Daniel Matthews

The Honourable 	The Honourable
Daniel Matthews 	Daniel Matthews
 	
7th Premier of TojimaElections: 1970, 1974, 1978	7th Premier of TojimaElections: 1970, 1974, 1978
In office 	In office
27 May 1974 – 21 February 1975 	27 May 1974 – 21 February 1975
Governor 	Senzo Ichihara
Deputy 	Jerome Johnson
Preceded by 	Taro Matsuoka
Succeeded by 	David Suzuki
9th Leader of the Opposition in Tojima 	9th Leader of the Opposition in Tojima
In office 	In office
21 February 1975 – 20 May 1978 	21 February 1975 – 20 May 1978
Premier 	David Suzuki
Deputy 	Kenji MurataCalum Napier
Preceded by 	David Suzuki
Succeeded by 	Daisuke Sugai
4th Leader of the United Party of Tojima 	4th Leader of the United Party of Tojima
In office 	In office
12 May 1982 – 23 September 1983 	12 May 1982 – 23 September 1983
Deputy 	Lawrence Wilson
Preceded by 	Kenji Murata
Succeeded by 	Lawrence Wilson
In office 	In office
17 March 1973 – 20 May 1978 	17 March 1973 – 20 May 1978
Deputy 	Kenji MurataCalum Napier
Preceded by 	Thomas Slape
Succeeded by 	Kenji Murata
12th Deputy Leader of the United Party of Tojima	12th Deputy Leader of the United Party of Tojima
In office 	In office
23 September 1983 – 3 May 1986 	23 September 1983 – 3 May 1986
Leader 	Lawrence Wilson
Preceded by 	Lawrence Wilson
Succeeded by 	Ray Fujimori
In office 	In office
25 May 1966 – 27 May 1970 	25 May 1966 – 27 May 1970
Deputy 	Thomas Slape
Preceded by 	George Alton
Succeeded by 	Thomas Slape
Member of the Tojima Prefectural Assemblyfor TBA	Member of the Tojima Prefectural Assemblyfor TBA
In office 	In office
3 May 1958 – 3 May 1986 	3 May 1958 – 3 May 1986
Preceded by 	
Succeeded by 	
Personal details 	Personal details
Born 	Daniel Frederick Matthews16 August 1919Karburgh, Dominion of Enderron
Died 	10 July 1991 (aged )Shirakawa, Enderron
Political party 	United
Spouse(s) 	Sandra Yamada (m. 1949)
Children 	3
Alma mater 	University of Tojima
Daniel Frederick Matthews (16 August 1919 – 10 July 1991), commonly known in Japanese as Danima (ダニマ Danima), was an Enderronian politician who served as the 7th Premier of Tojima, from 1974 to 1975. A figure in Tojiman politics for three decades, he served as the leader of the United Party of Tojima on three occasions: 1966 to 1970, 1973 to 1978, and 1982 to 1983.
Matthews entered the Tojima Prefectural Assembly at the 1958 election, and established himself as an outspoken MP. At the 1966 election, he was one of only two United MPs to retain their seat, the other being Thomas Slape, and he became the party leader with Slape as his deputy. After becoming leader, he moved the United Party towards the political centre and declared that he would resign as leader if United did not overtake the Tojima People's Party as the main non-SDP party at the 1970 election. This improved the party's popularity among Japanese voters, leading to a modest recovery at the election. However, the TPP remained the Official Opposition, and Matthews resigned the leadership in favour of Slape.
After three years, the voting public did not warm up to Slape, and the more personally popular Matthews successfully challenged him for the leadership. Matthews led United into the 1974 election and won 10 seats, the most since 1954. The result was a second consecutive hung parliament, with United and the TPP together holding a bare one-seat majority. The TPP was eager to remove the Social Democrats from office, having served 20 of the preceding 24 years in government, and agreed to form a coalition government with United.
The Matthews Government was ultimately short-lived, and Matthews was unable to accomplish much in office because of the tenuous situation of his coalition government, which relied on an uneasy alliance with the TPP. A number of public disagreements with TPP leader and deputy premier Jerome Johnson eventually led to a breakdown of the coalition in February 1975, just nine months after the election. Matthews' tenure as premier ended following a vote of no confidence, in which TPP switched its support to the SDP, allowing its leader David Suzuki to become premier.
Matthews remained leader of the United Party, but the chaotic nature of his short-lived government turned voters away, and United suffered a significant swing at the 1978 election, forcing it back to the crossbench.