Frederick Charles Alderdice (November 10, 1871 – February 26, 1936) was a Newfoundland businessman, politician and the last

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Alderdice was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Ireland and was educated at

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

. He moved to

in 1886. A prominent St. John's businessman, Alderdice was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Newfoundland The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was the upper house of the General Assembly of Newfoundland from 1833 to 1934. The Legislative Council was appointed by the Governor of Newfoundland, not elected. Bills were submitted by the House of Assemb ...

(the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

) in 1924 and became leader of the

Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party The Conservative Party of Newfoundland was a political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland prior to confederation with Canada in 1949. The party was formed by members and supporters of the establishment around 1832. In the 1840s they opposed ...

and the

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

's Prime Minister when his cousin

Walter Stanley Monroe Walter Stanley Monroe (May 14, 1871 – October 6, 1952) was a businessman and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1924 to 1928 as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party. He was born in Irela ...

retired from the post on August 15, 1928. Alderdice's first term as Prime Minister was short-lived, however, as his government lost that year's general election to the Liberals led by Sir

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed at ...

. Alderdice joined with Liberals dissatisfied with Squires to form the

United Newfoundland Party The United Newfoundland Party was the name of two conservative parties in Newfoundland. Pre-Confederation The first UNP was a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by ...

with himself as leader. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

embroiled the dominion in a severe economic crisis which was compounded by corruption in the Squires government taking the dominion to the brink of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. Widespread unemployment added to the crisis and resulted in an anti-government

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

in St. John's on April 5, 1932. The Squires government collapsed and Alderdice swept to power in the ensuing June election on the promise that if elected, his government would examine the possibility of suspending the constitution and having a commission administer the country until conditions improved. His United Newfoundland Party won 24 seats to only two for the Liberals. The Alderdice government was unable to deal with the economic crisis and proposed a partial default on the dominion's debts. Britain and Canada (whose currency was shared by Newfoundland) agreed to give the dominion financial aid in exchange for the creation of an Imperial Royal Commission to investigate the dominion's future. The Commission recommended the suspension of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

and the institution of an appointed

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

to rule the dominion. Alderdice was pressured by the British to accept the recommendations without calling a new election or submitting the proposals to a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Alderdice agreed and, at the end of 1933, the legislature voted to accept the recommendations and voted itself out of existence. Alderdice was appointed to the

when it was established in February 1934 and served as Commissioner for Home Affairs and Education in the new Commission of Government as well as Vice-Chairman until his death in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderdice, Frederick C. 1871 births 1936 deaths Prime Ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Politicians from Belfast Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador People educated at Methodist College Belfast United Newfoundland Party MHAs Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Members of the Newfoundland Commission of Government Businesspeople from Belfast Businesspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador