmar). Although he did not live to see the country's independence, he is credited in forming the basic structure of the independence movement and government. Aung San started his political career in 1930 as the editor of Rangoon University's Newspaper – where he accused one of the British administrators of misconduct. In late 1940 he went to Japanese controlled Taiwan and Xiamen
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
to receive military training, and he led the Burmese National Army, spearheading the Japanese invasion of Burma
Japanese capture of Burma
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign, the Japanese Army drove British Commonwealth and Chinese forces out of Burma, and occupied the country, forming a Burmese administration with...
. Later, he switched sides to the Allies, and helped in the Burma Campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
. After the war, he was appointed to the government of a returning British Administration, and was able to negotiate Burma's independence. He helped organized the Panglong Agreement
Panglong Agreement
The Panglong Agreement was reached between the Burmese government under Aung San and the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on 12 February 1947. The agreement accepted "Full autonomy in internal administration for the Frontier Areas" in principle and envisioned the creation of a Kachin State by the...
in February 1947, achieving independence for all Burmese territories. However, on Saturday, 19 July 1947, Aung San, along with his cabinet ministers, was assassinated at the secretariat building in Rangoon.
China
Sun Yat-senSun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
is revered as the "Father of the Country" (國父) in China. However, following the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, the Republic of China was split up into two states, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China, commonly referred to as Taiwan. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
is commonly accredited with being the architect of the People's Republic of China.
India
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
(1869–1948) is often referred to as the founding father of India. He was one of the top leaders of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
which struggled for the liberation from British rule
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and engineer in unifying various South Asian districts into one unified state to be called India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of India...
, India's First Deputy Prime Minister and Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
(1889–1964), the first Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, are also considered as founding fathers. It also refers to Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), the architect of the Indian constitution, also an educationist, prominent political figure and India's first law minister. Indian constitution provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and the outlawing of all forms of discrimination. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for yong boy. The Constitution was adopted on 9 August 1949 by the Constituent Assembly.
Although this usage is declining, when used in the plural, as the "Founding fathers" it usually refers to the members of the Constitutional Assembly's Draft Committee. Ironically the Drafting Committee also included women among its ranks.
Indonesia
Soekarno and Mohammad HattaMohammad Hatta
was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies . He was Indonesia's first vice president, later also serving as the country's Prime Minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of...
are the founding fathers of Indonesia. They both signed the Proclamation of Independence which then read by Soekarno, proclaiming the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945. A day later, they were elected respectively as the first President and Vice President of Indonesia. As the Netherlands did not recognize the independece, both of them were prominent figures and were seen as symbol of unity among Indonesian people to fight against Dutch during the National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...
from 1945 to 1949. In August 1949, Hatta headed a delegation to the Hague for a Round Table Conference which then led to the recognition of Indonesian independence by the Netherlands in 23 December 1949.
Iran
Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
(600 BC – 530 BC) was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty an empire without precedent—a first world-empire of historical importance and perhaps the most wealthy and magnificent in history.
Korea
HwanungHwanung
Hwanung is an important figure in the mythological origins of Korea. He plays a central role in the story of Dangun Wanggeom , the legendary founder of Gojoseon, the first kingdom of Korea. Hwanung is the son of Hwanin , the "Lord of Heaven"...
(환웅;桓雄) and his son Dangun
Dangun
Dangun Wanggeom was the legendary founder of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning, Manchuria, and the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "grandson of heaven", and to have founded the kingdom in 2333 BC...
Wanggeom (단군왕검; 檀君王儉) are legendary founders of Gojoseon
Gojoseon
Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom. Go , meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn....
, the first kingdom of Korea. The founding date is usually calculated as 3 October 2333 BC; 3 October is a South Korean national holiday known as Gaecheonjeol
Gaecheonjeol
Gaecheonjeol is a public holiday in South Korea on 3 October. Also known by the English name National Foundation Day, this holiday celebrates the creation of the state of Gojoseon founded by Dangun Wanggeom in the year 2333 BC....
(개천절, 開天節, "Festival of the Opening of Heaven").
Malaysia
Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
(8 February 1903 – 6 December 1990) usually known as "the Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia), and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia), was Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of the Federation of Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained Prime Minister after Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, and Singapore joined in 1963 to form Malaysia.
Mongolia
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
, is generally regarded as the father of modern-day Mongolia. Although downcast during the communist-era, Genghis Khan's reputation surged after the democratic revolution in 1990. Modern Mongolia is often called "Genghis's Mongolia".
Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
(1876–1948), a Muslim Barrister, originally from the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and later the Muslim League, who fought for the rights of Muslim minority in the British India, is widely held to be the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah is referred to as Quaid-e-Azam or the "Great Leader".
Mr. Jinnah started his career as firmly a secular nationalist and later on was reluctantly converted to the cause of Muslim nationalism through the efforts of Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
, martyred Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan and Poet Philosopher Allama Iqbal all of whom are also revered to a certain extent as founding fathers. Aga Khan was also the founding president of the All India Muslim League. Choudhary Rahmat Ali
Choudhary Rahmat Ali
Choudhry Rahmat Ali was a Pakistani Muslim nationalist who was one of the earliest proponents of the creation of the state of Pakistan. He is credited with creating the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia and is generally known as the founder of the movement for its...
coined the term Pakistan and is considered the father of the word "Pakistan". Muslim modernist and reformist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the founder of Aligarh Educational Movement
Aligarh Movement
Aligarh Movement was the movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, to educate the Muslims of the South Asia after the defeat of the rebels in the Indian rebellion of 1857. It had enormous success and had a profound impact on the future of the subcontinent...
, is sometimes referred to as the father of the Two-Nation Theory
Two-Nation Theory
The Two-Nation Theory proposed by Allama Iqbal is the ideology that the primary identity of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent is their religion, rather than their language or ethnicity, and therefore Indian Hindus and Muslims are two distinct nationalities, regardless of ethnic or other...
, the basic principle on which Pakistan was founded.
Philippines
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
did not live long enough to see the Philippine Declaration of Independence
Philippine Declaration of Independence
The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in Cavite II el Viejo , Cavite, Philippines. With the public reading of the Act of the Declaration of Independence, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the...
from Spain. or the subsequent defeat of the fledgling government by the United States, but he did play a prominent role in building a sense of national identity in the Philippines. A novelist and a critic, he wrote very influential books, so influential that he was exiled by the Spanish government to the southern Philippine island of Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, and when he left exile, executed, on 30 December 1896. During the Philippine Commonwealth
Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...
, which was still under the rule of the United States, he was declared the official National Hero of the Philippines and subsequent to Philippine Independence laws were passed requiring courses on Rizal in all secondary schools and colleges.
Taiwan
Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
is accredited with being the first leader and President of current-day Taiwan, the constitutional
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government...
Republic of China.
Turkey
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
(1881–1938) the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first President.
Vietnam
Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
(1890-1969) is the founder of modern Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, a great leader for independence of Vietnam from Japan and France and also the leader for reunification of Vietnam.
Europe
Benedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no...
— a 6th century Italian saint and the most important architect of Western monasticism. The Benedictines, the followers of his rule, have also been called "Fathers of European civilization." Another 6th century monk was Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
, the Irish missionary who Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
considered a patron saint for all involved in the construction of a unified Europe. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said that "along with the Irishmen of his time", Columbanus "was aware of the cultural unity of Europe":
There are a number of men in modern times who have been considered founding fathers of European unity or, what is now, the European Union. These include Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
(1876–1967), Joseph Bech (1887–1975), Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(1874–1965), Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972), Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics...
(1881–1954), Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...
(born 1925), Sicco Mansholt
Sicco Mansholt
Sicco Leendert Mansholt was the fourth President of the European Commission in 1972–1973. He was the European Commissioner for Agriculture from 1958 until 1972....
(1908–1995), Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
(1888–1979), Lorenzo Natali, Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
(1886–1963), Mário Soares
Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:...
(born 1924), Paul-Henri Spaak
Paul-Henri Spaak
Paul Henri Charles Spaak was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman.-Early life:Paul-Henri Spaak was born on 25 January 1899 in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to a distinguished Belgian family. His grandfather, Paul Janson was an important member of the Liberal Party...
(1899–1972), Altiero Spinelli
Altiero Spinelli
Altiero Spinelli was an Italian political theorist and a European federalist. Spinelli is referred to as one of the "Founding Fathers of the European Union" due to his co-authorship of the Ventotene Manifesto, his founding role in the European federalist movement, his strong influence on the first...
(1907–1986), and Pierre Werner (1913–2002).
Albania
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg was a prominent historical figure in the history of Albania and of the Albanian people. He is the national hero of the AlbaniansAlbanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
.
Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemal Bej Vlora or commonly Ismail Qemali and in Turkish İsmail Kemal Bey or İsmail Kemal Vlora , was a distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement, founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government.-Life:He was born in Avlonya to a noble family...
Hero of Albania was a distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement, founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government.
Bulgaria
Asparuh established the First Bulgarian EmpireFirst Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
in 681. Modern day Bulgaria is a direct successor of this state.
Croatia
Tomislav of Croatia united all Croatian lands into one kingdomKingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...
in 925, when he was crowned as the first Croatian king in Delminium
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
, today Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BohemiaBohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
Although the first known ruler of Bohemia was Bořivoj I, the real unifier of various Slavic tribes in Bohemia and creator of nation was Duke Boleslaus IBoleslaus I of Bohemia
Boleslaus I the Cruel, also called Boleslav I , was the ruler of Bohemia from 935 to his death. His was the son of Vratislaus I and the younger brother of his predecessor, Saint Wenceslaus.Boleslav is notorious for the murder of his brother Wenceslaus, through which he became duke of Bohemia...
. Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
is regarded "Father of the Homeland
Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...
" in the Czech Republic, because during his time the kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
experienced the greatest prosperity. Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937) is widely revered as the Liberator President who played the chief role in the 1918 melding of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Ruthenia into the Czechoslovak Republic, and who served as President of the Republic from 1918 to 1935.
France
Clovis IClovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
united all the frankish tribes in Gaul and gave them a common catholic religion.
Germany
Otto von BismarckOtto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
(1815–1898), the "Iron Chancellor", engineered the unification of the numerous states of Germany. Modern, democratic Germany was decisively shaped by the "Fathers of the Basic Law
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
" in the 1948 Constitutional Convention at Herrenchiemsee
Herrenchiemsee
Herrenchiemsee is a complex of royal buildings on the Herreninsel, an island in the Chiemsee, Bavaria's largest lake, 60 km south east of Munich. Together with the neighbouring island of Frauenchiemsee and the uninhabited Krautinsel it forms the municipality of Chiemsee...
and by the first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
.
Greece
Rigas FeraiosRigas Feraios
Rigas Feraios or Rigas Velestinlis was a Greek writer and revolutionary of Aromanian origin, active in the Modern Greek Enlightenment, remembered as a Greek national hero, a victim of Balkan uprising against the Ottoman Empire and a forerunner of the Greek War of Independence.-Early...
(1757–1798) was a Greek writer and revolutionary, an eminent figure of the Greek Enlightenment, remembered as a Greek national hero, the first victim of the uprising against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and a forerunner of the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
.
Hungary
According to AnonymusAnonymus (chronicler)
Bele Regis Notarius , most often referred to as Anonymus was the notary and chronicler of a Hungarian King, probably Béla III. Little is known about him, but his latinized name began with P, as he referred to himself as "P...
the fejedelem who made the Magyars settle into the Carpathian Basin in 896 A.D. was Árpád
Árpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...
. His dynasty reigned over the Hungarian Kingdom from the ninth century until 1301. In Hungary Stephen I of Hungary is commonly regarded as the founder of the nation. He was Hungary's first king and united the Magyar people into the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
which grew out to be one of the largest monarchies in medieval Europe. Amongst others, Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
is supposed to be the Pater Patriae. He is known as the leader of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
against the Habsburg royalists, and therefore founder of the modern Hungarian Republic. Had the Hungarian Uprisings of 1956 succeeded, Imre Nagy and Malita Pál would have been noted as founding fathers of the socialist Republic of Hungary.
Ireland
The Irish Free StateIrish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
was established after the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
(1919–21), in which Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
and Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
were key leaders. However, they became antagonists in the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
(1922–23), in which Collins was killed and de Valera defeated. For decades, the inheritors of the opposing factions bypassed these sensitivities to honour the earlier mad leaders of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916, in particular the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic: Patrick Pearse
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...
, James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
, Éamonn Ceannt
Éamonn Ceannt
Éamonn Ceannt , born Edward Thomas Kent, was an Irish republican, mostly known for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916.-Background:...
, Tom Clarke
Tom Clarke (Irish republican)
Thomas James "Tom" Clarke was an Irish revolutionary leader and arguably the person most responsible for the 1916 Easter Rising. A proponent of violent revolution for most of his life, he spent 15 years in prison...
, Seán Mac Diarmada, Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh was an Irish nationalist, poet, playwright, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Early life:MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary...
, and Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:...
.
Italy
King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy was the main founding father of a united Italy - being called the "Father of the Fatherland" by the Italian people after he conquered the Italian Peninsula (he was already King of Piedmont-Sardinia).Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
(1807–1882), Count Camillo Benso di Cavour (1810–1861), Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini , nicknamed Soul of Italy, was an Italian politician, journalist and activist for the unification of Italy. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century...
(1805–1872) have been referred to as other founding fathers of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
also.
The members of the Assemblea Costituente (the Constitutional Assembly of 1946–1947, which wrote the Constitution
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 13 times, was promulgated in the extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 298 on 27 December 1947...
of the newborn Italian Republic) are considered as the "fathers" of the Italian Republic.
Macedonia
As well respected statesmen in Macedonia are considered Metodija Andonov - Čento (first president of SR Macedonia), Nikola KarevNikola Karev
Nikola Janakiev Karev was a revolutionary in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia. He was born 23 November 1877 in Kruševo and died 27 April 1905 in the village of Rajčani, both today in the Republic of Macedonia. Karev was a local leader of what later became known as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary...
(president of Kruševo Republic
Kruševo Republic
During the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 the rebels from the Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization in Kruševo proclaimed a short lived Kruševo Republic....
) and Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov , born May 3, 1917) was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Macedonia. His son Vladimir Gligorov is the refounder of the Serbian Democratic Party.- Biography :...
(first president of independent Macedonia). However, often, as "fathers" of the nation are considered Goce Delčev, Krste Misirkov
Krste Misirkov
Krste Petkov Misirkov was a philologist, slavist, historian, ethnographer, publicist author of the first book and scientific magazine in Macedonian, where he for the first time outlined the principles of the literary Macedonian language...
, Gjorgjija Pulevski and Dimitrija Čupovski
Dimitrija Cupovski
Dimitrija Čupovski was a Macedonian textbook writer and lexicographer.-Early years:...
and other prominent authors and revolutionaries.
Norway
Usually the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at EidsvollEidsvoll
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
in 1814, consisting of 112 men from most of the country, in Norway often referred to as the Eidsvoll Men or the Fathers of the Constitution.
Netherlands
Prince William I of OrangeWilliam the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
(1533–1584) or William the Silent, is known as the father of the Netherlands. He led the Dutch in their Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
against Spain for their independence. Today he is often called Vader des Vaderlands which in English means, Father of the Fatherland.
Poland
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
(b. ca. 920/45 – d. 25 May 992), the first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I is considered as the de facto creator of the Polish state. He was a Duke of the Polans
Polans (western)
The Polans were a West Slavic tribe, part of the Lechitic group, inhabiting the Warta river basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century.During the reign of King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia , who subdued the tribes of the Vistulans and Ślężanie...
from about 960 until his death. Mieszko I's marriage in 965 to the Přemyslid princess Dobrawa and his baptism
Baptism of Poland
The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...
in 966 put him and his country in the cultural sphere of Western Christianity. According to existing sources, Mieszko I was a wise politician, a talented military leader and charismatic ruler. He successfully used diplomacy, concluding an alliance with Bohemia first, and then with Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. In foreign policy, he placed the interests of his country foremost, even entering into agreements with former enemies. On his death, he left to his sons a country of greatly expanded territory, with a well-established position in Europe. Mieszko I also appeared as "Dagome" in a papal document from about 1085, called "Dagome iudex
Dagome iudex
"Dagome iudex" is one of the earliest historical documents relating to Poland. Poland is not mentioned by name, but reference is made to Dagome and Ote and their sons in 991, placing their land under the protection of the Apostolic See...
", which mentions a gift or dedication of Mieszko's land to the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
(the act took place almost a hundred years earlier).
Portugal
Henry of BurgundyHenry, Count of Portugal
Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...
(1066–1112), was appointed Count of Portugal as a reward for military services to Kingdom of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
, and with the purpose of expanding the territory southwards. And, more importantly, his son, Count Afonso I of Portugal
Afonso I of Portugal
Afonso I or Dom Afonso Henriques , more commonly known as Afonso Henriques , nicknamed "the Conqueror" , "the Founder" or "the Great" by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali and Ibn-Arrik by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal...
(1109–1185), a Templar Brother who took control of the county after Henry died and was recognized by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, in 1179, as the first King of Portugal, through the Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum was an papal bull dated May 23, 1179 in which Pope Alexander III officially recognised Afonso Henriques as the first King of Portugal.-Text:...
bull.
Russia
Russia has passed through various stages of its history, thus its founding fathers might have various historic backgrounds, with common features like the idea of strong central power, the idea of spiritual mission of Russia, and the idea of the Motherland- Prince RurikRurikRurik, or Riurik , was a semilegendary 9th-century Varangian who founded the Rurik dynasty which ruled Kievan Rus and later some of its successor states, most notably the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598....
- first prince of Rus, believed to be a Norse warlord invited to rule the Slavic peoples. - Vladimir the Great or Vladimir the Saint - the baptizer of the Rus.
- Peter the GreatPeter I of RussiaPeter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
– first Russian Emperor, great reformer of Russia in the Western (previously Dutch) style, creator of the modern Army and of the Navy, leader of Russia through the victorious war with Sweden, founder of Saint-Petersburg - Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and the Bolshevik party - founders of Soviet RussiaSoviet RussiaSoviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
and later the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
San Marino
Saint MarinusSaint Marinus
Saint Marinus was the founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301. Tradition holds that he was a stonemason by trade who came from the island of Rab on the other side of the Adriatic Sea , fleeing persecution for his Christian beliefs in the Diocletianic Persecution...
was the founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301. Tradition holds that he was a stonemason by trade who came from the island of Rab
Rab
Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
on the other side of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
(modern Croatia), fleeing persecution for his Christian beliefs in the Diocletianic Persecution.
Slovenia
France BučarFrance Bucar
France Bučar is a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first chairman of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the independence of Slovenia on June 25, 1991. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of...
is a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first chairman of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament
Slovenian Parliament
The Slovenian Parliament is the informal designation of the general representative body of the Slovenian nation and the legislative body of the Republic of Slovenia....
. He was the one to formally declare the independence of Slovenia on 25 June 1991. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of Slovenian democracy and independence. He is also considered, together with Peter Jambrek
Peter Jambrek
Peter Jambrek is a Slovenian sociologist, jurist, politician and intellectual. He is considered among the fathers of the current Slovenian Constitution and among the most influential public intellectuals in Slovenia....
, as the main author of the current Slovenian constitution. Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
was president of DEMOS
DEMOS
DEMOS was a Unix-like operating system developed in the Soviet Union...
and one of the main persons at Slovenian fight for independence. Biggest Slovenian airport is named Letališče Jožeta Pučnika (Jože Pučnik airport). Lojze Peterle
Lojze Peterle
Alojz "Lojze" Peterle is a Slovenian politician. He was the leader of the Slovene Christian Democrats from the founding of the party in 1990 until it merged with the Slovenian People's Party in 2000. Between 1990 and 1992, he was the president of the first freely elected Slovenian government, and...
was first prime minister of Slovenia
Prime Minister of Slovenia
There have been six Prime Ministers of Slovenia since that country gained its independence in the breakup of Yugoslavia. Unlike the President of Slovenia, who is directly elected, the Prime Minister is appointed by the National Assembly, and must control a majority there in order to...
and Milan Kučan
Milan Kucan
Milan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
was the first president.
Switzerland
Both the anonymous Eidgenossen who drew up the Federal Charter of 1291Federal Charter of 1291
The Federal Charter or Letter of Alliance documents the Eternal Alliance or League Of The Three Forest Cantons , the union of three cantons in what is now central Switzerland. It is dated in early August, 1291 and initiates the current August 1 national Swiss holiday. This agreement cites a...
, or the liberal statesmen who helped found the modern Swiss Confederation in 1848 can be considered the founding fathers of Switzerland. Among the latter, those who became the first members of the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
were perhaps the most notable: Ulrich Ochsenbein
Ulrich Ochsenbein
Ulrich Ochsenbein was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .-Professional life:...
, Jakob Stämpfli
Jakob Stämpfli
Jakob Stämpfli was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 6 December 1854, and handed over office on 31 December 1863...
, Jonas Furrer
Jonas Furrer
Jonas Furrer was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council . He was affiliated to the Radical Party.He was elected to the Federal Council on November 16, 1848 as one of the seven initial members....
, Martin J. Munzinger
Martin J. Munzinger
Martin Josef Munzinger was a Swiss politician.He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 16 November 1848, as one of the first seven Councilors...
, Daniel-Henri Druey, Friedrich Frey-Herosé
Friedrich Frey-Herosé
Friedrich Frey-Herosé was a Swiss politician.He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on November 16, 1848 as one of the first seven members of the council...
, Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff was a Swiss politician and one of the seven initial members of the Swiss Federal Council ....
and Stefano Franscini
Stefano Franscini
Stefano Franscini was a Swiss politician and statistician. He was one of the initial members of the Swiss Federal Council elected in 1848 and Switzerland's first native Italian speaking federal councillor. Franscini was affiliated to the Liberal Radical Party of Switzerland. During his office...
.
Spain
The Catholic Monarchs (15th century). Unification of Spain, both coming from the noble House of Trastámara.Charles I of Spain (1500–1558). First monarch of the Spanish realms and emperor of the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
.
Ukraine
Bohdan KhmelnytskyBohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
– (c. 1595 – 6 August 1657) was a hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
of Ukraine. He led an uprising
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s (1648–1654) which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state.
United Kingdom
As the UK formed over many years, its founders did not live at the same time as each other. They include: Humphrey WingfieldHumphrey Wingfield
Humphrey Wingfield was an English lawyer, Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1533 and 1536.-Early life:He was the twelfth son of Sir John Wingfield of Letheringham, Suffolk, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John FitzLewis of West Horndon, Essex; Sir Richard Wingfield and Sir Robert...
, Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1535, at the time of England's union with Wales; John Smith
John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
John Smith was an English politician, twice serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer.Smith's father was also called John Smith and he had a sister called Anne, who became Lady Dashwood. He was educated St John's College, Oxford, was at the Middle Temple and was first elected a Member of Parliament...
and James Ogilvy
James Ogilvy
James Robert Bruce Ogilvy is the elder child and only son of the late Sir Angus Ogilvy and Princess Alexandra of Kent. He was born in Thatched House Lodge, Richmond Park, Surrey and was the first of four babies born to royals in 1964. When he was born he was 13th in the line of succession to the...
, Speakers of the English and Scottish Parliaments in 1707, when the Acts of Union united Scotland and England; Henry Addington and John FitzGibbon
John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare
John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare PC , later known as Earl of Clare or Lord Clare, was Attorney-General for Ireland in 1783, then Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1789, in which capacity he was first promoted to the Irish peerage.He was a controversial figure in Irish history, being described...
, leaders of the British and Irish parliaments at the time of the Acts of Union 1801, uniting Great Britain and Ireland; and Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, who signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
, founding Northern Ireland.
Wales
Magnus MaximusMagnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
(ca. 335 – 28 August 388). According to Welsh tradition, Magnus Maximus (Welsh: Macsen-Wledig) was a Roman General who was proclaimed Emperor of Rome by his soldiers in Britain in 383. As such, he was the first "Romano-Britain" ruler of Britain and Rome itself (although he was born in the Roman province of Hispania and was only stationed in Britain in 380.) His mytho-heroic founding of Wales is celebrated in the modern Welsh anthem Yma o Hyd
Yma o Hyd
Yma o Hyd is a patriotic song in the Welsh language released by Dafydd Iwan in 1981. The historian and politician Dr. Gwynfor Evans is said to have given him the idea for the song....
by Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of...
. Other traditional "founding" heroes of Wales include Boudica
Boudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
, Owen Glendower, and Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
.
Canada
Fathers of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at...
" is given to those who attended the Charlottetown
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
and Quebec Conferences
Quebec Conference, 1864
The Quebec Conference was the second meeting held in 1864 to discuss Canadian Confederation.The 16 delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island had agreed at the close of the Charlottetown Conference to meet again at Quebec City October 1864...
in 1864, and the London Conference of 1866
London Conference of 1866
The London Conference was held in the United Kingdom and began on 4 December 1866, and it was the final in a series of conferences or debates that led to Canadian confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick gathered with officials of the...
, to establish the Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
. There were 36 original Fathers of Confederation. Queen Victoria, who supported and encouraged this process, is known as the Mother of Confederation. She was the first Monarch under the 1867 Constitution and personally chose Ottawa as Canada's capital city. The political leaders who brought the other provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to as "Fathers of Confederation."
Dominican Republic
Juan Pablo DuarteJuan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
(1813–1876), Francisco del Rosario Sánchez
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez
Francisco Del Rosario Sánchez was a politician and founding father of the Dominican Republic. He is considered by Dominicans as the second leader of the 1844 Dominican War of Independence, after Juan Pablo Duarte and before Ramón Matías Mella. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella is...
(1817–1861) and Matías Ramón Mella (1816–1864) are considered the "Padres de la Patria" or Fathers of the Country. Duarte is featured on the $1 coin; Sanchez on the $5 coin and on the now discontinued $5 bill; Mella on the $10 coin and on the also discontinued $10 bill.
Haiti
Toussaint L'OuvertureToussaint L'Ouverture
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture , also Toussaint Bréda, Toussaint-Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free,...
(20 May 1743 – 8 April 1803) and Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution. Initially regarded as Governor-General, Dessalines later named himself Emperor Jacques I of Haiti...
(20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) were revolutionary and early political leaders of Haiti.
MéxicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla are also considered founders and framers of the country Jose Maria MorelosJosé María Morelos
José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811...
, Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez
Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez
María Josefa Cresencia Ortiz y Girón, popularly known as Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez or La Corregidora was an insurgent and supporter of the Mexican War of Independence, which fought for independence against Spain, in the early 19th century...
, Leona Vicario
Leona Vicario
Leona Vicario, also less commonly known as Leona Vicario de Quintana Roo was a supporter of the Mexican War of Independence. From her residence in Mexico City, she was able to provide intelligence and money to the rebel movement.She married fellow insurgent Andrés Quintana Roo...
, Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...
and Benito Juarez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
.
United States
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
in 1776) and the Framers (who were delegates to the Federal Convention and took part in framing or drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States). Some historians have suggested a revised definition of the "Founding Fathers", including a significantly broader group of not only the Signers and the Framers but also all those who, whether as politicians or jurists or statesmen or soldiers or diplomats or ordinary citizens, took part in winning American independence and creating the United States of America. The eminent American historian Richard B. Morris
Richard B. Morris
Richard Brandon Morris was an American historian best known for his pioneering work in colonial American legal history and the early history of American labor. In later years, he shifted his research interests to the constitutional, diplomatic, and political history of the American Revolution and...
, in his 1973 book Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries, identified the following seven figures as the key founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
, James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
.
Australia
Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896) is often regarded as the "Father of Federation" in Australia. During the late 19th century, he was the strongest proponent for a federation of AustraliaFederation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
n territories. Unfortunately, he died before Australia federated, and was never able to see his plan come to fruition. Various other "founders" of Australia have also been unofficially recognised: Captain James Cook, the Englishman who claimed Australia; Captain Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
, the first governor of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and founder of the first colony; and Sir Edmund Barton, the first Australian Prime Minister.
Fiji
RatuRatu
Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...
Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
is widely viewed as the "Founding Father" of an independent Fiji.
Federated States of MicronesiaFederated States of MicronesiaThe Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
Chief JusticeChief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Andon Amaraich
Andon Amaraich
The Honorable Andon L. Amaraich was a Micronesian public servant, politician, diplomat and judge. He was, at the time of his death, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court...
is regarded as "one of the founding fathers of the Federated States of Micronesia".
Papua New Guinea
Grand Chief Sir Michael SomareMichael Somare
Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, KStJ, MP was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2011; he had previously been Prime Minister from independence in 1975 until 1980 and again from 1982 until 1985. Somare's first two terms were as a member of the Pangu Party, but he then...
is viewed as the "Founding Father" of Papua New Guinea. The leading figure during the country's transition to independence from Australia, he was Papua New Guinea's first Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, is Papua New Guinea's head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since 2 August 2011, the Prime Minister has been Peter O’Neill of the People's National Congress Party.-List...
.
Tonga
King George Tupou I, who united his country and established the contemporary Kingdom of Tonga, has been described as Tonga's "founding father".South America
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
, Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá , known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.-Ancestry:...
, Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...
, Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
have been referred to as the founding fathers of the northern countries of South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) and of Panama.
Brazil
José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (1763–1838) is regarded as the "Patriarch of Independence" in Brazil. He was responsible to advise the so Prince Regent of Brazil, Pedro de Alcantara, about Portugal's intentions to downgrade Brazil to colonial status, after years the Portuguese American territory was already joint to the European metropolis as a united kingdom. This attitude convinced the Prince Regent to declare the independence of Brazil in 7 September 1822, becoming himself the new independent country's emperor, titled as Pedro I of Brazil (1798–1834).Chile
Bernardo O'HigginsBernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile , he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder...
(1778–1842) and José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja...
(1785–1821) are usually considered the founding fathers of Chile. Other people referred as founding fathers of Chile include Camilo Henríquez
Camilo Henríquez
Friar José Camilo Henríquez González was a priest, author, politician, and is considered an intellectual antecedent to and founding father of the Republic of Chile for his passionate leadership and influential writings...
and Manuel Rodríguez (1785–1818).