Baby of the House

[4] In the past this distinction has been held by MPs such as Sean O'Sullivan, Pierre Poilievre, Claude-André Lachance and Lorne Nystrom.

The youngest current MP is Eric Melillo, a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, representing the riding of Kenora, Ontario; born in 1998, elected at 21 years of age.

The youngest member of the Senate of Canada is Patrick Brazeau of Repentigny, Quebec; born 1974, appointed at 34 years of age.

The title went back to Ho, who subsequently resigned in May 2020 for joining the government and was replaced by Cheng Chung-tai, who was the fifth youngest member in 2016, until he himself got disqualified in August 2021.

[(b) – by-election] In Ireland the term is rarely used, as TDs normally enter the Dáil after a political career in local government, usually only in their thirties and later.

The current baby of the Dáil is the Labour TD Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central), who was 24 years and 10 months old when elected in November 2024.

The youngest member of the current Knesset is Yitzhak Wasserlauf of Otzma Yehudit, elected in 2022 aged 30.

The youngest member of the Chamber of Deputies ever is Enzo Lattuca (PD), elected in 2013, aged 25 years, 1 month, and 6 days.

[26] The present Baby of the House is Sungai Petani MP Mohammed Taufiq Johari, who was elected in 2022.

Any citizen 18 years of age or older can become a candidate and be directly elected to the Dewan Rakyat as an MP and State Legislative Assemblies as an MLA,[27] while any citizen 30 years of age or older can be appointed or indirectly elected to the Dewan Negara as a Senator.

The current Baby of the House is Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of Te Pāti Māori, who was elected on 14 October 2023 aged 21.

However, by tradition, the youngest member of the chamber usually administers the oath of office to their incoming leader (i.e. President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives).

The minimum age for being a member of the House of Representatives is 25 years old, while for the Senate it is 35, as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

[57][58] Oromait is a member of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Uganda and was a representative of Usuk County until 2016.

However, some MPs who have held the position for a considerable period – Matthew Taylor was the Baby of the House for over ten years – have found it somewhat embarrassing, as it may suggest that they have a lack of experience, although many holders of the title have gone on to enjoy long and distinguished parliamentary careers.

The youngest male member of the House is Lord Kempsell (born 8 May 1992), who was likewise created a life peer in July 2023 at the age of 31.

Standing Orders state that "No Lord under the age of one and twenty years shall be permitted to sit in the House".

Moreover, election to the federal Congress is expensive and requires extensive contacts and recognition across a very wide area.