Janez Bleiweis (19 November 1808 – 29 November 1881) was a Slovene conservative politician, journalist, physician, veterinarian, and public figure. He was the leader of the so-called Old Slovene political movement. Already during his lifetime, he was called father of the nation. Bleiweis was a Habsburg legitimist and follower of the Austroslavist ideology. In politics, he followed the example of the Czech leader František Palacký, who demanded autonomy for the Slavic peoples within a unified Austrian Empire.