In this article, large deflection and rotation of a nonlinear beam subjected to a coplanar follower static loading is studied. It is assumed that the angle of inclination of the force with respect to the deformed axis of the beam remains unchanged during deformation. The governing equation of this problem is solved analytically for the first time using a new kind of analytic technique for nonlinear problems, namely, the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The present solution can be used in wide range of load and length for beams under large deformations. The results obtained from HAM are compared with those results obtained by fourth order Range Kutta method. Finally, the load-displacement characteristics of a uniform cantilever under a follower force normal to the deformed beam axis are presented. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 27: 541-553, 2011