Arthur O'Connell: Difference between revisions
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| predecessor = [[Charles Kitchener]] | | predecessor = [[Charles Kitchener]] | ||
| successor = [[Jonty Goodwin|Lord Ashgrove]] | | successor = [[Jonty Goodwin|Lord Ashgrove]] | ||
| office2 = | | office2 = 11th [[Prime Minister of Satavia|Prime Minister of the Dominion of Satavia]] | ||
| term_start2 = 22 August 1883 | | term_start2 = 22 August 1883 | ||
| term_end2 = 13 January 1901 | | term_end2 = 13 January 1901 | ||
Revision as of 17:54, 26 July 2022
Admiral Sir Arthur George Stobart O'Connell, PC, MDC, MDNO, MG, ORC (11 October 1846 - 17 December 1944) was a Satavo-Caldian Royal Satavian Naval officer and leading statesman who served as the 10th Prime Minister of the Dominion of Satavia and later as the 14th Governor-General of Satavia. Son of the Caldish poet James O'Connell, O'Connell was born in Dunore, Caldia and moved with his family to Port Hope in 1855, as a result of the Blight of 1854. O'Connell's father would die when he was 11, and as the eldest of his four siblings, O'Connell was forced to look for a job. O'Connell joined the Royal Satavian Navy as a boy seaman at the age of 12; both his brothers would later follow suit. It soon became clear that O'Connell was a gifted sailor, and he was enrolled at the Royal Naval College, Port Hope at age 17. He passed out the next year aged 18 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant aboard HMSS Port Hope in 1865.
O'Connell would be chosen to serve as flag lieutenant to Admiral Stanley, who would later be elevated to the peerage as The Earl Stanley of Dolphin Bay, during his time aboard Port Hope. O'Connell impressed Stanley to the extent that Stanley began to take a personal interest in O'Connell's career even after he had been replaced as flag lieutenant when Stanley moved to the new, state-of-the-art flagship HMSS King George.
In the following years, O'Connell would rise rapidly through the ranks, in part due to his association with Stanley, who had in 1871 become Chief of the Naval Staff. In 1872, aged 26, O'Connell received his first command as a Captain; HMSS Richard V, an ageing frigate. By 1876, with the Estmero-Tinpot Country War well underway, O'Connell was given orders to sail HMSS Cape James and several other vessels to assist the Estmerish fleet in combat off the coast of Cape Creak. Within days of arriving, O'Connell was instrumental in overcoming superior numerical odds at the Battle of Cape Creak. His experience and actions in the war lead to his promotion to Commodore. In 1878, he was given command of the Hope Division, which comprised both Satavian and Estmerish naval vessels.
By 1879, however, O'Connell had grown restless and decided to pursue a career in politics. Having informed Admiral Stanley of his wishes, Admiral Stanley allowed for him to be immediately discharged with full honours (despite the normal period at the time being around three years). He stood for election as the Conservative candidate for Grange, in the Hope Province. He had been chosen to stand for Grange as it had previously been a United Dominion Party safe seat, but it was also home to a large dockyard and significant Ghallish population. He won a landslide election, and within two years had risen to prominence within the Conservative party. Johan van Vallier's replacement as party leader was Daniel McCrory, who was unpopular both within the party and across the country. During the early 1880s, the new UDP government soon fell apart rocked first by the resignation of Oliver Booth due to ill-health, and soon his replacement Derek Auldwin faced calls to resign or face a no-confidence vote within a month of becoming Prime Minister. Sensing an opportunity, O'Connell whipped up support within the Chamber of Commons to oust the Prime Minister. He impressed many within the party and defeated McCrory in a leadership election by the end of July 1883. O'Connell led the party to an electoral landslide in the 1883 Satavian general election, becoming Prime Minister at age 37.
During his first term as Prime Minister, O'Connell oversaw a large and controversial resettlement process that cleared out many of the slums that had surrounded Port Hope and forced many poor people into workhouses. His policies, however, encouraged economic growth and helped kick-start the Estmerish Miracle. O'Connell would later run for re-election in 1887, and again in 1891, 1895 and 1899, all the while enjoying a vast parliamentary majority in both chambers. Despite winning a four-year mandate to govern in the 1899 general election, O'Connell retired mid-way through his fifth term citing personal reasons. His replacement was Treasurer and close ally Lord Westanquay - who would later fail to win re-election in the 1903 general election, ending Conservative leadership for the first time in twenty years.
O'Connell travelled across much of the world in the early 1900s and would return to Satavia in 1906 to begin teaching at the Royal Naval College, Port Hope. He was knighted by King Edward IV in 1909 and was appointed to the Privy Council of Estmere later that year. In 1911, it was confirmed that O'Connell would replace Charles Kitchener as Governor-General of Satavia at the start of 1912, a position he would hold for just under 15 years.
O'Connell finally retired in 1927, although would later be evacuated aboard HMS Richard X when Nuvanian forces landed and occupied Satavia. Moving to Caldia, O'Connell retired there until 1942, when he returned to Satavia after the National Government agreed to return his estate in Port Edward to him, having seized it in February 1939. O'Connell died of a stroke aged 98 in December 1944 at his estate in Port Edward. He lay in state in St Patrick's Cathedral in Port Hope for three days, before being awarded a full state funeral. It remains the most attended and most expensive state funeral in Satavian history.
Widely considered one of the three 'political giants' of the Dominion, O'Connell remains popular in Satavia, although in recent years he has been criticised for his policies towards natives during a period now known as the Great Shame. In a 2008 poll, he was named 'Satavia's Greatest Satavian', and many parks and public places are named after him.