Henry Sewell
Henry Sewell ( born September 7, 1807 in Newport, Isle of Wight, † May 14 1879 in Cambridge, England ) was the first Prime Minister of New Zealand. He took office on 7 May 1856 but had already 13 days later to resign on May 20 after a vote of no confidence.
Early years of life
Sewell was on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England, was born. His family was relatively wealthy; Sewell received a good education and worked as a lawyer. 1840 his father lost but after the bankruptcy of a bank a considerable sum of money, died shortly thereafter, leaving the family high debt. A little later also died Sewell's first wife Lucinda Nedham, who he married in 1834. In 1850 he married Elizabeth Kittoe and planned to emigrate to New Zealand, hoping for better financial prospects in the colony.
Sewell's connection to New Zealand had come by the Canterbury Association concluded, a British organization that had the colonization of the New Zealand province of Canterbury to the destination. Until his departure for New Zealand Sewell was vice director of the organization, solving numerous organizational and financial problems. Finally he came on February 2, 1853 in Christchurch, the main settlement of the Canterbury region. Gradually, he was able to solve the numerous problems of the young colony, in spite of personal differences with James FitzGerald, the superintendent of the province.
Political career
On 1 October 1853, the first New Zealand Parliamentary elections were held and Sewell was elected to the city of Christchurch. The first parliamentary session was held on 23 May 1854. Sewell's skills in the legal and financial issues proved to be very useful, but it has been criticized as elitist and reserved. In that time the political spectrum, which was marked by the contrast between centralists and Provinzialisten, he initially took a neutral position, then bowed but more to the centralized side. In addition, he was a strong supporter of the New Zealand government.
As Sewell and other politicians were appointed by the Governor General Robert Wynyard to members of a "unofficial" Executive Council, he believed that self-government would soon come. When it became obvious that Wynyard had made the appointments only on a temporary basis and was not convinced that Parliament could govern without instructions from the king's house, resigned Sewell and his colleagues.
Prime minister
Thomas Gore Browne, a new governor-general, announced that self-management would start with the inaugural session of the second New Zealand Parliament. Sewell joined successfully for re-election. Based on his experiences on the Board Sewell was asked to form a government. On April 18, 1856 he was elected to the Executive Council and was awarded on May 7, the title of Colonial Secretary (which corresponds to the current Prime Minister ).
Because of the strong centralizing tendencies proved to be short-lived government Sewell. William Fox, the leader of the Provinzialisten, Sewell crashed on May 20 with a vote of no confidence, not even two weeks after the appointment. Fox, in turn, was replaced already on 2 June by the moderate Edward Stafford.
Other political activities
Stafford offered Sewell to the Minister of Finance ( Colonial Treasurer ). In this role, he managed to negotiate a financial agreement between the central government and the provinces. End of 1856 Sewell traveled to England where he negotiated contracts with the British government. When he returned to New Zealand in 1859, he took over the ministerial office again, but resigned after a month. Later Sewell served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. In 1873 he ended his political career and moved three years later finally to England. At the age of 71 years he died in Cambridge.