William Watt

The Right Honourable 	The Right Honourable
William Watt 	William Watt
 	
30th Prime Minister of Enderron 	30th Prime Minister of Enderron
In office 	In office
20 May 1979 – 12 November 1979 	20 May 1979 – 12 November 1979
President 	Jeremy Kenner
Deputy 	Taylor Colbeck
Preceded by 	Calvin Rhinehart
Succeeded by 	James Thorpe
9th Leader of the Social Democratic Party 	9th Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office 	In office
20 May 1979 – 12 November 1979 	20 May 1979 – 12 November 1979
Deputy 	Taylor Colbeck
Preceded by 	Calvin Rhinehart
Succeeded by 	James Thorpe
Treasurer of Enderron 	Treasurer of Enderron
In office 	In office
6 October 1973 – 20 May 1979 	6 October 1973 – 20 May 1979
Prime Minister 	Calvin Rhinehart
Preceded by 	Jens Larsson
Succeeded by 	Brendan Mulligan
Minister for Social and Community Services 	Minister for Social and Community Services
In office 	In office
23 September 1970 – 6 October 1973 	23 September 1970 – 6 October 1973
Prime Minister 	Calvin Rhinehart
Preceded by 	Anthony Babbage
Succeeded by 	Margaret Lyons
Member of the Enderronian Parliamentfor Edison	Member of the Enderronian Parliamentfor Edison
In office 	In office
17 September 1966 – 12 November 1979 	17 September 1966 – 12 November 1979
Preceded by 	New seat
Succeeded by 	William Woodward
Personal details 	Personal details
Born 	William James Watt16 April 1930Wentworth, Dominion of Enderron
Died 	12 November 1979 (aged 49)Duyfken, Enderron
Political party 	Social Democrats
Spouse(s) 	Amanda Dalton (m. 1959)
Children 	1
Education 	Crecimento High School
Alma mater 	University of Wentworth
William James Watt (/wɒt/; 16 April 1930 – 12 November 1979), also known as Bill Watt, was an Enderronian politician who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Enderron, from May 1979 until his assassination in November 1979. Serving for just 171 days, Watt is Enderron's second-shortest-serving prime minister, only ahead of Robert Poole, who served for 90 days. Watt died on 12 November 1979 in Duyfken, Sylvania, making him the third prime minister, after Norman Frederickson and Benjamin Thrailkill, to die in office.
Watt was born and raised in Wentworth. He studied law at the University of Wentworth and opened his own legal practice before entering politics. He joined the Social Democratic Party in 1960, initially working as a staffer and then treasurer of the Wentworth branch of the party. He entered federal parliament at the 1966 federal election, winning the new seat of Edison in eastern Wentworth.
After the Social Democrats won the 1970 election in a landslide, Watt was appointed to the Cabinet and frontbench by incoming prime minister Calvin Rhinehart, serving as Minister for Social and Community Services, a position he held until 1973, when he was promoted to Treasurer. After this, he became an increasingly powerful figure in the Rhinehart Government. Watt is credited with shifting the Social Democratic Party's economic platform away from heavy state interventionism and towards a more moderate economic liberal position. His policies would indirectly influence Enderron's later radical economic reform in the 1980s, which transformed the country from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trading economy. His fiscal policies have been referred to as Wattonomics, and have been the subject of lasting debate. His tenure as treasurer coincided with the global mid-1970s recession and its aftermath.
By the end of the decade, Watt's position in the cabinet had become essentially level with Deputy Prime Minister Taylor Colbeck. With Prime Minister Rhinehart's popularity in rapid decline, Watt mounted a leadership challenge against Rhinehart in May 1979, and narrowly won to become the 30th Prime Minister of Enderron.
As prime minister, Watt largely retained the Rhinehart Government's reformist and progressive platform, but also proceeded in a more economically liberal position than his predecessor, as evidenced by the 1979 federal budget, which polarised voters. Despite its short tenure, the Watt Government implemented a number of significant policies regarding immigration and multiculturalism. Watt was prime minister at the height of the exodus of refugees from Vietnam. Under his leadership, Enderron heavily increased its intake of Vietnamese refugees and non-white immigrants.
Six months into his term, Watt was mortally wounded when shot with a pistol at point-black range on 11 November 1979 while touring the city of Duyfken in Sylvania Prefecture, and died the next day. He was succeeded by James Thorpe as prime minister. Arthur Harvey was arrested, charged and convicted for the killing, and was determined to be acting alone, though Watt's assassination continues to be the subject of widespread analysis and numerous conspiracy theories.
Watt's short prime ministership makes his tenure difficult to rank; his actions as treasurer have a far greater legacy than his term as prime minister. He is mostly remembered for his commitment to multiculturalism and support of Enderron's refugee settlement program.