Agnes Ingram

Her Excellency The Right Honourable Agnes Ingram CI
Agnes Ingram, 2012
10th President of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 2008 – 23 April, 2016
Prime Minister	Saverio Merante
Preceded by	Erico D'Antonio
Succeeded by	Edmondo Privitera
14th Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 2000 – 23 April, 2008
President	Erico D'Antonio
Deputy	Saverio Merante
Preceded by	Gerald Larsson
Succeeded by	Saverio Merante
Member of Parliament for Knowleston-South
In office 22 May, 1997 – 23 April, 2008
Preceded by	Rod Simpson
Succeeded by	Moses Burton
Member of Parliament for Knowleston-South
In office 31 August, 1988 – 27 May, 1995
Preceded by	Godfrey Smith
Succeeded by	Rod Simpson
Personal details
Born	Agnes Baldwin (1945-08-16) 16 August 1945 Knowleston, Saint Isidore's Imagua
Nationality	Imaguan
Political party	Sotirian Labour
Other political affiliations	Democratic Labour Party (1976-1978) National Labour Party (1978-1997)
Spouse	Everett Ingram
Children	3
Alma mater	University of San Pietro

Agnes Ingram (née Baldwin, born 16 August, 1945) is a former Imaguan politician who served as the tenth President from 2008 to 2016, and as the fourteenth Prime Minister from 2000 to 2008. She was the first Bahio-Imaguan woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the Sotirian Labour, the first Bahio-Imaguan woman to be elected as Prime Minister and to the Presidency, and the first non-Democratic Labour Prime Minister since Martin Ellingham.

Early life

Agnes Baldwin was born on 16 August, 1945 in the town of Knowleston in Saint Isidore's Parish, as the youngest of three children, and the second daughter. Her father, Wallace Baldwin was a bricklayer, while her mother, Linda Baldwin was a houswife.

While her early childhood was described as being a "time of struggle," as they lived in poverty, with the development of the suburbs, and Knowleston becoming a commuter town to Nua Taois in the late 1940s and early 1950s, they rose to the middle class.

In 1950, Agnes Baldwin enrolled at the Hugh Northway School, where she was described as being a "proper student." After taking the eleven-plus in 1956, she managed to get into a grammar school, but as the only grammar school in Knowleston was boys-only, she had to take the bus daily to and from Nua Taois to attend the Wensley Grammar School (present-day Wensley Comprehensive School).

At the Wensley Grammar School, she was described as being one of the "best and brightest students," with one teacher saying that if she were a boy, Agnes would be seen as an "exemplar of performance."

After taking the O-levels in 1961, she managed to enter Sixth Form, where she did well, although noted that it was a lonely experience, as there were "only a few girls who were in Sixth Form" at the time. Nonetheless, she passed her A-levels, and graduated with "flying colours" in 1963, and gained a scholarship at the University of San Pietro.

In San Pietro, she majored in nursing, and became a registered nurse in 1966. She moved to Nua Taois, where she worked as a nurse at the King Charles Hospital in Nua Taois, where she met her future husband, Doctor Everett Ingram in 1967. After marrying him in 1969, Agnes continued working as a nurse until the birth of her third daughter, Cynthia, who was born prematurely, and suffered from cerebral palsy, and what may now be diagnosed today as Ohtahara syndrome.

Her daughter's condition forced her to quit her job in nursing, but it also helped introduce Agnes Ingram to politics, with Ingram being enamoured with the Democratic Labour Party, as she felt that she was "more at home with my fellow Bahians" than with the Sotirian Democratic Party.

Political career

Early political career

After the death of Cynthia Ingram in 1975 from her medical conditions at the King Charles Hospital in Nua Taois, Agnes Ingram and her husband moved their family from Nua Taois to a new suburban development in Knowleston, as they felt that a new home would "ease their grief" and ensure that they would receive a "high-quality education."

There, Agnes Ingram became more involved with the Democratic Labour Party, joining the local constituency association in 1976 on the urging of MP and long-time friend Godfrey Smith. After campaigning for Smith's re-election that year, Agnes Ingram started to work at Smith's constituency office, as a secretary.

During her time as secretary, she helped become Smith's closest confidante, and helped become influential in the local association. According to her, it "took my mind off my youngest daughter," and allowed her to "contribute to the community" in a meaningful way. In 1978, she followed Godfrey Smith in joining the National Labour Party, in protest of Pietro Muro's "radical" leadership. As member of the National Labour Party, she helped campaign for Smith's re-election in 1980, and in 1984.

When Godfrey Smith announced his retirement in 1988, he and the local constituency association nominated Agnes Ingram to run for Smith's old seat in the Chamber of Commons of Parliament. Agnes Ingram accepted the offer, as she felt that she would be able to contribute to the community and to ensure change would occur.

After being approved by the leadership, she faced Democratic Labour candidate Angus Walsh in the 1988 general election. She ran on a platform of ensuring that "all Imaguans can experience a better economy," and accused Angus Walsh of supporting policies that "undermine our nation's values."

Thus, when the results came in, Agnes Ingram defeated Angus Walsh 54.5% to 42.1%, with the remainder split among other candidates.

Backbencher

On 23 April, 1988, Agnes Ingram was sworn into the Chamber of Commons of Parliament, as a National Labour MP. As a new member of Parliament, she was a backbencher.

During her first term, Agnes Ingram mostly represented her constituency's interests, but also advocated for the rights of disabled persons, accusing the Democratic Labour Party of doing little to "improve the lot of people with disabilities" in Imagua and the Assimas. However, this approach made Agnes Ingram popular among both those residing in Knowleston-South, and among both disabled peoples and activists.

By the time the writ for the 1992 general election was dropped, she faced DLP candidate Nathan Foster.

During her campaign for a second term, she criticized the DLP's "soft on crime" strategy, and accused Foster of "not caring enough for our community and for disabled people." Her strategy helped allow her to win with 68.2% of the vote, compared to Foster's 31.8%.

While Agnes Ingram remained a backbencher in her second term, as the Conservatives now formed a minority government, Agnes Ingram was assigned to the Standing Committee on Health, allowing her to exercise influence over healthcare legislation passed during this period in time. This allowed her to play a more important role in the Imaguan parliamentary system.

However, when the Conservative government was defeated in a budget motion in 1995, Agnes Ingram ran for a third term against Democratic Labour candidate Angela Brown, and National Reform candidate Rod Simpson.

During the campaign, while Rod Simpson ran on a platform of change and "representing the interests of Knowleston-South" over the elites, and Angela Brown campaigned on criticising Rod Simpson and Agnes Ingram for "not doing enough for Knowleston-South," Agnes Ingram defended her record, saying that over the past seven years, she "represented the best interests of Knowleston-South," and accused Rod Simpson of pandering to conspiracy theorists, and accused Brown of being "soft-on-crime."

Despite a vigorous campaign, when the results came in, Rod Simpson won with 39.5% of the vote, defeating Agnes Ingram, who only had 36.7% of the vote, and Angela Brown, who had 23.8% of the vote. Ingram conceded defeat to Rod Simpson.

Political wilderness

Following her loss of Knowleston-South, there were some calls among the local Conservative association for Agnes Ingram to resign as head of the constituency association, and to have her replaced with someone else.

However, Ingram refused, saying that her second-place finish, and a 2.8% separation indicated that she performed well, and should deserve a second chance when the National Reform government inevitably collapsed, and an election called. With the support of most of her association, Ingram remained head of the local constituency association.

During this period, Agnes Ingram continued to build her influence within the Conservative Party, campaigning for Erico D'Antonio's re-election in 1996 before D'Antonio suspended his campaign and endorsed Ornell Elliott to stop the National Reform Party from taking the Imaguan presidency.

When the Conservatives and the Democratic Labour Party voted to defeat the budget in 1997, she was nominated as the Conservative candidate, and ran against National Reform MP Rod Simpson, who during his term became very unpopular, in part due to Rod Simpson's maiden speech which called for illegal immigrants to Imagua to be "shot on sight."

As the DLP candidate, Gloria Watts, was a paper candidate, she was able to build a huge lead, and by the time the results were in, Ingram won with 70.1% of the vote, compared to Simpson's 28.5%, and Watt's 1.4%. This allowed Agnes Ingram to return to the Lesser House.

Return to the Lesser House

On 22 May, 1997, Agnes Ingram was sworn in for a third term in the Lesser House of Parliament.

Following her return to the Lesser House, she was appointed as Shadow Minister of Minority Affairs, which was noted by some, including newly-elected Prime Minister Viviana Andreoli to be ironic, as Bahio-Imaguans formed (and continues to form) a majority of the population, while as an Estmerophone, she was seen as not being part of a linguistic minority.

Despite the criticism, Agnes Ingram performed her job well, criticizing efforts by the governing Democratic Labour Party to "undermine minority rights" by entrenching the autonomy of the Assimas Parish over "education, welfare, and social development," which she feared would be used to harm non-Etrurians on the islands, and criticizing the "neglect of indigenous Imaguans" by the current government.

She also continued advocating for disabled rights, tabling legislation in 1999 to "increase accessibility on the internet" by requiring all government websites conform to the principles of web accessibility, as she believed that the internet would be an "equalizing force between all people," and wanted disabled people to be able to receive the benefits. This legislation passed, and by 2001, all government websites were fully accessible.

However, when Holly Bates, the last MP representing the National Reform Party crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in 2000, she argued that Bates should sit as an independent, claiming that "the extreme positions of the NRP mean that Bates is thoroughly incompatible with the basic principles of the party." However, the Conservative leadership was unwilling to listen to her concerns, and that same year, they changed the name of the Conservative Party to the National Party of Imagua.

At the 2001 leadership convention, she was surprised when after Erico D'Antonio was nominated as Prime Ministerial nominee, he nominated Ingram to be his running mate.

Thus, in the 2001 general election, Agnes Ingram ran against DLP candidate Fabian Wensley. While Wensley ran on an anti-incumbency campaign, accusing Agnes Ingram of running out of ideas, Agnes Ingram's campaign ran on her experience and track record. At the same time, she made frequent appearances alongside Erico D'Antonio on the campaign trail, which helped build her national profile.

When the results came in, Ingram defeated Wensley with 61.2% of the vote, compared to Wensley's 37.1% of the vote, with others receiving the remainder.

Deputy Prime Minister

On 23 April, 2001, Agnes Ingram was sworn in as the Deputy Prime Minister, as Erico D'Antonio became Prime Minister.

While it was a ceremonial position, as apart from its position in the line of succession, the position was powerless, it nonetheless allowed Agnes Ingram to help shape government policy, especially regarding disability rights, and to a lesser degree, minority rights.

Thus, during her tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, she occasionally represented Erico D'Antonio at events that he was unable to attend, especially outside of the Asterias. As well, Agnes Ingram would preside over cabinet meetings in the absence of the Prime Minister, especially when he was travelling abroad.

As well, Agnes Ingram continued to build her public profile within Imagua and the Assimas, with Ingram being seen by many in the National establishment as D'Antonio's successor, especially as it was predicted that D'Antonio would make a bid for the Imaguan Presidency.

At the 2003 leadership convention, D'Antonio announced his intention to run for the presidency: after his candidacy was approved unanimously, the Nationals nominated Agnes Ingram to be their candidate for the Premiership. Ingram accepted the nomination, as she felt that while she could use more experience, she was "ready to finish the campaign." This made her the second Bahio-Imaguan to be the parliamentary leader for the Nationals, after Anthony Brockett, who was the Conservative PM from 1980 to 1984.

Thus, in January 2004, D'Antonio and Ornell Elliott met to dissolve Parliament so a general election can be held, as opposed to a presidential election. After D'Antonio's request was granted, the campaign began.

On the federal level, Agnes Ingram campaigned against Democratic Labour nominee Pete Tasuku, while Erico D'Antonio campaigned against Gioventino Buonaiuto of the DLP. During her federal campaign, Agnes Ingram criticized the DLP's "incompetent" policies under Elliott's tenure as President, and argued that a DLP government would harm the economy, while promising that if the Nationals got re-elected, that they would continue on D'Antonio's "successful economic policies."

When the debates took place on ITS, Agnes Ingram performed extraordinarily well in both the Estmerish and Etrurian debates, which helped increase Ingram's popularity among voters.

Thus, when the results came in, the National Party gained three seats, bringing their total in the Lesser House to 40 seats, allowing them to form a majority government. As Erico D'Antonio was elected for a second term, Agnes Ingram spent the next month assembling her cabinet.

Premiership

Agnes Ingram, 2007

On 23 April, 2000, Agnes Ingram was sworn in as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas, making her the second Bahio-Imaguan woman to become Prime Minister, after Viviana Andreoli, the second Bahio-Imaguan Prime Minister to come from the National Party (or its predecessor, the Conservatives), and the first Bahio-Imaguan woman to be a Prime Minister from the National Party. On that day, she appointed Saverio Merante to be the Deputy Prime Minister.

During her tenure as Prime Minister, Agnes Ingram focused on attracting businesses in the information technology sector to move to Imagua and the Assimas, with Ingram saying in 2004 that "the internet will allow Imagua to become an economic powerhouse if we can get IT companies to come to these islands," and that an increased IT presence would "free our economy from bondage to tourism and banking."

At the same time, Ingram began to relax immigration requirements, with Ingram's government increasing the number of permanent residency permits and work permits between 2004 and 2008, as she felt that immigration would be necessary to "help Imagua be an economic hub of the Orient." She also considered giving amnesty to illegal immigrants from Marirana, but shelved the plan on advice from her cabinet as they felt that it would undermine the popularity of the National Party. In 2005, she passed an amendment to the Citizenship Act which allowed citizenship of the ASTO to be a qualification for permanent residency in the country.

By 2006, Agnes Ingram was a popular Prime Minister, with Ingram having an approval rating of 65%, with only 30% disapproving of her governance, and 5% being undecided. At the same time, Agnes Ingram continued her advocacy for disabled rights, with Ingram sponsoring legislation to require that all new public buildings be "wheelchair accessible," and instituted grants to retrofit buildings to be "more disabled-friendly."

At the 2007 leadership convention, as Erico D'Antonio reached his maximum term limit under the Imaguan constitution, Agnes Ingram was nominated to run for the Imaguan presidency, while Saverio Merante would be nominated to be the National's candidate for the premiership.

Thus, when the writ was dropped, she faced Democratic Labour nominee Winnie Read. This was significant, as it was the first time that both major party nominees for the presidency were women, as well as Bahio-Imaguans.

During the election campaign, Agnes Ingram's campaign sought to continue the successful National policies, saying that "over the past seven years, Imagua has continued to grow, and it has continued to prosper," and that only the Nationals can maintain that growth. In contrast, Winnie Read argued that the policies have helped increase poverty, and unemployment, and accused the National Party of having run out of ideas. As well, she promised that the DLP would improve social programmes, and increase funding for education and healthcare.

At the ITS debates, while Winnie Read performed well on the Estmerish language presidential debate, Agnes Ingram performed well on the Etrurian language debate, which helped boost her popularity among the Etrurian population. As well, she took advantage of her high personal popularity to help leverage support for the National Party.

Thus, on 28 March, 2008, while the DLP gained 32 seats in the Lesser House, the Nationals still maintained a majority government, allowing Saverio Merante to become Prime Minister, while allowing Agnes Ingram to be the first female Bahio-Imaguan president, after winning the presidential vote with 51.2% of the vote, compared to Read's 47.6% of the vote.

Presidency

File:AgnesIngram10.jpg

Agnes Ingram, 2010

On 23 April, 2008, Agnes Ingram was sworn in as the tenth President of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding outgoing President Erico D'Antonio. On the same day, her cabinet was unveiled, with Saverio Merante sworn in as the nineteenth Imaguan Prime Minister.

In her first term as President, she mostly traveled across the world, and representing Imagua and the Assimas at international conferences. Unlike her predecessors in the Presidency, or her successor, Agnes Ingram's presidency was a "hands-off" presidency, with Agnes Ingram preferring to let her cabinet run itself, only interfering "if it seemed that their policies will lead Imagua to disaster."

Despite her hands-off approach, Agnes Ingram continued to advocate for the interests of disabled peoples in Imagua, but also across the world, saying in 2010 that "people with disabilities should be able to participate fully in society," and urged all countries to ensure that those with disabilities can have "equal opportunities to succeed at the same level as those without disabilities." In addition, Agnes Ingram provided support to neoliberal movements, saying that "neoliberalism works well for all people, and it should be fully embraced."

At the 2011 leadership convention, Ingram was nominated by the Nationals to run for a second term as President, while Saverio Merante was nominated to run for a second term as Prime Minister.

Thus, on 30 January, 2012, she launched her campaign. Agnes Ingram's main campaign was based on continuing the course, while attacking the Democratic Labour Party for having two "centres of power" (i.e. Edmondo Privitera and Douglas Egnell). In contrast, the DLP nominee for the Presidency, Immacolata Contessa sought to increase regulations and to restrict immigration to Imagua, as public opinion in Imagua had turned against the neoliberal policies of the National Party.

While Edmondo Privitera performed well at the debates, for the presidential debates, Agnes Ingram performed well at the Estmerish and Etrurian presidential debates, while her high personal popularity meant that even as the DLP was likely to take control of the Lesser House, it was likely Ingram would remain President.

On 23 March, 2012, the DLP secured thirty-six seats in the Lesser House of Parliament, compared to the National's thirty-four seats, or a gain of four seats in favour of the DLP. However, Ingram won the presidential vote 54.5% to Contessa's 44.8%, which allowed Agnes Ingram to serve a second term as President, albeit in cohabitation.

During her second term, she maintained her hands-off approach to the day-to-day functioning of government, although she was able to force the DLP to "soften" policies, such as only instituting a wet foot, dry foot policy. At the same time, Agnes Ingram personally gave her support to the construction of a children's hospital in Altaithe, as she felt it was "badly needed."

However, as the Mariranan Civil War intensified, she faced substantial criticism for allowing refugees who arrived on Imagua to stay, as many people across the islands, while initially welcoming, felt that they were becoming too soft on immigration, and criticised the decision to give refugees the right to live and work on the islands.

Thus, at the 2015 leadership convention, as Agnes Ingram was reaching the end of her second term, as she cannot run for a third term under the Imaguan constitution, she endorsed Saverio Merante to be the National's presidential nominee, while Dennis Egnell was to run for the premiership.

After the convention, Ingram announced her retirement from politics, saying that "I have done all that I can do for this country with the powers I have been given. Now is the time for a new generation to take over and lead this country forward."

Despite this, she made campaign appearances alongside Dennis Egnell and Saverio Merante.

However, when the results came in on 25 March, 2016, the DLP maintained their majority in the Lesser House, gaining one extra seat to take 37 seats, meaning Douglas Egnell became the Prime Minister, while Edmondo Privitera was elected with 62.7% of the vote, compared to Merante's 31.9%. This was effectively the end of fifteen years of National rule over Imagua.

Post-political career

Following her retirement from politics, Agnes Ingram returned to Knowleston, where she became involved in the local homeowner's association, and volunteered her time at local nursing homes within the town of Knowleston.

In 2017, she was named Companion of the Order of Imagua, due to her long and distinguished political career.

However, in February 2019, Agnes Ingram was hospitalised following a fall, causing severe injury. While she was in a stable condition, after the incident, she became wheelchair-bound, and following her discharge, moved into a retirement home.

Personal life

Everett Ingram (left) and Agnes Ingram (centre), 2011

Agnes Ingram married Doctor Everett Ingram in 1969, after first meeting him at the King Charles Hospital in Nua Taois. Together, they have three children: Jerry Ingram, born in 1970, Judy Duran, born in 1971, and Cynthia Ingram, born in 1973, and died in 1975 from complications from Ohtahara syndrome and cerebral palsy.

Of the two children that survived to adulthood, Jerry Ingram was a footballer who played from 1991 to 2001 in the Imaguan Football League, while Judy Duran is a doctor. They have three grandchildren: two from Jerry, with a grandson born in 1996, and a granddaughter in 1999, and a grandson from Judy Duran in 2002.

Agnes Ingram's native language is Eastern Imaguan Creole, and she is fluent in Estmerish, Etrurian, and Western Imaguan Creole. She can carry out a basic conversation in Geatish, and Ruttish.

Political views

Agnes Ingram described herself as a "small-government conservative," saying that "the government should stay out in the affairs of the economy." To this end, she supported neoliberalism and deregulation.

Socially, Agnes Ingram was more of a social conservative, being a strong supporter of the pro-life movement, saying that "all children deserve to live," and privately believed that abortion should only be allowed in case of rape or threat to the mother. She is an opponent to the LGBT movement, saying in 2006 that "their demands are completely unreasonable, for the Lord commanded that marriage should only be between a man and a woman," and argued that if their rights were recognized, it would be a "slippery slope towards bestiality and the like."

As well, Ingram was a strong opponent of assisted suicide and euthanasia, saying that "if Job can suffer all these tribulations, and yet still be loyal to the Lord, so can someone in extreme pain," and argued that euthanizing people would be "fundamentally unjust for disabled peoples who want to live but can't express their desire to do so."

She is a strong supporter of disabled rights, saying that her youngest daughter, Cynthia, taught her "the importance of advocating for people like her, so that they will be able to participate in society."

Religion

While Agnes Ingram was baptized as a Low Estmerian and was confirmed in the Low Estmerian tradition, following the birth of her youngest daughter, she became disillusioned with religion, as she felt that a "merciful God would not have allowed Cynthia to be the way she was." By the late 1970s, she effectively became an atheist.

However, following her election in 1988 to the Chamber of Commons, when she was in Cuanstad on a Sunday morning in September of that year, she felt "drawn to a little church in the city centre," and attended a service. After the service, she started following the beliefs of the Bahian Estmerian Church, and became "very devout" by 1991.

As of 2019, she still is an adherent to the Bahian Estmerian Church, attending services on a regular basis, and observing their holidays. However, her husband, as well as her surviving children are still Low Estmerian.

Honours

Domestic

• - Companion of the Order of Imagua, 2017

Foreign

• File:Order of Estmere ribbon Grand Cross Special Class.svg Grand Cross with Special Class of the Order of Estmere (2006)