The Dean of the House of Commons (a gender-neutral iteration of the British equivalent, the Father of the House) is the member with the longest uninterrupted tenure. The first one was created in 1896 because it took that long for there to be only one MP left from the election of 1867. The only official duty of the Dean of the House is to preside over the election of the Speaker. Of the 20 Deans to date, all but three have been members of the Cabinet.