Adrian Coghlan

The Honourable 	The Honourable
Adrian Coghlan 	Adrian Coghlan
Coghlan in 2009 	Coghlan in 2009
36th Prime Minister of Enderron 	36th Prime Minister of Enderron
In office 	In office
17 February 2008 – 6 July 2009 	17 February 2008 – 6 July 2009
President 	Helen Vandenberg
Deputy 	Don DansbySherry Matsuda
Preceded by 	Wally Koepke
Succeeded by 	Sherry Matsuda
2nd Leader of the Liberal Party 	2nd Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 	In office
17 February 2008 – 6 July 2009 	17 February 2008 – 6 July 2009
Deputy 	Don DansbySherry Matsuda
Preceded by 	Wally Koepke
Succeeded by 	Sherry Matsuda
Member of the Enderronian Parliamentfor Formosa	Member of the Enderronian Parliamentfor Formosa
In office 	In office
21 September 2002 – 27 October 2009 	21 September 2002 – 27 October 2009
Preceded by 	Jonathan Coker
Succeeded by 	Chris Buckley
Personal details 	Personal details
Born 	Adrian Daniel Coghlan16 July 1948 (age )Flinders City, Enderron
Political party 	Independent (since 2016)Liberal (2000–2016)Liberal Democrats (before 2000)
Domestic partner 	Nancy Hughes (since 1979)
Children 	3
Education 	The King's College, Wentworth
Alma mater 	University of Wentworth
Religion 	Anglican
Adrian Daniel Coghlan (/ˈkɒglən/; born 16 July 1948) is an Enderronian businessman, philanthropist and former politician who served as the 36th Prime Minister of Enderron and leader of the Liberal Party of Enderron from 2008 to 2009. He is the eighth-shortest serving prime minister in Enderronian history, and second prime minister to never contest a federal election, after William Watt. He is also the wealthiest prime minister in Enderronian history, and to date the only billionaire to serve in the position.
Coghlan graduated from the University of Wentworth with a Bachelor of Arts. Prior to entering electoral politics in 2002, he worked as a computer engineer and venture capitalist. He founded software company Coghlan in 1987, and served as its CEO until 2001. During the 1990s, he was a significant donor to the Liberal Democrats and became one of Enderron's leading lobbyists for market-driven economic policies and free trade. After the Liberal Democrats merged into the Liberal Party in 2000, Coghlan decided to enter electoral politics. He was elected to the Enderronian Parliament at the 2002 federal election, for the seat of Formosa in northern Janszoon Prefecture. As a member of the Koepke Government he served as the Minister for Trade and Economic Development from 2005 to 2006 and then Minister for Infrastructure from 2006 to 2008.
In January 2008, Wally Koepke announced his resignation as prime minister pending a leadership election. Coghlan contested and narrowly won the spill, defeating Jodie Bouchard and becoming prime minister. Assuming office during the height of the global financial crisis, Coghlan and his new cabinet proved to be unprepared to deal with the effects on the Enderronian economy. The Coghlan Government split over economic policy, between Keynesian intervention with economic stimulus packages, and more austere measures involving cutting government spending. As a result of the internal deadlock, the government faltered as it lurched between the two policy positions and suffered in opinion polling. By the start of 2009, the worst of the GFC had passed, but Coghlan was still struggling as prime minister, with the Liberal Party still divided over policy direction. His inability to reunite the party caused numerous MPs to devise plans to challenge him for the leadership. In June 2009 a spill motion was passed, and Coghlan resigned as Liberal leader. His new deputy Sherry Matsuda won the resulting leadership election and succeeded him as prime minister on 6 July 2009. Coghlan remained in parliament until October, resigning to restart his business career, once again becoming the CEO of Coghlan. In 2016 he resigned from the Liberal Party after numerous public disagreements with its conservative wing, declaring that the party "had become liberal in name only."
Coghlan's time in office is rated by most scholars as among the worst in Enderronian history, largely due to his government's failure to address the global financial crisis, which led to lasting damage on the national economy. Others have a more lenient view of his administration, describing him as a prime minister "at the wrong place at the wrong time".