| The Right Honourable The Lord Connemara GCIE, PC |
|
|---|---|
| "Bobby". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1877. | |
| Governor of Madras Presidency | |
| In office 8 December 1886 – 1 December 1890 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | M. E. Grant Duff |
| Succeeded by | John Henry Garstin |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs |
|
| In office 23 February 1874 – 21 April 1880 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Preceded by | Viscount Enfield |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles Dilke, Bt |
| In office 25 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice |
| Succeeded by | James Bryce |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 11, 1827 Hayes, County Meath |
| Died | September 3, 1902 London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Susan Ramsay (d. 1898) (2) Gertrude (d. 1898) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Dublin |
Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara GCIE, PC (11 June 1827 – 3 September 1902) was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator. He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1874 and 1880 and 1885 and 1886 and was Governor of Madras between 1886 and 1890.
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Bourke was born at Hayes, County Meath,[1] the third son of Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo, and Anne Charlotte, daughter of the Honourable John Jocelyn. Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo. He was educated at Hall Place School, Bexley, Kent, and Trinity College, Dublin, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in 1852.[2]
Bourke practised as a barrister for a number of years before being elected Conservative Member of Parliament for King's Lynn in 1868.[2][3][4] In 1874 he became Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Benjamin Disraeli's second administration, a post he held until 1880,[2] when he was also sworn of the Privy Council.[5] He held the same post from 1885 to 1886 in Lord Salisbury's first administration.[2]
In 1886, Bourke was appointed Governor of Madras.[6] The following year appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire[2] and raised to the peerage as Baron Connemara, of Connemara in the County of Galway.[7] In 1890 he laid the foundations stone of the Connemara Public Library in Madras, which was named after him and opened six years later.[8] The building was originally planned to house the proposed Victoria Technical Institute which was constructed in 1887, the Golden Jubilee year of Queen Victoria's reign. The third session of the Indian National Congress was held at Madras in 1887 when Connemara was the Governor. He hosted a garden party at the Government House for the delegates. The construction of the Madras High Court was commenced in 1889.
Lord Connemara is credited with introducing a number of reforms while serving as Governor. He personally supervised the famine-relief measures at Ganjam and reorganized the sanitary administration of Madras city. He also improved and extended the east coast railway line connecting Madras with Calcutta. The Madras Mail, in its December 4, 1890 issue, comments that his administration was "a bright epoch in the annals of Madras". He resigned as Governor on 8 November 1890 and returned to England.
Lord Connemara contributed occasionally in the House of Lords, mostly on matters dealing with foreign affairs, making his last speech in June 1898.[9] He also published the work Parliamentary Precedents.[1]
Lord Connemara was twice married. He married firstly Lady Susan Georgiana, daughter of the James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, in 1863. They divorced in 1890. In 1894, he married Gertrude, former wife of Edward Coleman. Both marriages were childless. His second wife died in November 1898. Lord Connemara died in London in September 1902, aged 75,[2] and was buried in the city's Kensal Green Cemetery.[10] His barony became extinct at his death.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Thomas Buxton, Bt Lord Stanley |
Member of Parliament for King's Lynn 1868 – 1886 With: Lord Stanley 1868–1869 Lord Claud Hamilton 1869–1880 Sir William Ffolkes, Bt 1880–1885 (representation reduced to one member 1885) |
Succeeded by Alexander Weston Jarvis |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Viscount Enfield |
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1874–1880 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Dilke, Bt |
| Preceded by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice |
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1885–1886 |
Succeeded by James Bryce |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by M. E. Grant Duff |
Governor of Madras 1886–1890 |
Succeeded by John Henry Garstin |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Connemara 1887 – 1902 |
Extinct |