Lionel Hegan

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His Excellency
Lionel Hegan
Richard Casey 1965.jpg
Lionel Hegan, 1945
1st President of the United Provinces
In office
3 May, 1945 – 3 May, 1949
Prime MinisterPierre Voloix
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byPierre Voloix
Governor-General of Imagua
In office
26 July, 1938 – 1 February, 1945
PresidentWolfgar Godfredson
Prime MinisterLucas Pembroke
Frederick Maynard
Preceded byTBD
Succeeded byChristopher Fitzcharles (as Lieutenant Governor)
Personal details
Born
Lionel Pierpont Hegan

(1886-07-22)22 July 1886
Bouley, Estmere
Died24 March 1976(1976-03-24) (aged 89)
Altaithe, Imagua and the Assimas
Resting placeAltaithe Embric Cemetery
NationalityEstmerish (1886-1976)
Imaguan (1938-1976)
Chloésian (1945-1976)
SpouseMargaret Hegan (1923-1976)
Children5
ProfessionPolitician, civil servant

Lionel Pierpont Hegan (22 July, 1886 - 24 March, 1976) was an Estmero-Imaguan civil servant and politician whose most notable roles were Governor-General of Imagua, serving from 1938 until 1945, and then as President of the United Provinces from 1945 until 1949.

Early life

Lionel Hegan was born in Bouley, Estmere on 22 July, 1886 to an aristocratic Flurian family, as the second son of five children, and the youngest son. His mother, Guustène Pierpont, married a businessman from TBD, TBD Hegan. Lionel Hegan grew up in aristocratic environment, and attended some of the best schools in the city.

From his early days, Lionel Hegan was interested in politics and in ornithology, with Hegan later saying that "the austral novels I grew up with had a profound influence on what I wanted to do: from when I first picked one up, I knew what I wanted was to be in the colonies, not in Flurland."

In 1916, Lionel Hegan started to work for the Estmerish civil service. As a civil servant, Lionel Hegan largely worked within the Colonial Office, initially focusing on how to use the Estmerish colonies to help offset the Great Collapse in the Estmerish metropole, with Hegan describing the Estmerish colonies as "being the backbone of Estmere."

Governor-General of Imagua

Official portrait of Lionel Hegan as Governor General, 1939

In 1938, Lionel Hegan was appointed as Governor-General of Imagua, succeeding TBD in the post, becoming the penultimate governor of Imagua. He would take up residence at the Red House, the traditional residence of Imaguan governors.

As Governor-General, Lionel Hegan served as the representative of the Estmerish president in Imagua, and fulfilled the ceremonial duties expected of the Estmerish head of state on the island. However, unlike his predecessor, Hegan assumed a relatively greater role in Imaguan society, because with the Imaguan constitution establishing Imagua's "independence within the Estmerish Empire," Hegan was seen as the equal to President Wolfgar Godfredson.

To this end, Lionel Hegan would travel to represent Imagua on numerous occasions, and assert Imagua's status as "an independent nation within the Estmerish Empire." On internal affairs, Hegan did not intervene in Imaguan politics, and asserted the independence of Imaguan politics "from those of Estmere's."

In 1943, Lionel Hegan declared war on the Greater Solarian Republic when the Community of Nations called for an intervention against it. Thus, Hegan ordered the raising of Imaguan militias to occupy the Assimas Islands from the Greater Solarian Republic, with an aim to integrating the islands with Imagua, as Hegan believed that "the industrial capacity of the Assimas complements the agricultural capabilities of Imagua."

At the same time, talks about establishing a political union with Sainte-Chloé, which at that point was part of the Arucian Federation, were underway. Lionel Hegan expressed support for uniting Imagua with Sainte-Chloé, believing that "Imagua alone would not make for a viable state, and I am sceptical about whether adding the Assimas would make Imagua viable."

Thus, Hegan partook in negotiations to unite the two states into a united federal state: while most of the negotiations were done by Imaguan business leaders and Pierre Voloix, with Hegan largely playing a minimal role in the negotiations, Hegan did approve of the agreement which ensured that the provinces would maintain most of the powers that they originally had, while guaranteeing official bilingualism between the Gallophones and Estmerophones.

After lobbying the Estmerish government to approve of the merger to create the United Provinces, Hegan resigned his governorship in February 1945 to run for the Presidency of the United Provinces. He was ultimately succeeded by Christopher Fitzcharles as Lieutenant Governor.

Presidency

President Lionel Hegan (left) visiting Hennehouwe, 1948

On 3 May, 1945, Lionel Hegan was sworn in as the first President of the newly-established United Provinces. The following day, he named Pierre Voloix as the first Prime Minister of the United Provinces, in a coalition government between the Democrats and the Sotirian Democrats. While he initially moved from Cuanstad to Port de la Sainte with his family, he moved to Subercaseaux in 1946, as the presidential residence was completed.

Following tradition set out during his tenure as Governor-General of Imagua, Lionel Hegan mainly served as the main representative of the United Provinces. To this end, Lionel Hegan represented the United Provinces at international events, and primarily focused on ceremonial duties, such as accepting diplomats, and touring the country. Hegan sought to "reign over the United Provinces, not to rule over [the United Provinces]," and to this end allowed Pierre Voloix to exercise "all the real power" in the United Provinces, as was customary in a parliamentary government.

However, as tensions between the Gallophone provinces and Imagua grew, over many issues such as the annexation of the Assimas Islands, Lionel Hegan became more involved in the day-to-day running of the country. This culminated in August 1947 when Hegan vetoed the bill expelling Imagua from the United Provinces. However, the bill was overridden by Parliament, and thus came into effect. This forced negotiations to take place between the federal government and the Imaguan provincial government, with Hegan hoping for "an amicable solution" to the crisis "so that Imaguans and Chloésians may live as friends, not as enemies." Hegan would approve of the agreement on 20 April, 1948, thereby clearing the way for Imaguan independence from the United Provinces.

Although Lionel Hegan did consider resigning in 1948 when Imagua left the United Provinces, he chose to remain in office, as Hegan felt an obligation to "continue my term [as President of the United Provinces] to its completion." However, he expressed his intentions later that year that he will not run for a second term, even though the constitution permitted him to run for a second term, as he felt that he had "done his duty" to the United Provinces, and felt that he had "served enough to demonstrate what the Presidency [of the United Provinces] should be."

Later life and death

After handing the presidency to Pierre Voloix in 1949, Lionel Hegan and his family moved to Altaithe, where Hegan took up ornithology as a full time hobby. He would refrain from interfering in the politics of both Imagua and the United Provinces, out of respect for his successors in both countries, although he did express "disappointment" of Raymond Rivière's decision to pull Sainte-Chloé the United Provinces in 1954. In 1957, Hegan was offered appointment to the Imaguan Legislative Council by Imaguan president Venanzio Mazzone, but Hegan turned down the offer.

Over the next twenty years, Lionel Hegan would travel across Imagua and Sainte-Chloé to catalogue bird species, and wrote extensively about bird species in the Arucian Sea. Hegan would publish several books about bird species under the name Lionel Pierpont, most notably Catalogue of Bird Species of Imagua and the Assimas, which he published in 1953. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he was a noted ornithologist, and in 1962 became the patron of the Imaguan Birdwatchers Association, holding the position until his death in 1976.

Lionel Hegan would make his final visit to Sainte-Chloé in 1968 to attend Pierre Voloix's funeral, who Hegan described his death as "losing a close friend." Hegan would make his final public appearance in 1973, when he promoted his autobiography about his life "from a Flurian lad on an Estmerish estate to ornithologist in Altaithe." His autobiography sold moderately well in Imagua.

In 1975, Lionel Hegan would suffer a stroke. Hegan would never fully recover from the stroke, forcing him to move to a nursing home in Altaithe. He would die on 23 March, 1976 in his sleep, and was found dead by the staff at his home the following morning. At the time of his death, he was 89, and was survived by four of his five children and six grandchildren.

Per his wishes, Lionel Hegan laid in state at the Red House foyer for a week. On 1 April, a funeral was held at the Cuanstad Embrian Cathedral, before being transported to Altaithe to be buried at the Altaithe Embric Cemetery.

Personal life

Lionel Hegan and his family, 1940

Lionel Hegan married 23-year old Margaret Pierpont Hegan, daughter of a Flurian aristocrat, in 1923. Hegan described the marriage as being "a tender and loving marriage" and would remain married until his death in 1976. She would die in 1981.

Together, they had two sons, Geoffrey Pierpont Hegan, who was born in 1924 and died in 1933 from polio, and banker Gobald Pierpont Hegan, who was born in 1931, and died in 2020, and one daughter: Gisele Floyd, who was born in 1928 and died in 2015.

However, Lionel Hegan had an affair with a maid, Yverose Deshommes, during his tenure as President of the United Provinces, with the affair lasting from 1946 until 1949. She would die in 1995 just weeks before her 68th birthday.

He and Yverose had a son, Renold Hegan, born in 1947, and is still living as of 2021, and is most known for Hegan v. Imagua, which declared that illegitimate children born to Imaguan fathers are Imaguan citizens. They also had a daughter, Naomie Estime, who was born in 1948, and died in 1980 due to complications during childbirth.

Languages

Lionel Hegan's native language was Estmerish, which he spoke with an upper class accent, and used "on almost all occasions." In school, Hegan learnt Gaullican, which although "became rusty" by the time of the Great War, was able to become "just as fluent" in Gaullican, particularly in his later years when he served as President of the United Provinces.

He also knew some basic Etrurian, learning it in anticipation of the Assimas Islands becoming part of Imagua. However, he was never quite fluent in Etrurian, and after retiring from politics "would never speak it again."

Political views

Lionel Hegan's political views was largely conservative as a result of Hegan's upbringing in an aristocratic family, and his close working relationship with both Imaguan Prime Ministers Lucas Pembroke and Frederick Maynard, as well as the Prime Minister of the United Provinces, Pierre Voloix. He was a strong supporter of maintaining close ties with Estmere, was supportive of union between Sainte-Chloé and Imagua, as well as uniting Imagua and the Assimas Islands, and was supportive of "preserving traditional Estmerish values."

However, Hegan never explicitly revealed his overall political views, as he felt that by expressing his personal political views, he would "undermine the impartiality of the Governor-General's [and the President's] office." This has made it difficult for historians to grasp at Lionel Hegan's own personal views on politics, whether Estmerish, Imaguan, or United Provinces.

Religion

Lionel Hegan was a devout member of the Embrian Communion, of which he was an adherent to the High Church tradition.

Hegan was relatively tolerant of other religions, particularly Catholicism, with Hegan saying that "apart from a few differences here, there is literally no difference between a High Embrian and a Catholic, and we must respect these traditions." However, he disliked the Low Churches, viewing them as being "too radical."

Sports

Lionel Hegan was known for his support of Arucian football, describing it as "one of the best sports ever devised by man." To this end, Hegan supported the development of Arucian football in Imagua. In 1947, Hegan donated a trophy to the nascent Imaguan Chausse Association to award to the winner of the Imaguan Chausse Association final, leading to the final being known as the Hegan Cup, and was known to be a "life-long" FC Hochester fan until his death.

In addition, Lionel Hegan was a horse-racing fan.

Honours

Domestic

Due to Lionel Hegan's status as a citizen of Estmere, Sainte-Chloé, and Imagua and the Assimas, honours from these three countries are listed as domestic honours.

Foreign

Publications

  • Pierpont, Lionel (1953): Catalogue of Bird Species of Imagua and the Assimas. San Pietro: University Press.
  • Pierpont, Lionel (1959): Catalogue of Bird Species of Saint Chloe. San Pietro: University Press.
  • Pierpont, Lionel (1962): Preservation of Tropical Asterian Bird Species. San Pietro: University Press.
  • Pierpont, Lionel (1969): Evolution of Ornithology in the Asterias. Cuanstad: University Press.
  • Hegan, Lionel (1973): Where Challenge Is To Dare. Cuanstad: Miller Publishing.