Noel Quarton

The Rt. Hon. Noel Quarton was a former Prime Minister of Georgeland, serving in two periods, from August 17, 1978 to November 4, 1979 and from December 19, 1983 until February 17, 1995. His total time in office of twelve years and four months makes him Georgeland's longest-serving Prime Minister.

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Hon. Noel Quarton, MP

|- |Position || 19th Prime Minister of Georgeland |- |Term in office || August 17, 1978-November 4, 1979
December 19, 1983-February 17, 1995 |- |Preceded by || Bradley Van Goen (1st time)
Robert Fisch (2nd time) |- |Succeeded by || Robert Fisch (1st time)
Eric Edge (2nd time) |- |Political party || Labour |- |Total time in office || 12 years, 4 months, 18 days (1st) |- |Born-Died || April 11, 1936 - May 25, 1999 |- |Constituency || South Emilypolis |- |Spouse || Jeanne Quarton (married 1970) |}

Early life

Quarton was born into a working-class family, and left school at 15 to work in a factory. Georgeland in the 1950s was a very conservative country, and Quarton quickly became disenfranchised and alienated by what he saw as a government run by and for the wealthy elitists. In 1954, at the age of eighteen, Quarton helped campaign for the election of Nathan Keegan as Prime Minister. After that campaign was successful, Quarton applied to enter the University of Scoita on a scholarship but was rejected. In 1958, when Keegan lost office for the second time, Quarton turned towards the Radical Left, and became a Marxist.
In 1962, Quarton, now 26, was finally admitted to university, where he continued his leftist activism. He studied law at the University of Emilypolis, and graduated in 1966. Shortly after graduating, Quarton, who had been leader of the student body, was approached by the Labour Party for candidacy in the upcoming federal election of 1966. Quarton, who had been a Labour Party member since the age of 17, agreed, on the condition that he renounce Marxism and follow Labour doctrine.

Early political career

Quarton was elected in 1966 to the seat of South Emilypolis. His campaign was rough, with the incumbent Conservatives painting Quarton, like others, as Soviet agents intent on influencing the Labour Party. Despite this, Quarton was successful in divorcing himself from his student activism and won the seat. In his first term as an MP, Quarton voted in caucus against a number of measures he had championed as an activist, and identified strongly with the party's right-wing.
In 1970, Labour won office, and Quarton was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary. He became well-known to the public as a champion of family law reform, and introduced a Private Members' Bill in 1972 to overhaul divorce law. The bill was eventually championed by the government and became the Family Law Act (1972), for which Quarton recieved significant acclaim among the left in Georgeland.

Van Goen government

In 1972, Prime Minister Victor Howard retired and was succeeded by Bradley Van Goen. Quarton became Minister for Defence in the new government, succeeding Van Goen in that position. As Defence Minister, Quarton pursued the initial defence procurement deal with the Soviet Union that provided for the bulk of Georgeland's military equipment until the mid-1990s (ironically, it was Quarton himself who moved away from the ex-Soviet trade deal in the last year of his government). Quarton began to be seen as a potential Prime Minister, but with Labour losing ground in the opinion polls, this began to be seen as a remote possibility. In 1977, two years after winning re-election and confounding expectations, Quarton was elected as the new Deputy Prime Minister after John Curry's resignation.
In 1978, Van Goen disappeared while mountaineering in Switzerland. Quarton, as Deputy PM, took over the government for several weeks while a search effort was mounted - when the inquest concluded there was no prospect of Van Goen remaining alive, Quarton was permanently appointed Prime Minister in his place after a unanimous party room vote.

Quotes about

Preceded by Bradley Van Goen	Prime Minister of Georgeland August 17, 1978 - November 4, 1979	Succeeded by Robert Fisch
Preceded by Bradley Van Goen	Leader of the United Islands Labour Party August 17, 1978 - June 13, 1995	Succeeded by Charlton Robards
Preceded by Robert Fisch	Leader of the Opposition November 4, 1979 - December 19, 1983	Succeeded by Eric Edge
Preceded by Eric Edge	Leader of the Opoosition February 17, 1995 - June 13, 1995	Succeeded by Charlton Robards
Preceded by Robert Fisch	Prime Minister of Georgeland December 19, 1983 - February 17, 1995	Succeeded by Eric Edge