Sydney Warwick

The Right Honourable Sir Sydney Warwick MD, MOS, OG, PC
14th Prime Minister of Satavia
In office 22 August 1915 – 22 August 1927
Monarch	King Richard XIII of Estmere
Governor General	Arthur O'Connell Lord Ashgrove
Preceded by	Jacobus Pienaar
Succeeded by	Edward Limes
15th Governor-General of the Dominion of Satavia
In office 27th October 1932 – 22nd September 1936
Monarch	King Richard XIII of Estmere
Prime Minister	Edward Limes
Preceded by	Henry King-Stewart
Succeeded by	position abolished
Leader of the United Dominion Party
In office 11 January 1909 – 22 August 1927
Preceded by	Benedict Gyms
Succeeded by	Arthur Crownlock
Personal details
Born	(1866-04-17)April 17, 1866 Northport, Satavia
Died	October 31, 1951(1951-10-31) (aged 85)
Resting place	St Patrick's Cathedral, Port Hope
Political party	United Dominion
Spouse	Julia Maguire
Children	Sir James Warwick Edward Warwick
Alma mater	University of Montecara
Military service
Allegiance	Dominion of Satavia
Branch/service	Royal Satavian Navy
Years of service	1888-1894
Rank	Captain
Commands	HMSS Sherwood

Sir Sydney Arthur Edward Warwick MD MoS OG PC (April 17 1866 - 21 October 1951), also known during his life as "The Right Man", was a Satavian statesman, politician and naval officer who served as the 14th Prime Minister of Satavia for three consecutive terms from 1915 until 1927, and later as the 17th and last Governor-General of Satavia. His term as Prime Minister began with the country battling the Great Collapse and the gradual breakdown of relations with Estmere, and ended with Satavia in a state of war with the Entente, and Satavia's neighbour, Nuvania. Warwick was the last Dominionist Prime Minister, as he was succeded by the Liberal Edward Limes, who eventually served as the last Prime Minister of the Dominion of Satavia.

Warwick was born to an aristocratic family in the Orange Province in 1866. Warwick was born second, and was three years younger than his older brother, Archibald. He was sent to a boarding school at aged 8, and was not paticularly close to his parents. At 13, he won a scholarship to a the prestigious Wyndsom School in Estmere, which he attended until he was 18. He then attended the University of Montecara, where he graduated with a Laurea in Modern History.

Following his brother into the military, he joined the navy as an officer in 1888, serving with the Royal Satavian Navy for eight years, and when he retired he was a Captain. Warwick began his political career standing as a candidate for the Division of Holt, in the Orange Province, in 1899, sucesfully being elected. He was a promising politician, and in 1899, he was appointed Shadow Secretary for Agriculture and Industry. However, after eight years, in 1907, he was made Shadow Treasurer, the second most senior position in the Opposition Government. In 1909, he became leader of the Dominionists, at that point the second-largest party in Parliament, and therefore the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition.

In his first election, 1911, Warwick failed to pick up enough support to win the federal election, with Jacobus Pienaar, a Liberal, winning with a slim margin. Despite not winning the Federal Election, Warwick did succede in increasing the number of seats held by the Dominionists in both the House of Representatives and the County Court. Pienaar was not a particularly charismatic politician, but instead relied on the success of Daniel Kreager's successful Liberal Government (1903-1911). The Great Collapse in 1913 tanked Pienaar's government, and he struggled to control the spiraling economic deppression. In the 1915 Federal Election, the now-unpopular Liberals lost to a landslide Dominionist victory. As Prime Minister, Warwick introduced various reforms and economic packages to lift Satavia out of the depression, in addition to negotiating an economic stimulus package from Estmere in 1916. The Dominion, however, continued to struggle with the Great Collapse well into 1922, with Warwick winning the 1919 and 1923 elections on the promise that he was "The Right Man For the Job" and later "Still The Right Man For the Job", leading to his nickname "The Right Man". The end of Warwick's tenure saw Satavia being dragged into a war in Coius, which soon spread globally and became the Great War. Warwick told the Prime Minister of Estmere, H. H. Arterbury that the Defences in Satavia were inadequate, and told Arterbury that any invasion of Satavia would land "virtually unopposed". His words would prove to be prophetic, with the Invasion of Satavia beginning in April 1928 landing entirely unopposed, and exactly one week following the invasion, Satavia would fall to Nuvanian Forces.

In 1928, Warwick was evacuated (against his wishes) to Euclea. He would spend the war in Estmere and then Caldia, until 1932 when the Governor-General of Satavia, Henry King-Stewart, died in office in Caldia. Due to his popularity, Limes suggested Warwick be appointed Governor-General, and the King appointed him on the same day as King-Stewart's death. He would serve until the abolition of the monarchy in Satavia in 1936.

Warwick's tenure as Prime Minister is generally regarded as a succesfull pemiership due to his charisma and ability to lift Satavia out of the Great Collapse. Warwick is considered one of the three political giants of the Dominion - the other two being Johan van Vallier and Arthur O'Connell. He was knighted by King Richard XIII in 1929.

Early Life

Warwick was born on April 27, 1866, to the aristocratic family of Warwick, on their estate near Northport, in the Orange Province. His father, Sir John Warwick, who would later become Governor-General of the Dominion, as well as being the 4th Earl of Northport. Sydney, however, was born second to his older Brother, Archibald, who would inherit the estate, title and fortune.

Warwick and his father were not close during his childhood - his father was cold, and uninterested in his children. Warwick was very close to his mother, however, and was distraught when she died in 1874 - Warwick was only eight. His father sent both Warwick and his brother to a boarding school in Port Hope.

Schooling

Warwick attended Springbank School, a prestigious private boarding school in Port Hope, from the age of eight, following his mother's death. Warwick struggled at school, and was bullied by those in the years above, and his own year, on account of his diminutive stature. However, he began to relish work, and at age 13, he was awarded an Academic Scholarship to Wyndsom School in Estmere. There, he discovered a love for history and languages, and thoroughly enjoyed his time at the school. He also discovered a love for politics - he was elected to the School's Student Governing Board.

By 18, Warwick could speak Estmerish, Hennish (and Asteriaans), Gaullican and Vespasian. He also succesfully applied to the University of Montecara that year, to study Modern History. During his time in the city-state of Montecara, he learnt Montecaran, toured Euclea using his allowance from his father, visting Gaullica, Hennehouwe, Estmere, Azmara and Caldia. His father was angry about his trip; he viewed the trip as a waste of his money, and so cut Warwick's allowance. Warwick continued regardless; and in 1887, he finished schooling, and was awarded a Laurea in Modern History.

Naval Career

Warwick joined the Royal Satavian Navy in 1888 as a commissioned officer, following his brother in joining the military. He was awarded the Order of Gallantry in 1892 whilst captain of HMSS Sherwood. A fire on the nearby Talbot had lead to the Sherwood being called to come and help save the burning ship. Warwick, however, took the view that the ship was unsaveable, and told his crew instead to attempt to rescue as many men off the ship before it sank. Warwick himself was the first to clamber across, and his crew managed to save almost all of the Talbot's crew.

Despite being awarded the Order of Gallantry for his actions, he was pushed down the promotion chain for prioritising the lives of the crew over the ship, which was scuttled. In 1894, Warwick left the navy.

Political Career

Backbencher

Warwick now turned to politics, and stood succesfully as the Dominionist Candidate for the Division of Burnley in the Hope Province in the 1895 Federal Election. He only served the division for four years, before changing divisions to stand in his own home Division of Holt. Warwick now returned to his home Division of Holt, which was also the division in which he was born. As a Warwick, and the son of the Orange Province's Governor, he won his seat with ease, and from 1907 until his retirement in 1927, opposition parties stopped sending candidates to contest the Division, believing it was a forgone conclusion.

Shadow Cabinet

Following the 1899 election, Warwick was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary for Agriculture and Industry, at the time a position of some importance. He held the position in Benedict Gyms's shadow cabinet until the 1907 election, where despite being the largest opposition party, the Dominion Party suffered a landslide electoral defeat. Following the defeat, Gyms refused to resign. He appointed Warwick as the Shadow Treasurer, one of the most senior positions in the shadow cabinet. However, it wasn't long before Gyms was forced to resign following another scandal in 1909. Warwick unanimously won the 1909 Dominionist leadership contest.

Leader of the Oppostion

Following his victory in the 1909 leadership election, Warwick began preparing his party for the 1911 Federal Elections - which the immensely popular Kreager announced he would not stand in. In the election, the Dominionist party did exceptionally well - but were narrowly beaten by the Liberal Party, lead by Jacobus Pienaar, relying on the sucess of his predecessor. Warwick and Pienaar clashed at nearly every opportunity, with one another disliking each other on a personal basis - Warwick reportedly told a friend that "Pienaar is the most detestable man in the entirety of the Empire". In 1913, hoewver, the Great Collapse crippled Satavia, and also tanked Lion's government. In the 1915 Federal Election, Warwick ran what is considered to be one of the best electoral campaign in Satavian history, wining a landslide victory with the slogan "The Right Man For the Job" which would lead to his nickname "The Right Man". Warwick took office on the 22nd August, and was appointed Prime Minister by Governor-General Sir Arthur O'Connell.

Governor-General

On the 22nd October 1932, Governor-General Henry King-Stewart's condition took a turn for the worst. Prime Minister at the time, Edward Limes, told Richard XIII that King-Stewart was no longer physically able to retain the position of Governor-General, and so recomended Warwick as his succesor, arguing that Warwick was well liked and had prior political experience, despite Warwick's advanced age and retirement. The recomendation suprised both Richard XIII and members of the cabinet - politically, Warwick and Limes were poles apart. Richard XIII was hesitant to replace King-Stewart, as not a single Governor-General had ever been replaced whilst still alive, mid term. However, five days later, on the 27th October, King-Stewart died and so, the same day, Warwick's presence was requested by the King.

According to Warwick's biographer and close friend Edwin Millbrook, Warwick had not been informed and so was taken aback when Richard XIII had asked Warwick to take the position of Governor-General - Warwick had not even been informed of King-Stewart's death.

Warwick accepted, and had his first meeting with Limes on the 29th October, where Limes briefed Warwick on the current situation in both Occupied Satavia and Euclea. Warwick held discussions with Limes every week for the remainder of the war.

On the 3rd August 1934, Hallandic, Estmerish and Satavian troops launched Operation Blind Summit, and sucesfully established beach heads in the Orange Province, to relatively little resistance. The remaining Entente forces surrendered after about two weeks of sporadic fighting. Satavia was placed under the control of the Hallandic-Satavian Joint Allied Command, lead by now Field Marshal Oscar Harrison.

Following the final conclusion of the Great War on the 12th February, Limes and Warwick returned to Satavia on the 13th February. In August 1936, Limes informed Warwick of his intention to proclaim the Union, and abolish the monarchy, following confirmation from Estmere that the monarchy was going to be abolished. On 22nd September, 1936, Warwick became the last Governor-General of Satavia following the position's abolishment.