Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck

The Right Honourable
the Viscount Monck
GCMG PC

The Viscount Monck in 1880.
1st Governor General of Canada
In office
1 July 1867  14 November 1868[1]
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister Canadian: John A. Macdonald
British: Earl of Derby
Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by himself, as Governor General of the Province of Canada
Succeeded by The Lord Lisgar
Personal details
Born (1819-10-10)10 October 1819
Templemore, Ireland
Died 29 November 1894(1894-11-29) (aged 75)
Enniskerry, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Monck

Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck GCMG PC (10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894), was the last Governor-General of the Province of Canada and the first Governor General of Canada after Canadian Confederation. Prior to Confederation he was concurrently Lieutenant Governor of both Canada West and Canada East. He was the son of Charles Joseph Kelly Monck, the 3rd Viscount, and Bridget Willington.[2]

Family

Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck by William Notman

Charles Monck married 24 July 1844, his first cousin, Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck, daughter of his uncle Henry, the 2nd Viscount. Lord and Lady Monck, and their two sons and two daughters, came to Canada, but they did not remain throughout his term of office as Governor General of Canada. The family resided at Spencerwood in Quebec during most of their stay in Canada. She died in June 1892, aged 78. Her husband died in November 1894, aged 75.[3] They had issue:

The Viscount Monck in 1868

Career

Monck obtained a law degree from Trinity College, Dublin. He married his cousin Elizabeth Monck in 1844, and in 1849 he inherited his father's title of Viscount Monck. In 1852 he was elected MP for Portsmouth, and from 1855 to 1858 he served as Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston.

In 1861 he was appointed Governor General of British North America as well as Governor of the Province of Canada. During this time, the Canadian colonies were beginning to organise themselves into a confederation. The American Civil War had just broken out, and the Trent Affair caused diplomatic tension between the United States and Britain. The Canadian government was eager to gain some measure of independence during this turbulent period. The Quebec Conference, the Charlottetown Conference, and the London Conference, at which the details of confederation were discussed, all took place during Monck's time as governor. Monck supported the idea, and worked closely with John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier, and Étienne-Paschal Taché, who formed the "Great Coalition" in 1864.

In 1866 Viscount Monck became a peer with the title Baron Monck. When the Canadian colonies became a semi-independent confederation the next year, Monck became the country's first Governor General. Monck was also responsible for establishing Rideau Hall as the residence of the Governor General in Ottawa.

In 1869 Monck was succeeded by John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar. He returned home to Ireland, where he became Lord Lieutenant of Dublin in 1874. He died in 1894.

References

  1. Office of the Governor General of Canada. "History > Former Governors General > The Viscount Monck". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  2. The Peerage – Bridget Willingtone.
  3. Morgan, Henry James Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada : (Toronto, 1903)
  4. The Peerage – 5th Viscount Monck
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir George Staunton, Bt
Francis Baring
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth
18521857
With: Francis Baring
Succeeded by
Sir James Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone
Francis Baring
Political offices
Preceded by
Lord Alfred Hervey
Lord Elcho
Junior Lord of the Treasury
1855–1858
Succeeded by
Lord Henry Lennox
Thomas Edward Taylor
Henry Whitmore
Government offices
Preceded by
Sir Edmund Walker Head, Bt
Governor General of (the Province of) Canada
1861–1867
Position abolished
Captain General and Governor in Chief of Canada
1861–1867
Position abolished
Lieutenant Governor of Canada West
1861–1867
Succeeded by
Henry William Stisted
Lieutenant Governor of Canada East
1861–1867
Succeeded by
Sir Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau
New office Governor General of Canada
1867–1868
Succeeded by
The Lord Lisgar
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Howth
Lord Lieutenant of Dublin
1874–1892
Succeeded by
Ion Hamilton
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Charles Monck
Viscount Monck
1849–1894
Succeeded by
Henry Monck
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Monck
1866–1894
Succeeded by
Henry Monck
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