Eric Fleming

His Excellency The Right Honourable Eric Fleming CI
Eric Fleming, 1962
4th President of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 1960 – 23 April, 1968
Prime Minister	Efrem Lacovara
Preceded by	Venanzio Mazzone
Succeeded by	Efrem Lacovara
10th Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 1968 – 23 April, 1972
President	Efrem Lacovara
Deputy	Marguerite Ernman
Preceded by	Efrem Lacovara
Succeeded by	Querano Piro
Member of Parliament for Harston
In office 23 April, 1968 – 23 April, 1972
Preceded by	Sam Ruffin
Succeeded by	Damian Robertson
Member of Parliament for Harston
In office 23 April, 1948 – 23 April, 1960
Preceded by	Mervin Wheaton
Succeeded by	Sam Ruffin
Personal details
Born	Eric Fleming (1911-09-25)25 September 1911 Cuanstad, Saint Ellen's, Imagua
Died	21 March 1981(1981-03-21) (aged 69) Cuanstad, Imagua and the Assimas
Resting place	King's Cemetery
Nationality	Estmerish (1911-1937) Imaguan (1937-present)
Political party	Democratic Labour Party
Spouse	Phoebe Fleming
Children	3
Military service
Allegiance	Colony of Imagua
Branch/service	Imaguan Militia
Years of service	1928-1936
Rank	Colonel

Eric Fleming (b. 25 September, 1911, d. 23 March, 1981) was an Imaguan politican who served as the third President of Imagua and the Assimas, serving from 1960 to 1968, and as the tenth Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas, serving from 1968 until 1972. He was the first Bahio-Imaguan person to become both head of state of Imagua and the Assimas, but also head of government.

Early life

Eric Fleming was born in Cuanstad to Thomas Fleming, who worked at a factory, and Lona Fleming, a housewife, as the eldest of four children on 25 September, 1911. In his early life, Eric Fleming grew up in "squalor," as his father spent most of his earnings on alcohol, leading to poverty.

In 1921, he went to the Fairmaiden School in Cuanstad, where did decently well in his studies. This allowed him to attend a grammar school in 1921, attending the Wayburn Grammar School, where he excelled in his studies, especially in politics. However, a football injury during his time at grammar school caused a hearing problem which would be corrected with a hearing aid. Despite this, he passed the school certificate exam in 1927, and then passed the higher school certificate exam in 1928.

Following his graduation, he enlisted in the colonial militia to "defend Imagua" in the Great War, rising through the ranks and by the time he was discharged in 1936, he had become a Colonel.

Afterwards, he took on a life as a bricklayer, until joining the Labour Party in 1940.

Early political career

Early years

In 1940, Eric Fleming joined the local Labour Party association for Harston, as he felt that the dominant Conservatives had harmed Bahio-Imaguans like himself, and were "maintaining" policies that benefitted the Euclean majority. He campaigned for Labour candidate Joe Huckle, who was defeated by incumbent Democratic MP Mervin Wheaton.

Despite the loss, Fleming "found his calling" within the party, and gained a job as a canvasser. Thus, he promoted the affairs of the Labour Party within his constituency of Harston, as he argued that the domination of the political system by the Conservatives, and the "cowardice" of the Democratic Party made the Bahio-Imaguan population of the country "second-class citizens in their own country."

In the 1944 elections, he campaigned for Labour candidate Enoch Duprix. While Duprix was personally popular, Wheaton was able to use Duprix's alleged homosexuality as a weapon against him, allowing Wheaton to win with 48.4% of the vote, with Conservative candidate Roderick Moore taking second place with 32.1%.

Following this loss, Eric Fleming became the head of the local constituency association after Duprix's resignation. During this period, Eric Fleming increased his profile within his constituency, as he sought to ensure that residents of Harston would vote for him over Mervin Wheaton.

When the two parties merged into the Democratic Labour Party in 1948, Eric Fleming "fully expected" that he would be displaced by Mervin Wheaton, and was stunned when Wheaton announced his intention to join the "continuing" Democratic Party. This allowed Eric Fleming to run for office in that year's general elections.

He ran against incumbent MP Mervin Wheaton, and Conservative candidate Willy Curnow. From the start, Eric Fleming was seen as the clear frontrunner for the race, as he was not only incredibly popular due to his tireless campaigning, but also because Mervin Wheaton was seen as both having "run out of ideas," and "unwilling to cooperate."

Thus, when the results came in, Fleming won with 53.7% of the vote, compared to Wheaton's 24.5% of the vote, and Curnow's 21.8% of the vote.

Backbencher

On 23 April, 1948, Eric Fleming was sworn in for his first term in the Lesser House of Parliament, as the Democratic Labour member of Parliament for Harston.

During Eric Fleming's first term, he was seen as a "reserved" legislator. However, in his maiden speech in 1950, he critcised the governing Conservative Party for their "indifference to [Imagua's] black communities," and criticised the Conservatives for having had "no black MPs."

This speech galvanised his popularity in his own constituency, while within the Democratic Labour Party, Efrem Lacovara started developing a close "partnership" in order to help advance each other's legislative agendas.

In 1952, Eric Fleming ran against Conservative candidate Bernard Roberts and Democratic candidate Mervin Wheaton. While Roberts ran on a platform of criticising the Democratic Labour Party, Fleming ran on a platform of his experience and vowed to continue improve the lot of those in Harston.

When the results came in, Fleming won with 56.2% of the vote, while Roberts only had 34.7% of the vote. This allowed Eric Fleming to serve a second term in the Lesser House.

In his second term, Eric Fleming built up his profile within the Democratic Labour Party, as although he continued to be a backbencher, he was given roles in committees to help establish what would become the Imaguan welfare state. This allowed him to help shape government policy, with Fleming taking a particular interest in improving the Bahio-Imaguan community on the island "so that they may be equal to the white population."

This meant that by 1956, Eric Fleming was able to use his experience against Conservative candidate Beryl Parker, allowing him to win with 61.2% of the vote, to Parker's 30.5% of the vote, which helped him secure a third term in the Lesser House.

During his third term, Eric Fleming continued to represent the interests of his constituency to the Lesser House, while at the same time continuing to build up his profile within the Democratic Labour Party. While he never was appointed to the shadow cabinet under Efrem Lacovara's leadership of the Democratic Labour Party, he was nonetheless an influential figure in the party, helping shape many policies.

1960 presidential election

At the 1959 leadership conference, Eric Fleming declared his candidacy to run to be the presidential candidate for the Democratic Labour Party. This placed him against Edwin Covington, who was situated on the right-wing of the party.

Parliamentary leader Efrem Lacovara offered a deal to Eric Fleming: if he would only "reign but not rule" if elected to be President, he would encourage all of the parliamentary party to vote for Fleming.

While Eric Fleming was hesitant at that deal, as he felt that Imagua and the Assimas should be a semi-presidential republic, he knew that not accepting the deal would not only hurt his chances at becoming Imagua's leader, but also would bring "unwanted attention" on account of his Bahian heritage.

Thus, Eric Fleming accepted the deal, and with the help of Efrem Lacovara, Fleming defeated Covington with 55% of the vote. This allowed Eric Fleming to begin to prepare for his presidential campaign against incumbent President Venanzio Mazzone. At the convention, they nominated Sam Ruffin to succeed Fleming, with the intention that if Fleming lost, Ruffin could resign to make way for Fleming to return to the Lesser House of Parliament.

When the writ was dropped, Eric Fleming began his campaign, pledging to serve as a "leader for all Imaguans, whether they be black or white," and to "oversee the adoption of common sense policies to improve our country." He also criticised Mazzone for being as "autocratic" as the leaders of Vilcasuamanas.

On 25 March, 1960, Fleming defeated Mazzone with 59.5% of the vote, allowing him to be sworn in as President on 23 April, 1960.

Ruffin won with 49.8% of the vote, allowing him to take Fleming's seat in the Lesser House.

Presidency

Eric Fleming, 1965

On 23 April, 1960, Eric Fleming was sworn in as the fourth President of Imagua and the Assimas, making him the first Bahio-Imaguan to ever lead the country, albeit only as head of state. That day, the cabinet was sworn in, with Efrem Lacovara named Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas.

As per his pledge to Efrem Lacovara, Eric Fleming left the cabinet to run itself, rarely interfering in the affairs of the parliamentary Democratic Labour Party apart from what the Prime Minister asked him to do. This meant that Eric Fleming would spend much of his time travelling across the world to attend international conferences to represent Imagua, most sensationally in 1962 when he gave a speech to the Congress of Bahian States after Imagua was granted observer status.

Thus, in 1963, he was nominated to run for a second term by the governing Democratic Labour Party as their presidential nominee. He ran an effective campaign against Conservative nominee, and former President Venanzio Mazzone in the 1964 election, and was able to win with 55% of the vote, compared to Mazzone's 45% of the vote.

During Fleming's second term, he continued to serve as a head of state, and performing the duties relating to his position as head of state. This effectively meant that Efrem Lacovara became the undisputed head of government of the country, and confirmed that Imagua was a parliamentary republic. Yet, Eric Fleming did begin exercising some influence in Imaguan politics, using his position as head of state to advocate for issues within the country, especially relating to Bahio-Imaguan rights.

By 1967, as Fleming reached the end of his second term, he announced his intention to run for the premiership, as the Imaguan constitution limited the maximum number of terms that the president could serve to two. At that year's leadership convention, Efrem Lacovara was nominated to be the presidential nominee, while Eric Fleming would run for the premiership.

Thus, when the writ was dropped in 1968, Eric Fleming ran against Roland Arnold of the Conservative Party. Fleming campaigned on continuing Lacovara's policies and to ensure that "the rights of all Imaguans will be respected," and to engage in equity to "help equalize the blacks and the whites."

Thus, when the results came in, although the DLP lost six seats, they still maintained control of the Lesser House of Parliament.

He also won his seat, defeating Conservative challenger Trevor Ross with 55.5% of the vote, allowing him to retake his old constituency.

Premiership

File:Fleming72.jpg

Eric Fleming, 1972

On 23 April, 1968, Eric Fleming was sworn in as the tenth Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding newly-elected President Efrem Lacovara, and was also sworn in for his fourth term in the Lesser House of Parliament. That day, he named his cabinet, designating Marguerite Ernman to serve as his deputy.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Eric Fleming instituted affirmative action policies to ensure that Bahio-Imaguans would have a greater involvement in Imaguan politics, and to institute an exit tax on corporations outsourcing operations outside of Imagua and the Assimas. These policies were met with fierce criticism by the Conservatives, with new Conservative leader Querano Piro claiming that the policies undermined "the social harmony and cohesion of the Imaguan nation."

While Eric Fleming had been reasonably popular at the start of his term, an anti-incumbency factor was emerging, as the Democratic Labour Party had been governing Imagua for over a decade, and were perceived to have run out of ideas. Thus, over the course of his term as Prime Minister, his own popularity, as well as that of the governing Democratic Labour Party decreased.

In 1971, he was nominated to run for a second term as Prime Minister, while Efrem Lacovara was nominated to run for a second term for the presidency at that year's leadership convention.

Thus, when the writ was dropped for the 1972 general election to begin, Eric Fleming focused heavily on campaigning against Querano Piro, saying that a Democratic Labour government would continue economic growth, without sacrificing "the dignity of Imagua's working class," and that if the Conservatives were elected, they would undo "twelve years of progress."

However, Querano Piro ran a more effective campaign than Eric Fleming, which was only heightened when Fleming performed poorly in the televised debates organised by the Imaguan Television Service. This, combined with a growing anti-incumbency factor, and criticism over Fleming's affirmative action policies meant that by the time the election was held, the Conservatives had fourty-four seats, while the DLP fell to twenty-six seats, or a loss of thirteen seats.

Eric Fleming also lost his own seat, losing to Conservative candidate Damian Robertson, who won Harston with 47.6% of the vote, compared to Fleming's 38.9% of the vote.

The following day, Eric Fleming conceded defeat to the Conservatives, and tendered his resignation from the party leadership.

Later life and death

Following his defeat, Eric Fleming retired from politics, although he remained involved in the Democratic Labour Party, attending as a delegate at the 1975 leadership convention, where he backed Travis Marshall and Alberico La Macchia for the DLP nomination for the premiership and presidency respectively, and in 1979, where he backed Marguerite Ernman and Casimiro Fioravanti.

In 1980, Eric Fleming published his memoirs, The New Dawn, about how he became the first Bahio-Imaguan leader of Imagua and the Assimas, which sold well.

Eric Fleming died on 23 March, 1981, at his home in Cuanstad. After an autopsy determined the cause of death was sudden heart failure, his body was laid in state to allow Imaguans to pay their final respects to him. On 1 April, 1981, a state funeral was held, with eulogies delivered by Marguerite Ernman and Querano Piro. After the service, his body was taken to King's Cemetery, where he was interred.

Personal life

Eric Fleming married 22-year old Phoebe Fleming in 1935, after dating for two years. Their relationship was positive, and they stayed married until Eric Fleming's death in 1981. Together, they had three children: Burley Fleming, born in 1936, and died in 2004, Hadleigh Fleming, born in 1939, and Reilly Fleming, born in 1941, and died in 2010.

At the time of his death, Eric Fleming was survived by his wife, who died in 1987, their three children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

Eric Fleming's native language was Western Imaguan Creole, but he was fluent in Estmerish, Eastern Imaguan Creole, and Gaullican, and could carry a basic conversation in Etrurian, and Geatish.

Religion

Eric Fleming was baptized as a High Estmerian. However, after he was discharged from the colonial militia in 1936, he joined the local Bahian Estmerian congregation and found that it "spoke more to him" than the "white-run" structures of the High Estmerian Church.

Until his death in 1981, he was active in the Bahian Estmerian Church.

Political views

Eric Fleming was a social democrat, as he believed that although capitalism was in and of itself "beneficial to all," it had to always be "kept in check by the state to ensure that the wealth went to the people."

He was a supporter of universal healthcare, affirmative action, and the environmentalist movement.

Honours

Domestic

• Companion of the Order of Imagua, 1973