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Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

South America

Suriname

Trinidad and Tobago

Uruguay

United States

Venezuela

Asia

Afghanistan

Armenia

• Hayk Nahapet is considered the traditional founder of Armenia to which he gave his namesake (Hayk/Hayastan) and occasionally as the ancestor to all Armenians. He was explained in the Movses Khorenatsi book "History of Armenia (book) to have established Armenia as a home for his people around Lake Van where Hayk and his people battled with and were then free from the tyranny of the Neo Assyrian Empire and Nimrod in 2492 BC.
• Aram Manukian is considered the founder of the First Republic of Armenia.BOOK, Hovannisian, Richard, The Republic of Armenia: The First Year, 1918–1919, 1971, University of California Press, 9780520018051, Richard G. Hovannisian, 147, Aram pasha, as he was known to friend and foe alike, had been a veritable founder of the Armenian republic., registration,weblink BOOK, Libaridian, Gerard J., Armenia at the crossroads: democracy and nationhood in the post-Soviet era: essays, interviews, and speeches by the leaders of the national democratic movement in Armenia, 1991, Blue Crane Nooks, Watertown, Massachusetts, 9780962871511, 19, Gerard J. Libaridian, Aram Manukian (1879–1919), a leading member of the Dashnaktustiune, organized the defense of Van in 1915 and Yerevan in 1918. He is considered the founder of the Republic of Armenia in 1918., JOURNAL, Asryan, Armen, Ô±Ö€Õ¡Õ´ Õ„Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ¯ÕµÕ¡Õ¶Õ¨ հայոց Õ´Õ¥Õ® Õ¸Õ²Õ¢Õ¥Ö€Õ£Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ¿Õ¡Ö€Õ«Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ«Õ¶ [Aram Manukyan in the Years of the Great Armenian Tragedy], Patma-Banasirakan Handes, 1, 1, 54,weblink 2005, hy, 0135-0536, BOOK, Ô±Ö€Õ¡Õ´ Õ„Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ¯ÕµÕ¡Õ¶. Õ“Õ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ©Õ²Õ©Õ¥Ö€ Ö‡ Õ¶ÕµÕ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ¥Ö€Õ« ÕªÕ¸Õ²Õ¸Õ¾Õ¡Õ®Õ¸Ö‚ [Aram Manukian: Collection of documents and materials],weblink National Archives of Armenia, hy, Yerevan, 2009, Virabyan, Amatuni, 2, ...20–րդ Õ¤Õ¡Ö€Õ¡Õ½Õ¯Õ¦Õ¢Õ« հայոց ազգային–ազատագրական Õ·Õ¡Ö€ÕªÕ´Õ¡Õ¶ Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ¾Õ¸Ö€ Õ²Õ¥Õ¯Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Ö€, ÕŽÕ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ«Õ¶Ö„Õ¶Õ¡ÕºÕ¡Õ·Õ¿ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ²Õ¥Õ¯Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Ö€, 1918Õ©. Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ½ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ°Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ½Õ¡Õ´Õ¡Ö€Õ¥Ö€Õ« Õ¯Õ¡Õ¦Õ´Õ¡Õ¯Õ¥Ö€ÕºÕ«Õ¹, Õ€Õ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ€Õ¡Õ¶Ö€Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ¯Õ¥Ö€Õ¿Õ¸Õ² Ô±Ö€Õ¡Õ´ Õ„Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ¯ÕµÕ¡Õ¶Õ«..., dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140920064435weblink">weblink 20 September 2014, NEWS, Harutyunyan, Arpi, Barseghyan, Haykuhi, Derision at "Servile" Putin Fan Club in Armenia,weblink Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 634, 16 March 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140918183202weblink">weblink 18 September 2014, "...an Armenian national figure like Aram Manukyan, founder of the [1918] First Republic," Levon Shirinyan, who holds the chair of politics and history at Yerevan's teacher-training university.,

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

• The first Sultan of Bengal, Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, is often credited for unifying the Bengal region (which he named Bangalah) under a single politico-social and linguistic identity (Bangali people) in 1352.BOOK, Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin, 2012, Iliyas Shah,weblink Islam, Sirajul, Sirajul Islam, Jamal, Ahmed A., Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Second, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh,
• Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known with the honorary title Bangabandhu, is considered by many as the founding father of Bangladesh. He led Bengali nation to the decade long struggle for independence against then autocratic rule of Pakistan, finally resulting in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
• Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani are considered as three primary founders of Bangladesh, who shaped the Bengali nationalism since the days of British rule.

Bhutan

Brunei

Cambodia

China

Cyprus

East Timor

East Turkistan

India

Indonesia

Iran

Israel

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

North Korea

South Korea

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Lebanon

Maldives

Malaysia

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Philippines

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Syria

Tajikistan

Thailand

• Si Inthrathit (1238 - 1270) was the founder of Sukhothai Kingdom, the first Thai kingdom.
• Naresuan (1590–1605), who retook most of Siam from the Burmese
• King Taksin the Great (1734–1782), who reunited Siam following the collapse of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
• Rama I (1737–1809), founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam.

Turkey

• Alp Arslan (1029–1072) was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, ushered in the Turkoman settlement of Anatolia.
• Osman I (1258–1324), was the leader of the Kayi tribe and the founder of the Ottoman dynasty.
• Mehmed the Conqueror (1432–1481), was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from August 1444 to September 1446, and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. When he ascended the throne again in 1451 he strengthened the Ottoman navy and made preparations to attack Constantinople. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire.
• Mahmud II (1785–1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms he instituted, which culminated in the Decree of Tanzimat ("reorganization"). Mahmud's reforms included the 1826 abolition of the conservative Janissary corps, which removed a major obstacle to his and his successors' reforms in the Empire. The reforms he instituted were characterized by political and social changes, which would eventually lead to the birth of the modern Turkish Republic.
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) was the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. Following the First World War, the huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923), initiated by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues in Anatolia, resulted in the establishment of the modern Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) in 1923.WEB,weblink Turkey – Location, Geography, People, Economy, Culture, & History, Britannica.com, 10 August 2017, He subsequently introduced many radical reforms with the aim of transforming the old multinational Ottoman state into a new secular republic.BOOK,weblink The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, Gerhard, Bowering, Patricia, Crone, Wadad, Kadi, Devin J., Stewart, Muhammad Qasim, Zaman, Mahan, Mirza, 28 November 2012, Princeton University Press, Google Books, 9781400838554,

Turkmenistan

United Arab Emirates

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Yemen

Europe

Albania

Andorra

Austria

Belarus

• KastuÅ› KalinoÅ­ski was a revolutionary, publicist and poet, was one of the leaders of the failed January Uprising 1863 – 1864 on the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the territory of the Russian Empire.
• Janka KupaÅ‚a was a Belarusian poet and writer of the early 20th century, a major writer and one of the founders of Belarusian national literature. Author of the slogan Žyvie BielaruÅ›!, which is still used today.
• VaclaÅ­ LastoÅ­ski was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century and the Prime Minister of the Belarusian Democratic Republic from 1919 to 1923

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Tvrtko I of Bosnia was the founder of the first Bosnian Kingdom.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
• Husein-kapetan Gradaščević led the revolt against the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II who fought for an autonomous Bosnian State. {{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Bulgaria

Medieval

• Avitohol (?–453? AD), who researchers claim to be the mythical Attila, is the first name in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans. He was from the Dulo clan and was succeeded by his son Ernak or Irnik (the second name mentioned in the Nominalia).BOOK, Maenchen-Helfen, Otto J., Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen, 1973,weblink The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture, University of California Press, 9780520015968, 407,
• Kubrat (606–665) was the founder of the powerful Great Bulgaria in 632 AD.
• Asparuh (around 640–701) is the most venerated national founder of Bulgaria. He was a son of Kubrat and started attacking and moving southwest of Old Great Bulgaria, towards the Lower Danube in Southeast Europe. Victorious over the Eastern Roman Empire, he established the First Bulgarian Empire in 680–681. Modern day Bulgaria is a direct successor of this state. Asparukh's brother Batbayan stayed ruling the core territories to the north, while Kotrag migrated further north and founded Volga Bulgaria.
• Krum the Fearsome (8th century – 814) – prominent ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization, thus he is regarded as an important national founder.Krum, Encyclopædia Britannica OnlineТокушев, Д. "История на българската средновековна държава и право",

• Boris I (9th century-2 May 907) officially Christianized Bulgaria in 864, a significant event that shaped the History of Bulgaria and Europe. The historian Steven Runciman called him one of the greatest persons in history.Runciman, p. 152 His son and grandson, tsar Simeon I the Great and tsar Petar I, are also considered as having an important role in the formation and strengthening of the Bulgarian state and nationality.
• Samuil (997–1014) – energetic emperor (tsar) that restored Bulgarian might in Southeast Europe, and although the Empire was disestablished after his death, he is regarded as a heroic ruler in Bulgaria,Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 127, {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}WEB,weblink Bulgaria after Simeon, 12 February 2008, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080205121624weblink">weblink 5 February 2008, as well as in North Macedonia.There has been no Macedonian state since the days of the Ancient Macedon that was finally abolished in 148 BC and 1945, when Communist Yugoslavia established its constituent republic with such name. It is unlikely that the contemporary Republic of Macedonia founded in 1991, may establish credible historical link to the medieval Samuel's state. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Columbia Encyclopedia, Collier's Encyclopedia, the Great Russian Encyclopedia, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium and the Cambridge Medieval History, Samuel was Tsar of Bulgaria.
• Ivan Asen I, Peter IV and Kaloyan are the three brothers tsars that reestablished Bulgaria after a major uprising (1185–1204).
• Euthymius of Tarnovo – Patriarch of Bulgaria between 1375 and 1393. Regarded as one of the most important figures of medieval Bulgaria, Euthymius was the last head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the Second Bulgarian Empire. Arguably the best esteemed of all Bulgarian patriarchs, Euthymius was an authoritative figure in the Eastern Orthodox world of the time.

Modern

• Petar Bogdan (1601–1674)
• Paisius of Hilendar (1722–1773)
• Petar Beron (1799–1871))
• Georgi Rakovski (1821–1867)
• Dragan Tsankov (1828–1911)
• Lyuben Karavelov (1834–1879)
• Vasil Levski (1837–1873)
• Ekzarh Yosif (1840–1915)
• Vasil Drumev (1841–1901)
• Georgi Benkovski (1843–1876)
• Petko Karavelov (1943–1903)
• Hristo Botev (1848–1876)
• Zahari Stoyanov (1850–1889)
• Ivan Vazov (1850–1921)
• Stefan Stambolov (1851–1895)

Croatia

• ViÅ¡eslav was one of the first dukes of Croatia, and the early attested by name.
• Tomislav is celebrated as the first king of Croatia and the founder of the first united Croatian state.
• Ante Starčević, has been referred to as Father of the Nation due to his campaign for the rights of Croats within Austria-Hungary and his propagation of a Croatian state in a time where many politicians sought unification with other South Slavs.
• Franjo TuÄ‘man, first President of the Republic of Croatia 1990–99.BOOK, Predrag Matvejević, Vidosav Stevanović, Zlatko Dizdarević, Gospodari rata i mira,weblink 1999, Feral Tribune, 64, 9789536359400, Sometimes referred to as and self-proclaimed "Father of the Nation".BOOK, James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups,weblink 1 January 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group, 978-0-313-30984-7, 198, On 15 June 1997 Franjo Tudjman, the self-proclaimed "Father of the Nation," was elected for another five-year term,

Cyprus

Czech Republic

• Czech, one of three mythical Slavic brothers who appear together in the Wielkopolska Chronicle, is considered the founder of the Czech nation.
• BoÅ™ivoj I, Duke of Bohemia, one of the first monarchs of the Duchy of Bohemia and the early attested by name.
• Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, main patron saint of the country. Anniversary of his murder on 28 September is celebrated as Statehood Day.
• Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, who is known under honorific title Father of the Homeland.
• FrantiÅ¡ek Palacký, politician and historian, influential in Czech National Revival movement, known by title Father of the Nation.
• Tomáš Masaryk, founder and first president of Czechoslovakia, which independence on 28 October 1918 is today celebrated as factical Independence Day.
• Václav Havel, founder of the Civic Forum party that played a major role in the Velvet Revolution that in 1989 toppled the Communist system in Czechoslovakia, was the last (and first democratically elected) president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, and the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.

Denmark

• Dan (king) (or Halfdan) is the name of the legendary earliest king of the Danes and Denmark, mentioned in medieval Scandinavian texts. He is said to be the progenitor of the nation and the Danish Royal House according to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum.
• Gorm the Old, the first recorded ruler of Denmark, reigning from c.  936 to his death c.  958. The current Queen Margrethe II of Denmark can trace her heritage back to Gorm the Old. He is called the founder of the kingdom of Denmark, though at the time he did not control the whole country, only Jutland.
• Harald Bluetooth was the son of Gorm the old and the first to unite Denmark into a single country by uniting the tribes. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986. He was baptized and the first Christian king of Denmark and helped Christianize the Danes, which is proclaimed on the Jelling stone.
• Niels Ebbesen was a Danish squire and national hero who liberated Denmark, which had been patented away to German barons and landlords. He is known for his killing of Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in 1340, and in doing so returning control of Jutland and Funen back to the Danish king.

Estonia

Finland

France

• Vercingetorix: he united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.
• Clovis I: King of the Salian Franks (481–509), King of the Franks (509–511); united all the Frankish tribes in Gaul and gave them a common Catholic religion.
• Charlemagne: King of the Franks (768–814), Holy Roman Emperor (800–814), King of the Lombards (774–814); considered as a major founding figure of Europe.
• Napoleon I: First Consul of France (1799–1804), first President of the Italian Republic (1802–1805), King of Italy (1805–1814), Emperor of the French (1804–1814); founded the First French Empire and established many modern French institutions.
• Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, later known as Emperor Napoleon III (1852–1870) was the first French President (1848–1852). He was the last Monarch of France.
• Charles de Gaulle is a hero of the French resistance to Germany during World War II, and the founder and first president (1959–1969) of the Fifth French Republic.

Georgia

• Pharnavaz I (329—237 BC), 1st monarch of the Kingdom of Iberia
• Bagrat III (960—1014), 1st monarch of the united Kingdom of Georgia
• Noe Ramishvili (1881—1930), 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Georgia
• Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939—1993), 1st President of Georgia

Germany

Greece

Ancient

• Hellen, mythical progenitor of the Greeks, who gives his name to both the people and the country in the Greek language.
• Theseus, semi-legendary founder-hero of AthensCarl A.P. Ruck and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth (Carolina Academic Press, 1994), ch. ix "Theseus:Making the New Athens" pp. 203–222
• Solon (594 BC) and Cleisthenes (508/7 BC), inventors of democracy and founders of the Athenian constitution.
• Lycurgus of Sparta, founder of the Spartan constitution
• Cadmus, founder and first King of Thebes.

Modern

• Adamantios Korais, Theophilos Kairis and other figures of the Greek Enlightenment who contributed to the country's national awakening leading up to its revolution against the Ottoman Empire
• Rigas Feraios, writer and revolutionary who is remembered as a national hero and the first victim of the uprising against the Ottomans.
• Theodoros Kolokotronis, Georgios Karaiskakis, Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Laskarina Bouboulina, Yannis Makriyannis and other military leaders of the Greek War of Independence
• Alexandros Mavrokordatos, President of the First National Assembly at Epidaurus, co-author of the s:Greek Declaration of Independence|Greek Declaration of Independence]] and first Provisional Constitution and first head of government (President of the Executive) of Modern Greece.Brewer, David The Greek War of Independence, London: Overlook Duckworth, 2011 p. 130.
• Ioannis Kapodistrias, first head of state of independent Greece (1827–1831) and founder of the modern Greek state

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Ancient

• Romulus, founder of Rome, the capital of Italy
• Julius Caesar, great Roman general and dictator, extended Roman citizenship to the inhabitants Cisalpine Gaul, therefore extending it to the whole of Italy
• Augustus created during the Roman Empire for the first time an administrative region called Italia with inhabitants called Italicus Populus; for this reason historians called him Father of Italians.WEB,weblink LaGrandeBiblioteca.com is available at DomainMarket.com, LaGrandeBiblioteca.com is available at DomainMarket.com, 29 January 2020,weblink 2 February 2020, live,
• Constantine the Great, legalized Christianity and laid the foundation for the Christianisation of the Empire
• Alberto da Giussano, legendary warrior who defeated the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnano, thus securing the independence of the Northern Italian Lombard League.

Modern Italy

• Napoleon Bonaparte was the first to use the title of President of the Italian Republic.
• King Vittorio Emanuele II, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, and Giuseppe Mazzini have been referred to as the "Four Fathers of the Fatherland" for their contribution to Italian unification. Italy was unified in 1861 and Rome became its capital in 1870.V. Creation of the Italian Kingdom {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307050237weblink |date=7 March 2009 }}
• The anti-fascist members of the Assemblea Costituente (the Constituent Assembly of 1946–1947) are considered the "fathers" of the Italian Republic, which replaced the Monarchy after a referendum in 1946. Prominent members among them included Alcide De Gasperi (also counted among the founding fathers of the European Union), the communist Palmiro Togliatti and liberal Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, the "premier of victory" in WWI.

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

• Karl I became the first Prince of Liechtenstein in 1608.
• Hans-Adam I purchased the domain of Schellenberg and the county of Vaduz which would eventually form the modern day Lichtenstein.
• Johann I drafted the first constitution of Lichtenstein, in 1818.

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Moldova

• Bogdan I of MoldaviaWEB,weblink Descălecatul (întemeierea) Moldovei. Bogdan I, primul domn al Moldovei, 4 December 2017,
• Stephen the GreatWEB,weblink Când Ștefan cel Mare face politică. PreÈ™edintele Igor Dodon foloseÈ™te imaginea domnitorului pentru a promova ideologia moldovenismului, 10 September 2018, G4Media.ro,
• Alexandru LăpuÈ™neanuWEB,weblink ÈšepeÈ™, Ștefan cel Mare sau LăpuÈ™neanu. Moldoveni, despre personalități pe care È™i le-ar dori preÈ™edinte, AGORA, 24 September 2020,

Monaco

• François Grimaldi became the first Lord of Monaco when he captured the Rock of Monaco in 1297.
• Honoré II, Prince of Monaco secured recognition of independent sovereignty from Spain in 1633, and then from France by signing the Treaty of Péronne in 1641.

Montenegro

Netherlands

North Macedonia

Norway

• King Harald Fairhair, who unified Norway and ruled c. 872–930, is often considered the founder of the nation.
• Usually the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814, consisting of 112 men from most of the country, in Norway often referred to as Eidsvoll Men or the Fathers of the Constitution.WEB,weblink Why did the Norwegian constitution of 1814 become a part of positive law in the nineteenth century?, Blogit.helsinki.fi, 10 August 2017,

Poland

• Lech, legendary first leader of Polans tribe.

• Mieszko I (c. 920/45–992), the first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I is considered 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 PÅ™emyslid 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).
• BolesÅ‚aw I Chrobry (967–1025), was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025, and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was the son of Mieszko I of Poland by his wife, Dobrawa of Bohemia. He supported the missionary views of Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, and Bruno of Querfurt. The martyrdom of Adalbert in 997 and his imminent canonization were used to consolidate Poland's autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire. This perhaps happened most clearly during the Congress of Gniezno (11 March 1000), which resulted in the establishment of a Polish church structure with a Metropolitan See at Gniezno. This See was independent of the German Archbishopric of Magdeburg, which had tried to claim jurisdiction over the Polish church. Following the Congress of Gniezno, bishoprics were also established in Kraków, WrocÅ‚aw and KoÅ‚obrzeg, and BolesÅ‚aw formally repudiated paying tribute to the Holy Roman Empire. In the summer of 1018, in one of his expeditions, BolesÅ‚aw I captured Kiev, where he installed his son-in-law Sviatopolk I as ruler. According to legend, BolesÅ‚aw chipped his sword when striking Kiev's Golden Gate. Later, in honor of this legend, a sword called Szczerbiec ("Jagged Sword") would become the coronation sword of Poland's kings. BolesÅ‚aw I was a remarkable politician, strategist, and statesman. He not only turned Poland into a country comparable to older western monarchies, but he raised it to the front rank of European states. BolesÅ‚aw conducted successful military campaigns in the west, south and east. He consolidated Polish lands and conquered territories outside the borders of modern-day Poland, including Slovakia, Moravia, Red Ruthenia, Meissen, Lusatia, and Bohemia. He was a powerful mediator in Central European affairs. Finally, as the culmination of his reign, in 1025 he had himself crowned King of Poland. He was the first Polish ruler to receive the title of rex (Latin: "king").

• WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II JagieÅ‚Å‚o (c. 1352/1362 – 1434) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434) and then the King of Poland (1386–1434), first alongside his wife Jadwiga until 1399, and then sole King of Poland. He ruled in Lithuania from 1377. Born a pagan, in 1386 he converted to Catholicism and was baptized as WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II JagieÅ‚Å‚o. In 1387 he converted Lithuania to Christianity. His own reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, and lasted a further thirty-five years and laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. The dynasty ruled both states until 1572, and became one of the most influential dynasties in late medieval and early modern Central and Eastern Europe. During his reign, the Polish-Lithuanian state was the largest state in the Christian world. The reign of WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II JagieÅ‚Å‚o extended Polish frontiers and is often considered the beginning of Poland's Golden Age.
• Zygmunt II August (1520–1572), was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. In 1569 he oversaw the signing of the Union of Lublin between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and introduced an elective monarchy.
• Tadeusz KoÅ›ciuszko (1746–1817) was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, statesman, and military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States. He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's struggles against Russia and Prussia, and on the U.S. side in the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Forces, he led the 1794 KoÅ›ciuszko Uprising.

• Józef PiÅ‚sudski (1867–1935), was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (1918–22) and First Marshal of Poland (from 1920). From World War I he had great power in Polish politics and was a distinguished figure on the international scene. He is viewed as a father of the Druga Rzeczpospolita Polska re-established in 1918, 123 years after the 1795 Partitions of Poland by Austria, Prussia and Russia.
• Roman Dmowski (1864–1939), was a Polish politician, statesman, polyglot, and the leader of National Democracy movement. He was represented Poland at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
• Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860–1941), was a Polish pianist and composer, freemason, politician, statesman and spokesman for Polish independence. He was a favorite of concert audiences around the world. His musical fame opened access to diplomacy and the media. Paderewski played an important role in meeting with President Woodrow Wilson and obtaining the explicit inclusion of independent Poland as point 13 in Wilson's peace terms in 1918, called the Fourteen Points. He was the Prime Minister of Poland and also Poland's foreign minister in 1919, and represented Poland at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
• Wojciech Konfanty (1873–1939), was a Polish activist, journalist and politician, who served as a member of the German parliaments, the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag, and later, in the Polish Sejm. Briefly, he also was a paramilitary leader, known for organizing the Polish Silesian Uprisings in Upper Silesia, which after World War I was contested by Germany and Poland. Korfanty fought to protect Poles from discrimination and the policies of Germanisation in Upper Silesia before the war and sought to join Silesia to Poland after Poland regained its independence.
• Wincenty Witos (1874–1945), was a Polish politic and the leader of the Polish Peasants' Movement. Witos was also a leader of Polish Liquidation Committee, formed in Kraków in 1918.
• Ignacy DaszyÅ„ski (1866–1936), was a Polish socialist politician, journalist, and Prime Minister of the Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland, formed in Lublin in 1918.
• Józef Haller von Hallenburg (1873–1960) was a lieutenant general of the Polish Army, a legionary in the Polish Legions, harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the president of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP), and a political and social activist. After the Peace of Brest-Litovsk he arrived in France in July 1918, where on behalf of the Polish National Committee he created what was known as the Blue Army (from the color of its French uniforms, also known as Haller's Army). For the next few months his army, allied to the Entente, would fight against Germany.

Portugal

• Viriathus was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into western Hispania or Iberia (as the Greeks called it). Today Viriathus is regarded as a national hero and an enduring symbol of Portuguese nationality and independence, portrayed by artists and celebrated by its people throughout the centuries.
• Henry of Burgundy (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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}}

Romania

• Burebista is considered the great king who unified all the Dacian tribes. He is also known for creating a powerful empire that stretched from west to the Adriatic Sea and Southern Germany, from east to the Black Sea, from north to Southern Poland and from south to Greek Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. He is considered by many Romanians as a national hero. The Dacian Kingdom under Burebista was the greatest territorial extent in Romania's history.
• Decebalus and Trajan are considered to be the fathers of the Romanian people, as Roman veterans were settled on the present-day territory of Romania following Trajan's Dacian Wars.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}
• Basarab I the Founder (c. 1270-1351/1352) was the great voivode of Wallachia. Basarab either came into power between 1304 and 1324 by dethroning or peacefully succeeding the legendary founder of Wallachia, Radu Negru, or in 1310 by succeeding his father, Thocomerius. In 1330 he defeated Charles I of Hungary at the battle of Posada, and the first independent Romanian state was consequently founded. He founded the Basarab dynasty and his descendants ruled Wallachia for more than three centuries. From the middle of the 14th century, some foreign chronicles used derivations of his name: "Basarab", when referring to Wallachia.
• Michael the Brave (1558–1601) was the Prince of Wallachia (1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and de facto ruler of Transylvania (1599–1600). He is considered one of Romania's greatest national heroes. Since the 19th century, Michael the Brave has been regarded as a symbol of the unity of all Romanians, as his reign marked the first time all states mainly inhabited by Romanians were under the same ruler.
• Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as the first leader of the modern Romanian state. He presided over Wallachia and Moldavia in a personal union, which later became permanent even though he was forced to abdicate.
• Carol I was the first King of Romania that obtained the independence of the country.
• Ion C. Brătianu established the foundation of the modern Romanian State.
• Mihail Kogălniceanu established the foundation of the modern Romanian State.
• Ferdinand I was King of Romania when the country gained Transylvania and Bessarabia.

Russia

• Rurik, a Varangian prince and the legendary founder of the royal Rurikid dynasty, established the first Russian state in Novgorod the Great in 862.
• Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, Grand Prince of Moscow from the Rurikid dynasty, established the Tsardom of Muscovy and was proclaimed the first Tsar of Russia in 1547.
• Mikhail I of Russia was the first Tsar of Russia from the House of Romanov, elected to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. His elevation marked the end of the period of political and civil strife known as the Time of Troubles.
• Peter the Great, Tsar and then Emperor of Russia from the House of Romanov, founded Saint Petersburg in 1703 and established the Russian Empire in 1721, inaugurating the imperial period of Russian history that lasted until the February Revolution of 1917.
• Vladimir Lenin was the founder of Soviet Russia and later, the Soviet Union
• Boris Yeltsin was the first president of the Russian Federation as an independent state. He was first elected to the presidency in June 1991, while the Russian Federation was still a part of the USSR, and re-elected in 1996.

San Marino

Serbia

• Stefan Nemanja, grand prince of the medieval Serbian Grand Principality that would eventually evolve into the Serbian Kingdom and Serbian Empire. He is the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty.
• KaraÄ‘orÄ‘e, revolutionary who led the struggle for Serbia's liberation and independence from the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He is the founder of the KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević dynasty and bears the honorific title Father of the Nation.BOOK, Durde Jelenić, Nova Srbija i Jugoslavija, 1788–1921,weblink 1923, 56, ОТАЦ ОТАЏБИНЕ – КАРАЂОРЂЕ ПЕТРОВИЋ,
• MiloÅ¡ Obrenović, a revolutionary who led the struggle for Serbia's liberation and independence from the Ottoman Empire during the Second Serbian Uprising. He is the founder of the Obrenović dynasty and bears the honorific title Father of the Nation.BOOK, Milivoj J. Malenić, Posle četrdeset godina: u spomen proslave četrdesetogodiÅ¡njice Sv. Andrejske velike narodne skupÅ¡tine,weblink 1901, U Drž. Å¡tamp. Kralj. Srbije, да се на престо српски поврати њен ослободилац и оснивалац: Отац Отаџбине, Милош Обреновић Велики,,

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Vatican City

Oceania

Australia

Early colonial era

• Captain Arthur Phillip was the first Governor of New South Wales and founder of the first British colony in Australia.NEWS, 30 June 2015, Governor, soldier, spy: Uncovering the history of Arthur Phillip, en-AU, ABC News,weblink 2 February 2022,
• Governor Lachlan Macquarie is considered by historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition of New South Wales from a penal colony to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of Australian society in the early nineteenth century.
• William Wentworth advocated for the rights of emancipists and for representative self-government; he led the drafting of New South Wales' first self-governing constitution establishing the Parliament of New South Wales, Australia's first parliament. He was among the first colonists to promote a nascent form of Australian nationalism.

Late colonial and federation era

• Sir Henry Parkes is often regarded as the "Father of Federation" in Australia. During the late 19th century, he was the strongest proponent for a federation of Australian territories. However, he died before Australia federated, and was never able to see his plan come to fruition.WEB,weblink RBA: Sir Henry Parkes Biographical Summary, 9 June 2007, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070614085121weblink">weblink 14 June 2007,
• Andrew Inglis Clark is another founding father of Australia. He largely wrote the Australian Constitution in addition to developing the Hare-Clark system of voting and pushing for universal adult suffrage and other progressive ideals that would become law early in Australia's history.
• Alfred Deakin also stands out as a significant founding father as he attended all the Federation Conferences, he gave up 10 years of senior political appointments to travel the country promoting federation and was Australia's first Attorney General. He was instrumental in securing Edmond Barton as the first Prime Minister while Deakin went on to be Australia's 2nd, 5th and 7th Prime Minister. Deakin was responsible for establishing the High Court, Australian Navy, and many other important acts of parliament. Sir Robert Menzies is on record for saying he was Australia's greatest Prime Ministers.WEB,weblink Home, alfreddeakin,
• John Dunmore Lang. Although passing away over two decades before federation, John Dunmore Lang was a strong advocate of a federation of the Australian colonies as a democratic republic, independent from the British Empire.WEB,weblink Who Was John Dunmore Lang?, 13 June 2019, dunmorelangcollege.nsw.edu.au, Dunmore Lang College, Macquarie University, Macquarie, 26 August 2021, WEB,weblink John Dunmore Lang, explore.moadoph.gov.au, Museum of Australian Democracy, 26 August 2021,
• Sir Edmund Barton was the first Australian Prime Minister. Unlike many other nation's inaugural leaders, he is not often regarded as a Founder of Australia

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Nauru

New Zealand

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Former states and other territories

Arabian Peninsula

Bohemia

Czechoslovakia

• Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, first President of Czechoslovakia, known as President Liberator.

Kingdom of England

Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

Ancient Korea

Ottoman Empire

Russian Empire

• Rurik – VarangianRurik (Norse leader) Britannica Online Encyclopedia prince and Prince of Novgorod beginning around 862 ADRurik Dynasty (medieval Russian rulers) Britannica Online Encyclopedia
• Oleg, Rurik's kinsman and successor; extended his realm from Novgorod south to the Dnieper River valley and later moved his capital to the more strategic Kiev, where he established Kievan Rus' (the modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all have Kievan Rus' as their cultural heritage).BOOK, The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Plokhy, Serhii, 2006, Cambridge University Press, New York, 978-0-521-86403-9, 10–15,weblink For all the salient differences between these three post-Soviet nations, they have much in common when it comes to their culture and history, which goes back to Kievan Rus', the medieval East Slavic state based in the capital of present-day Ukraine., 27 April 2010,

• Ivan the Terrible, Grand Prince of Moscow (also Prince of Novgorod) from 1533 to 1547 and Tsar of All the Russias from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan also claimed the historical title "Grand Prince of Kiev" for himself, but this was more of a flourish, since Kiev had never formed part of his realm and Moscow would not control the Kievan region until the Truce of Andrusovo (1667), but Kiev remained an important city in early Slavic history and culture.
• Peter the Great, Tsar from 1682, officially proclaimed the establishment of the Russian Empire in 1721, following the Treaty of Nystad, and himself its first emperor. He instituted sweeping reforms and oversaw the transformation of Russia into a major European power, re-organising the state in the Western style. Founder of Saint-Petersburg
• Vladimir the Great was the first Christian Prince of Kievan Rus.

Kingdom of Scotland

Serbia and Montenegro

• Dobrica Ćosić, often referred to as the "Father of the Nation"

Soviet Union

• Vladimir Lenin – Officially one among many equal founders of the country, Lenin was, de facto, the paramount leader, founder of the Soviet Union and the CPSU. The party governed the Soviet Union initially through a coalition with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries along with elected soviets but later as a one-party state over the course of the Russian Civil War and political uprisings. Lenin is also considered the founding father of the modern Russian state. He died soon after the country's founding and retained a special status of secular apotheosis for the rest of the country's history.
• Leon TrotskyBOOK, Brotherstone, Terence, Trotsky's future. Brotherstone, Terence; Dukes, Paul,(eds), 1992, Edinburgh University Press, 978-0-7486-0317-6, 238, – Founding Politburo member, head of the Red Army, commissar for foreign affairs, key organiser of the October Revolution. Trotsky was widely considered de facto second in command in the Soviet Union during Lenin's tenure. He was also nominated for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Soviet Union on several occasions by Lenin.JOURNAL, Danilov, Victor, Porter, Cathy, We Are Starting to Learn about Trotsky, History Workshop, 1990, 29, 136–146, 4288968,weblink 0309-2984, BOOK, Daniels, Robert V., The Rise and Fall of Communism in Russia, 1 October 2008, Yale University Press, 978-0-300-13493-3, 438,weblink en, BOOK, Watson, Derek, Molotov and Soviet Government: Sovnarkom, 1930-41, 27 July 2016, Springer, 978-1-349-24848-3, 25,weblink en, BOOK, Deutscher, Isaac, The prophet unarmed: Trotsky, 1921-1929, 1965, New York, Vintage Books, 978-0-394-70747-1, 135,weblink BOOK, Dziewanowski, M. K., Russia in the twentieth century, 2003, Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, 978-0-13-097852-3, 162,weblink Trotsky was outmaneuvered by Joseph Stalin during the succession struggle, exiled and eventually assassinated in 1940.

Republic of Texas

• Sam Houston
• William B. Travis
• Lorenzo de Zavala

Wales

• Magnus Maximus (c. 335–388). 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-British ruler of Britain and the western portions of the Roman Empire. His mytho-heroic founding of Wales is celebrated in the modern Welsh anthem Yma o Hyd by Dafydd Iwan.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
• Hywel Dda (c. 880–950) was responsible for the codification of traditional Welsh Law, which, according to historian John Davies, "was a powerful symbol of [Welsh] unity and identity, as powerful, indeed, as their language".BOOK, Davies, John, John Davies (historian),weblink A History of Wales, Penguin, 1994, 84 & 86, London, 978-0-14-014581-6,
• Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (r. 1039–63) was the first Welsh king to rule over the entire territory of Wales, from about 1057 until his death in 1063.BOOK, Davies, John, John Davies (historian),weblink A History of Wales, Penguin, 1994, 100, London, 978-0-14-014581-6,

Republic of Vietnam

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Union of South Africa

• Louis Botha was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, and Jan Smuts, its second prime minister, was a prominent advocate of unification and seen in more recent polls as the Union of South Africa's greatest historical leader.
• Jan van Riebeeck was treated as a South African founding father by the South African government during the apartheid era, being featured on statues and the country's currency (although the likeness was erroneous and was actually that of another man).WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180704234846weblink">weblink dead, 4 July 2018, Suid-Afrikaanse Rand South African Rand Old Rand Notes (1970–1994), Southern African Currency Page, Southern African Currency Page, 4 July 2018, 2018, Van Riebeeck was the Dutch colonial administrator who established Cape Town in 1652, and is a significant figure in South African, and especially Afrikaner, history. Many Afrikaners view van Riebeeck as the father of the Afrikaner nation. Van Riebeeck also featured on the reverse of the R20 note, albeit indirectly, with an image of van Riebeeck's landing party (three ships) and the (old) South African Coat of Arms, with the Latin motto "Ex Unitate Vires" – "From Unity, Strength" (also translated as "Unity Creates Strength")., WEB,weblink So whose face was on old SA money?, IOL Business Report,

Zaire

References