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
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	John A. Macdonald
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	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.

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. They had issue:

• Frances Mary Monck (died 30 Oct 1930)
• Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck (died 16 May 1913)
• Henry Monck, 5th Viscount Monck (born 8 Jan 1849, died 18 Aug 1927)
• Richard Charles Stanley Mountjoy Monck (born 2 Aug 1858, died 13 Dec 1892)

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.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Monck
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• http://www.gg.ca
• Photograph: Governor General Monck in 1864. McCord Museum
• Photograph: Lord Monck, Governor General in 1866. McCord Museum

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir George Staunton, Bt Francis Baring	Member of Parliament for Portsmouth 1852–1857 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