Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland

The Right Honourable The Lord Strickland, Count della Catena GCMG
9th Governor of Tasmania
In office 28 October 1904 – 20 May 1909
Monarch	Edward VII
Preceded by	Sir Arthur Havelock
Succeeded by	Sir Harry Barron
15th Governor of Western Australia
In office 31 May 1909 – 16 March 1913
Monarch	Edward VII (1909–10) George V (1910–13)
Premier	Sir Newton Moore Frank Wilson John Scaddan
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Bedford
Succeeded by	Sir Harry Barron
23rd Governor of New South Wales
In office 14 March 1913 – 27 October 1917
Monarch	George V
Lieutenant	Sir William Cullen
Preceded by	The Viscount Chelmsford
Succeeded by	Sir Walter Davidson
4th Prime Minister of Malta
In office August 1927 – 21 June 1932
Preceded by	Sir Ugo Pasquale Mifsud
Succeeded by	Sir Ugo Pasquale Mifsud
Personal details
Born	24 May 1861(1861-05-24) Valletta, Malta
Died	22 August 1940(1940-08-22) (aged 79) Attard, Malta
Political party	Constitutional Party (Malta) and Conservative Party (UK)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Profession	Politician, Colonial Administrator, Newspaper publisher

Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, 6th Count of Catena, GCMG (full name: Gerald Paul Joseph Cajetan Carmel Antony Martin Strickland; 24 May 1861 – 22 August 1940) was a Maltese and British politician and peer, who served as Prime Minister of Malta, Governor of the Leeward Islands, Governor of Tasmania, Governor of Western Australia and Governor of New South Wales.

Early life

Strickland was born in Valletta, son of naval officer Walter Strickland and Luisa Bonici Mompalao, the niece of a Maltese count who later succeeded to the title of Count of Catena. He was educated at St Mary's College, Oscott, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He died at his residence in the Villa Bologna, Attard and is buried in the family crypt at the Cathedral of St Paul, Mdina.

Political career

Strickland began to take an active part in Maltese politics at an early age and in December 1887, he accompanied Dr. Fortunato Mizzi – founder of the Maltese Nationalist Party – to London to submit a scheme for a legislative assembly. The result was that the new Constitution of December 1887 was largely based on the joint Strickland-Mizzi proposals. In the following year, Strickland was appointed Principal Government Secretary, a post which he held till 1902 when to avert more trouble in Malta which were created by his orders in councils to increase taxation, he was nominated Governor of Tasmania (1904 to 1909), Governor of Western Australia (1909 to 1913) and Governor of New South Wales (1913 to 1917).

In 1917, Count Strickland returned to Malta and, after the grant of Self Government, formed the Anglo-Maltese Party in 1921, which soon afterward amalgamated with the Maltese Constitutional Party to become the Constitutional Party under his leadership. Strickland was the leader of the Opposition between 1921 and 1927. In 1924, he won the seat of Lancaster for the Conservatives in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He left the House of Commons in 1928 upon being made a peer.

After the 1927 election, Strickland had a majority in the Legislative Assembly and became Head of Ministry (the fourth Prime Minister of Malta) from August 1927 until June 1930. Amongst the most important events of his government were the commencement of building works for St. Luke's Hospital in Gwardamanġia, his clash with the Senate, which led to the issue of Letters Patent which curtailed its powers and his concurrent clash with the Ecclesiastical Authorities. On 1 May 1930, Archbishop Mauro Caruana and Gozo bishop Mikiel Gonzi issued a pastoral letter, read in all the churches of Malta and Gozo. In it they declared that whoever voted for the Constitutional Party and its former coalition partner, the Labour Party, committed a mortal sin. That year he narrowly avoided assassination.

This mortal sin was also committed by those who read Strickland's newspapers, printed by his Progress Press, namely the Daily Malta Chronicle and Ix-Xemx. He subsequently began publishing Il-Progress and Il-Berqa. The clash between the Catholic bishops and the Constitutional Party led to the suspension of the Malta Constitution following consultations between the British Governor and London. Between July 1932 and November 1933, Strickland was again the leader of the Opposition, and after the grant of a new Constitution in 1939, he became the leader of the elected majority in the Council of Government.

Personal life

In 1890 Strickland married Lady Edeline Sackville-West (1870–1918), the daughter of the 7th Earl De La Warr. They had five daughters; Hon. Mary Christina (1896–1970), who married Henry Hornyold, became known as Mrs Hornyold-Strickland and chaired the Conservative Party Conference in 1947; Hon Cecilia Victoria (1897–1982); Hon. Mabel Edeline OBE (1899–1988); Hon. Henrietta May (1903); and Hon. Dr. Constance Teresa LMSSA (1912–1979). Following the death of Lady Edeline in 1918, Strickland married Margaret Hulton in 1926. She was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1937.

Titles and honours

Strickland was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1889, for rendering invaluable services during a severe cholera epidemic. He was promoted within the order to KCMG in 1897, and again to GCMG in 1913. He was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Strickland, of Sizergh Castle in the County of Westmorland, on 19 January 1928.

References

• Montalto, J., "The Nobles of Malta-1530–1800", Midsea Books Ltd, Malta, 1980.
• Burkes Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of the UK.- 1914 ed.
• Giles Ash, S., "The Nobility of Malta", Publishers Enterprises Group (PEG) Ltd, 1988.
• Koster, A., "Prelates and politicians in Malta", Amsterdam University, 1977.
• Carnwath, Joan ‘Strickland, Gerald Paul Joseph Cajetan Carmel Antony Martin, Baron Strickland (1861–1940)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36350. Retrieved on 17 February 2009

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Gerald Strickland

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Joseph O'Neill	Member of Parliament for Lancaster 1924–1928	Succeeded by Robert Parkinson Tomlinson
Government offices
Preceded by Sir Henry Jackson	Governor of the Leeward Islands 1902–1904	Succeeded by Sir Courtenay Knollys
Preceded by Sir Arthur Havelock	Governor of Tasmania 1904–1909	Succeeded by Sir Harry Barron
Preceded by Sir Frederick Bedford	Governor of Western Australia 1909–1913	Succeeded by Sir Harry Barron
Preceded by The Lord Chelmsford	Governor of New South Wales 1913–1917	Succeeded by Sir Walter Davidson
Political offices
Preceded by Ugo Pasquale Mifsud	Prime Minister of Malta 1927–1932	Succeeded by Ugo Pasquale Mifsud
Titles of nobility
Preceded by Nicola Sceberras Bologna	Count of Catena 1878 – 1940	Succeeded by Thomas Strickland
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Strickland 1928 – 1940	Extinct