Charles Coghlan (politician)
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The Honourable Sir Charles Coghlan KCMG |
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Coghlan, photographed as Premier c. 1925
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| 1st Premier of Southern Rhodesia | |
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In office 1 October 1923 – 28 August 1927 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Preceded by | Francis Chaplin (Administrator) |
| Succeeded by | Howard Unwin Moffat |
| Member of Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly | |
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In office 29 April 1924 – 28 August 1927 |
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| Succeeded by | Allan Ross Welsh |
| Constituency | Bulawayo North |
| Member of Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council | |
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In office 24 April 1908 – 29 April 1924 Serving with
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| Preceded by |
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| Constituency | Western |
| Personal details | |
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Charles Patrick John Coghlan 24 June 1863 King William's Town, British Kaffraria (today South Africa) |
| Died | 28 August 1927 (aged 64) Southern Rhodesia |
| Resting place | Matopos Hills |
| Political party | Rhodesia Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrude Mary Schermbrucker (m. 1899–1927) (his death) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | South African College, Cape Town |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
| Religion | Catholic |
Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan KCMG (24 June 1863 – 28 August 1927) was a lawyer and politician who served as Premier (later Prime Minister) of Southern Rhodesia from 1 October 1923 to his death. Having led the responsible government movement in the territory during the latter days of Company rule, he was Southern Rhodesia's first head of government after it became a self-governing colony within the British Empire.
Born, raised and educated in South Africa, of Irish descent, Coghlan moved to Bulawayo in 1900 to practise as a lawyer. He was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council in 1908, representing the Western electoral district. Over the next decade he supported the renewal of the British South Africa Company's royal charter to administer the Rhodesias, and opposed Southern Rhodesia's amalgamation with either Northern Rhodesia or the Union of South Africa. He led a delegation to London to discuss responsible government in 1921, and two years later Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing colony. Coghlan sat in the Legislative Assembly as Member for Bulawayo from 1924 to his death.
Coghlan was buried near Cecil Rhodes's grave, at "World's View" in the Matopos Hills near Bulawayo.
Charles Patrick John Coghlan was born on 24 June 1863 in King William's Town, British Kaffraria (part of the Cape Colony from 1866). He had three elder brothers. His father, James Coghlan, was from Ireland and a Roman Catholic; he had arrived in South Africa in 1851 as a private in the British Army, having enlisted to escape the Irish Potato Famine. After fighting in the Eighth Xhosa War of 1850–53 with the 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot, James was stationed in the Keiskamma mountains; he settled there with his wife Isabella Mary (née Maclaren), who was originally from Dumbartonshire, Scotland. They moved to King William's Town after Coghlan's discharge from the military and the birth of their first child, a boy also called James. The elder James Coghlan would become a town councillor in King William's Town.
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