Joseph Kenilworth
| 2nd Prime Minister of Ibagli | |
| Term: | 10 August 1959–10 August 1972 |
| Predecessor: | Edward Brixton |
| Successor: | Henry LeVeque |
| Party: | Conservative Party |
| Born: | 31 January 1911: Manchester, England |
| Died: | 10 August 2005 |
| Spouse: | Elizabeth Kenilworth |
The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Kenilworth, GCMG, GCRI was the second Prime Minister of Ibagli. He served as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1972. He is Ibagli's longest-serving Prime Minister.
He was born on 31 January 1911 to Matthew and Marguerite Kenilworth. He worked in construction until his marriage to Elizabeth Caradine, a war widow, in 1947. The couple moved to Ibagli shortly after the wedding to escape the postwar austerity in Britain. In 1949, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ibagli as a member of the Conservative Party. He was elected leader of the party in 1958, and led the party to its first post-independence victory in 1959. His Conservatives would remain in power until 1972, when they were defeated by the Liberal Party under the control of Henry LeVeque. Kenilworth remained an MP until 1989.
Kenilworth was an immensely popular Prime Minister until approximately 1970, but his policies often caused rifts within his party. Many MPs were reluctant to vote for his policies, and he faced several backbench rebellions during his term. In 1970, Conservative MP Steven Spell crossed the aisle to become shadow Justice Minister for the Liberal Party in protest of Kenilworth's policies on aboriginal relations, healthcare, and capital punishment. In the 1972 election, the Conservative Party was defeated, and Kenilworth resigned as party leader.
First Term
Kenilworth's first term was spent building the Ibaglian economy and improving Ibaglian infrastructure. In 1960 he nationalised the railroads. In 1961 he lobbied for the readmission of South Africa into the Commonwealth.
Cabinet
Second Term
Kenilworth's second term was focused primarily on the continued building of Ibagli's infrastructure, and on the attempted reform of the Ibaglian government. In 1965 his government created a commission to explore the possibility of abolishing the Senate and creating a Supreme Court.
Cabinet
- Whole term unless otherwise stated
Third Term
Kenilworth's third term was focused on what he called "the preservation of Ibaglian society." During this term he fought against socialised healthcare, the abolition of capital punishment, and the repeal of Ibagli's sodomy laws.
Aboriginal Rights
Kenilworth's policies on aboriginal rights were generally ones designed to eliminate remaining aboriginal culture in Ibagli. In a famous speech given in 1962, he said that "those who refuse become a part of Ibagli...will not be treated as Ibaglians should be treated," referring to the refusal of many aboriginals to pay for housing under the relocation program. In early 1970, he ordered officers of the Royal Ibaglian Constabulary to disperse a protest by aboriginals outside of the Parliament Buildings. The protesters refused to disperse, and Kenilworth ordered any and all actions necessary to be taken to remove the protesters. On the afternoon of 14 March, shots were fired from an unknown location. The officers, fearing that they were under attack from the protesters, began to fire in the direction of the shots. 13 protesters were shot, and a further 11 died in the ensuing panic. Kenilworth ordered that no disciplinary actions be taken against the officers, but that all captured protesters be charged with felony rioting for "precipitating a national crisis." 12 protesters were sentenced to life in prison for rioting. Joseph Malatae, a protest leader, was sentenced to death by hanging for firing the original shot and "precipitating a riot that caused the deaths of others by attempting the murder of an officer of the Queen's Peace." Although 14 witnesses testifed that Malatae had fired blank shots in the air to focus the attention of the protesters on a person about to speak, he was found guilty of the crime. He was hanged in June 1972 at HM Prison Haphonia, causing another set of riots and a condemnation by shadow Justice Minister Steven Spell, a capital punishment opponent, who called it "a travesty of justice and an occasion for national mourning." Kenilworth's approval ratings never recovered from the riots, which were a major cause of the 1972 defeat of the Conservatives.
Cabinet
- Whole term unless otherwise stated
Post-premiership
Kenilworth retained his seat in the 1972 election, and sat on the Conservative backbenches until he stood down at the 1985 General Election.
Legacy
Kenilworth has a dual legacy unique among Ibaglian politicians. He is regarded by many as being singlehandedly responsible for much of Ibagli's economic progress in the 1960s. At the same time, he is regarded by many of the same people as a racist who was unfair to Ibagli's native population.
Honours
- The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George - Knight Grand Cross (1972)
- The Royal Ibaglian Order - Knight Grand Companion (1986)
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953)
- Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977)
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
- Semicentennial Medal (2005)
