User:Norcandy/Sandbox/O'Connell
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 graduated the next year aged 18 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant aboard HMSS Port Hope in 1865.
O'Connell would 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 recieved his first command as a Captain; HMSS Richard V, an ageing frigate. By 1876, with the Estmero-Tinpot Country War well under way, 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 of both Satavian and Estmerish naval vessels.
By 1879, however, O'Connell had grown restless and decided to persue 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 having been 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 rose 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 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 opportunity, O'Connell whiped 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 lead the party to an electoral landslide in the 1883 Satavian general election, becoming Prime Minister at age 37.