Walter Redmond Keswick
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His Excellency Walter Redmond Keswick | |
|---|---|
 Walter Redmond Keswick, 1948 | |
| 1st President of Imagua and the Assimas | |
| In office 23 April, 1948 – 23 April, 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Frederick Maynard Marguerite Ernman |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Venanzio Mazzone |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter Redmond Keswick 11 August 1908 Port Baldwin, Saint Isidore's, Imagua, Estmere |
| Died | 17 January 1998 (aged 89) Port Baldwin, Saint Isidore's, Imagua and the Assimas |
| Resting place | Port Baldwin General Cemetery |
| Nationality | Estmerish (1908-1937) Imaguan (1937-1998) |
| Political party | Sotirian Defence Party |
| Other political affiliations | Sotirian Democratic Party (1947-1964; 1973-1989) Independent (1964-1973; 1989-1997) |
| Spouse(s) | Eleanore Markinswell (1946-1972) Joanna Redmond Keswick (1979-1998) |
| Children | 5 |
Walter Redmond Keswick (11 August, 1908 - 17 January, 1998) was an Imaguan politician, businessman, and landowner, who served as the first President of Imagua and the Assimas, serving from 1948, when Imagua and the Assimas gained its independence from the United Provinces, until 1956 when after serving two terms, he stepped aside as per the Imaguan constitution. He also served as Mayor of Port Baldwin from 1964 until 1972.
Early life
Walter Redmond Keswick was born to his father, Stanley Redmond Keswick and Marjorie Redmond Keswick, daughter of the stationmaster, on the Redmond Keswick plantation outside of Port Baldwin, Saint Isidore's, as the youngest of ten children, on 11 August, 1908.
As a child, Walter Redmond Keswick began attending school in 1913, where he proved himself to be an able student. Despite the "struggles during the Great War and Gaullican occupation," Walter Redmond Keswick was able to pass his eleven-plus and attend a grammar school in Nua Taois. He was marked by the death of his father in 1923 from heart disease.
At grammar school, Walter Redmond Keswick developed an interest in business and in history, with Keswick being described by one of his teachers as having "the potential to not only run a business, but one that would succeed as well." After passing the O-levels, he would attend sixth form in 1924 and 1925, when after passing his A-levels, he would return to the plantation to work under his older brother, Preston Redmond Keswick.
By the late 1930s, Walter would effectively run the plantation, marketing sugar and coffee to the rest of the world, and helping expand the wealth of the plantation. When Preston died in 1943 from tuberculosis, Walter took over the day-to-day operations on the plantation. During this time, he developed an interest in politics, initially expressing support for uniting with the United Provinces in the hopes that it would encourage "many blacks from Saint Chloe to move to Imagua" so that they may work for him. In 1946, after meeting Eleanore Markinswell, he would marry her "after only a few weeks."
Political career
Campaigning
By 1947, Walter Redmond Keswick had become a wealthy donor to the Sotirian Democratic Party run by Frederick Maynard. When the United Provinces voted to expel Imagua in 1947, Maynard offered Redmond Keswick an "opportunity of a lifetime" to run for the Imaguan presidency, as Lionel Hegan expressed his intention to stay on as President of the United Provinces. Thus, Walter Redmond Keswick accepted the offer, and began his presidential campaign.
When the writs were dropped by Lieutenant Governor Christopher Fitzcharles in 1948, he faced off against Democratic Labour nominee Herschel Ahern. Redmond Keswick campaigned on a "maintenance of traditional Estmerish values," and condemned Ahern's alleged "sympathy to the Chistovodians, the Kirenians, and their ilk," who he viewed as a threat to Imagua "in and of itself."
One of the main issues faced was the integration of the newly-annexed Assimas Islands into Imagua and the Assimas, with Redmond Keswick advocating for the "full and complete integration of the islands so that in fifty years the Assimans and the Imaguans may never conceive of separation." He was accused by Herschel Ahern as seeking to "assimilate the Etrurophones into the Estmerophone community" and of "conspiring to strip their status."
However, Redmond Keswick's popularity on Imagua, combined with him vowing to "safeguard the right of my Etrurian friends" meant that when the results came in, Walter Redmond Keswick won the Imaguan presidency. However, Christopher Fitzcharles would serve as Lieutenant Governor until Imagua obtained its independence from the United Provinces.
President
On 23 April, 1948, with Imagua gaining independence from the United Provinces, Lieutenant-Governor Christopher Fitzcharles was succeeded by Walter Redmond Keswick as the first President of Imagua and the Assimas. Upon his insistence, he was inaugurated outside the Red House, and he delivered a speech where he extolled the virtues of Imaguan independence. After the ceremony, he named Frederick Maynard as Prime Minister, and approved of Maynard's cabinet.
As President of Imagua and the Assimas, Redmond Kewsick sought to "reign but not rule," and in his first term gave Maynard "more than enough room to implement the government's agenda." He instead focused on representing Imagua, visiting other countries and attending conferences on Imagua's behalf, with Redmond Keswick being a "firm believer in parliamentary supremacy." However, Redmond Keswick and Maynard had "an excellent working relationship," with Redmond Keswick being described as "a full partner [with the government]."
In 1952, although he was comfortably re-elected to the Presidency with 70% of the vote, Marguerite Ernman becoming the first woman to be Prime Minister met Redmond Keswick with "shock and alarm," particularly as she was from the Democratic Labour Party. However, as Redmond Keswick respected his role, he sought to "let her serve," and in his diaries noted that "I will give that mother and her cabinet more than enough rope to hang themselves." This led to a strained working relationship between Ernman and Redmond Keswick.
By 1956, as the constitution did not permit Walter Redmond Keswick to run for a third term, Redmond Keswick stepped aside, and endorsed the Sotirian Democratic Party's nominee, Venanzio Mazzone.
Later political career
After stepping down as President in 1956, Walter Redmond Keswick initially retired from Imaguan politics altogether (albeit still remaining a member of the Sotirian Democratic Party), and returned to his plantation in Port Baldwin with his family: in 1957, he sold the plantation to John Stuart, and moved to Port Baldwin, as he "was no longer interested in running the plantation."
In 1964, he would return to politics, running for the Mayor of Port Baldwin and winning. Thus, he had to renounce his membership in a political party as per Imaguan law. Walter Redmond Keswick would be re-elected in 1968 but he lost the election in 1972 after Eleanore Markinswell divorced him and alleged that he was having an affair with his secretary. Despite the divorce, Walter Redmond Keswick would rejoin the Sotirian Democratic Party in 1973, allowing him to become more involved in national Imaguan politics again.
He would be involved in Imaguan politics throughout the 1970s, serving as delegate to party conventions in 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988: in 1980, he attempted to run for the constituency of Port Baldwin, but lost the seat to the DLP nominee due to vote splitting with the National Labour Party, due to Walter Redmond Keswick's reputation as a cheater and as a racist turning off those who had previously supported the SDP in the constituency.
However, as the 1980s progressed, Walter Redmond Keswick became "virulently xenophobic," to the extent that when his daughter, Priscilla married a Coio-Imaguan in 1981, he "permanently disowned her and her children for spoiling the family line" and disinheriting them from any property that he had. After calling the new SDP leader, Erberto Formica, "only good at serving food at a ganome" and calling Bahio-Imaguans "only useful as those who work on my plantation," Walter Redmond Keswick would be expelled from the SDP in 1989 for his racist comments.
Thus, by the 1990s, Walter Redmond Keswick had been marginalised from Imaguan political life: while Walter Redmond Keswick attempted to restart his political career in 1997 by joining the newly established Sotirian Defence Party, which he said was "the only party willing to defend Imagua from satanism and from the devil," he was a minor figure who was "ignored and condemned" by all major parties, with his speeches "being at most attended by a crowd of ten." Redmond Keswick's attempts to return to politics ended with his death in 1998.
Personal life
Walter Redmond Keswick married the 19-year old Eleanore Markinswell in 1946. He had two sons with Eleanore: Lysander Redmond Keswick, who lived from 1947 to 2018, and Hector Redmond Keswick, who was born in 1949; as well as a daughter, Priscilla Maizaganyoo, born in 1951. The marriage was described as being "unhappy after several years," and they divorced in 1972, although it was discovered after his death that the procedures were not done correctly, making Redmond Keswick a bigamist. Eleanore Markinswell became an anti-racism activist and would die in 2006 at the age of 79, having never remarried.
He married a second time to 26-year old Joanna Davis in 1979 after meeting her at the SDP convention in 1976. Together, they had a daughter, Courtney McLain, born in 1981, and a son, Edgar Redmond Keswick, born in 1983. Unlike his relationship with his first wife, Joanna described Walter Redmond Keswick "as a nice man and a doting father," even if "sometimes a bit fierce and stern." As of 2021, Joanna Redmond Keswick is still living.
At the time of his death, he was survived by all five of his children and six grandchildren, as well as his wives.
Walter Redmond Keswick was a staunch conservative, and he was a very devout member of the Embrian Communion, being aligned with the "high church."
Walter Redmond Keswick spoke Estmerish as a first language, and was fluent in Gaullican and Eastern Imaguan Creole (although he detested using "this degenerate form of Estmerish"), and could understand some Etrurian, although he never used it after leaving the Imaguan presidency.
Death
On 17 January, 1998, Walter Redmond Keswick was hit by a car while heading home from the grocery store at around 10 am. When an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital in Nua Taois, he was declared dead on the scene at the age of 89. The driver, a 19-year old man, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, speeding (at 100 km/h over the speed limit) and for running a red light, with the driver pleading guilty and being sentenced to a year in jail, a fine of 10,000 Arucian shillings, and a ten year suspension of his driver's license.
As the first President of Imagua and the Assimas, he was eligible for a state funeral. This led to heated debates in the Chamber of Commons between those who sought to recognise Redmond Keswick's role as being the first independent head of state of Imagua and the Assimas, and those who felt that Redmond Keswick's "virulent racism" had made him unworthy of the honour. Ultimately, Gerald Larsson and Isidoro Libero approved of having a state funeral for Redmond Keswick.
His second wife, Joanna Redmond Keswick, accepted the honour, and on 28 January, he was laid in state at the Parliament Building in Cuanstad. A funeral service took place on 1 February, 1998 at the Cuanstad Embrian Cathedral, after which he was transported to Port Baldwin for burial.
Honours
Domestic
- File:ImaguaFlag.png - Companion of the Order of Imagua, 1957
Foreign
- File:Order of Estmere ribbon Grand Cross Special Class.svg Grand Cross with Special Class of the Order of Estmere (1956)
