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The Right Honourable Harmon Lambourne
File:CM Harmon Lambourne 1900.jpg Official portrait of Harmon Lambourne, 1900
1st Chief Minister of Imagua
In office 29 June, 1892 – 27 December, 1908
Deputy	none (1892-1908) Dick Parlow (1908)
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	Dick Parlow
Member of Parliament for New Burdale
In office 29 June, 1892 – 27 December, 1908
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	Harmon Lambourne (1828-10-01)1 October 1828 Lambourne House, Saint Ellen's, Imagua, Estmere
Died	27 December 1908(1908-12-27) (aged 80) Cuanstad, Saint Ellen's, Imagua, Estmere
Resting place	King's Cemetery
Nationality	Estmerish
Political party	Sotirian Democratic Party
Spouse	Hannah Lambourne
Children	8

Harmon Lambourne (1 October, 1828 - 27 December, 1908) was an Imaguan landowner and politician who served as the first Chief Minister of Imagua after the Colony of Imagua was granted self-government by Estmere in 1892, until his death in 1908.

(TBC)

Early life and career

Harmon Lambourne was born on 1 October, 1828 as the eldest son of Jonas Lambourne and Joan Lambourne near New Burdale. As descendants of large landowners who previously owned slaves until slavery was abolished in 1795, Harmon Lambourne grew up at the family plantation, where Lambourne received his education via private tutors, with his studies being largely influenced by both the classics and by preparations for him to some day inherit the Lambourne plantation.

In 1857, when Jonas Lambourne died, Harmon Lambourne took over the plantation. Harmon built on his father's wealth, acquiring more land until by 1870, Lambourne had "control over almost all the land this side of the Glen River between New Burdale and Blackburn." By 1871, Harmon Lambourne's estate was measured at around 75 square miles (194.25 km²), and his net worth was estimated to be around 255,961 shillings (in today's money, 289,800,751ſ04 or €36,104,953.84), making him among the wealthiest persons in the colony at the time, and the largest landowner in Saint Ellen's Parish. Lambourne at the time was noted for employing 752 workers "of Coian origin," with most of them being of gowsa origin, with a handful of Senrians "who arrived in the past few years."

Lambourne's wealth allowed him to finance community institutions in New Burdale, which helped boost his popularity among townsmen as being "a kind and benevolent benefactor" for their town. In 1880, Lambourne became the Mayor of New Burdale, and would in this period gain prominence across the colony for his wealth and for his philanthropy.

Political career

Early years

By the late 1880s, Harmon Lambourne became an advocate for Imaguan self-governance, with Lambourne saying that "while we are not yet ready to fully become a sovereign state, after over two centuries of Estmerish settlement and presence" [over Imagua], "it is no longer sustainable for Imaguans to wait for Morwall to speak before we do anything."

In 1890, Harmon Lambourne was succeeded by radical reformer Bertrand O'Devine, who was the son of a Caldish immigrant and a champion of Bahio-Imaguans, as Mayor of New Burdale, having been defeated by O'Devine by a narrow margin. While Lambourne was disappointed by his loss to O'Devine, his newly freed time could now be spent on advocating for colonial self-government.

Harmon Lambourne sought a system "similar to that of our motherland, where there is a Chamber of Commons to represent the commoners, a Legislative Council for the propertied class, and to have some control over our own affairs," primarily over immigration from "outside the empire," property, taxation, education, and "passing laws in accordance with local conditions." This was supported by many landowners, whose families have lived on Imagua for at least a century, and who now wanted some degree of autonomy within Great Estmere.

By late 1891, Harmon Lambourne, sensing that the Estmerish government was planning to give Imagua self-government, established the Sotirian Democratic Party, with the intention of organising "a government-in-waiting" that would represent the interests of the propertied class.

The following year, the Colony of Imagua was granted self-government, with effect from 29 June, 1892. While Lambourne assumed that his leadership in the self-government movement would guarantee him "no opposition at all" to be the first Chief Minister, Cornelius Suthemeer would form the Democratic Party which was opposed to the Sotirian Democratic Party, and which sought to enfranchise all men and widows.

Despite this challenge, Lambourne was able to successfully lead the Sotirian Democrats to government in the first general elections, taking 20 of the 36 seats in the Chamber of Commons of the Imaguan Parliament on 27 May, 1892.

Chief Minister

On 29 June, 1892, Harmon Lambourne was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the Colony of Imagua. He would unveil his cabinet on that day, with ministers for Finance, Justice, Education, and Agriculture being appointed, reflecting the level of authority given to the Colony by the Estmerish government at the time.

During his first term as Chief Minister, Harmon Lambourne passed legislation that forbade Sunday trading within the colony, defining those eligible to vote as "men over the age of 21 who owned more than a half-acre of land," and raising the school leaving age from 10 to 13 in 1896. As well, Harmon Lambourne would oversee the expansion of the railway system, including the completion of the Glen Valley line up to New Burdale. In 1895, Lambourne's government officially banned new immigration of gowsa from present-day Dezevau, but an exemption was made to permit those from Senria to continue to immigrate to Imagua.

By the time the 1896 general elections rolled around, Harmon Lambourne led the Sotirian Democrats to a second term, and to a larger majority government, having increased their seat count to 22 seats. However, his popularity was not to last: in 1898, Lambourne faced his workers going on strike over poor working conditions on his plantation. Lambourne took a harsh approach, deploying the Imaguan Constabulary to arrest 62 workers, which in the incident led to the deaths of five people. This enraged the labour movement, and energised opponents of Lambourne's government.

However, the 1900 general elections saw the Sotirian Democrats maintain their majority, as opposition candidates were split between various independent candidates and the Democrats. The Sotirian Democrats failed to gain seats, but they did not lose seats.

During his third term as Chief Minister, Harmon Lambourne's popularity began to recover, particularly as Lambourne sought to position himself as a "benevolent leader." In addition, his accusations of Cornelius Suthmeer bankrolling the "strikers" and the Union of Sharecroppers and Manufacturing Workers helped diminish the popularity of the Democratic Party. During this period, Lambourne began to expand the country's civil service, allowing Bahio-Imaguans to begin entering the service, while the Wensley Spur opened in 1902 to rail traffic.

Thus, by 1904, Harmon Lambourne was able to secure a fourth majority government, and an increase of four seats for the governing Sotirian Democrats, as he was able to capitalise off his popularity. However, by this point, questions as to Lambourne's successor began to loom large, as Lambourne's age led to speculation that he might die during his fourth term in office. This was further exacerbated by Lambourne's refusal to appoint a Deputy Chief Minister, with Lambourne fearing that it would erode his authority and influence over the Sotirian Democratic Party, and the Colony as a whole.

Despite these questions, Lambourne's popularity and his "strong record" meant that in 1908, although he saw a decrease in votes, Lambourne maintained a majority government, with the Sotirian Democrats controlling 22 of the 37 seats in the Chamber of Commons. However, by this point, pressure from within the party forced Lambourne to choose a deputy Chief Minister to take over in the event of his death. He chose longtime Justice Minister Dick Parlow, who was an ally of Lambourne, and was thus likely to continue the course that Lambourne had set out.

Personal life

Family

Harmon Lambourne married 18-year old Hannah Clarke in 1859, and would remain married until her death in 1904 at the age of 63 from ovarian cancer. Lambourne would never remarry, describing Hannah as being "the love of my life."

Together, they had six sons: Reginald (1860-1924); Tyler (1862-1933); Wilfred (1866-1922); twin brothers Enoch (1868-1941) and Lindsay (1868-1895), and Earl (1872-1971). They had two daughters: Patricia (1864-1865) and Donna (1870-1956).

At the time of Harmon Lambourne's death on 27 December, 1908, he was survived by six of his eight children, twelve grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Language

Harmon Lambourne's native language was Estmerish, although Lambourne described himself as knowing "some Solarian and Ancient Piraean" due to his education as a boy.

Until the 1990s, it was believed that Harmon Lambourne spoke "standard Estmerish in all situations," with Lambourne never using Eastern Imaguan Creole "even to talk to his servants." However, since then, both written and audio records have shown Harmon Lambourne having "simplified his Estmerish to talk to servants and to the less-educated," which has led linguist Louis O'Friel from the University of Cuanstad to believe that Lambourne "must have had some understanding of Eastern Imaguan Creole in order to communicate with the less-educated and with the Coian population who worked on his plantation."

Religion

Harmon Lambourne was a devout member of the Embrian Communion, having been baptised in the faith and having grown up in it. Biographies have given conflicting accounts as to whether or not Lambourne was a High Embrian or a Low Embrian, with biographies claiming that Harmon Lambourne was primarily fond of one or the other.

However, according to Harmon's youngest son, Earl Lambourne, Harmon Lambourne's preferred alignment was "based on what he needed at a given moment: in times where he needed stability, he would go with the High Embrians, what with their traditions and what not, and in times when he needed to calm down from a stressful situation, he would go with the Low Embrians, where he knew it would not be as solemn or as serious as the High Embrians."

Political views

Harmon Lambourne was a conservative who sought to "maintain things as they were, and to only change them if absolutely necessary." This led to (TBC)