J. C. Murrie

Johnson Cyland Murrie, more commonly known as J. C. Murrie (January 31, 1882 - August 16th, 1951), was the second Prime Minister of Doggerland from 1927-1946 and the first-ever Deputy Prime Minister of Doggerland from 1923-1927 of the Arbeidspartij. He is most notable for leading Doggerland through The Great Depression and the Second World War as well as being a key player in the Doggerland Democratic Movement. Today, he is remembered most for fighting for worker's rights and laying the foundation for future government. He was one of the most economically left-wing Prime Ministers of Doggerland.

Early Life
J. C. Murrie was born as Johnson Cyland Murrie in Pretoria in the Union of South Africa on January 31, 1882. His father, Charles Wister Murrie was a Dogger diplomat to the at-the-time British-controlled Union of South Africa. His family moved around South Africa before settling in Cape Town in 1885. He spent his early years there until 1890 when his father was offered a ministry position and moved back to Doggerland. The family lived in Nandels Port for his childhood along with attending an English Boarding School in Steibo during the school year.

Education
Murrie decided in 1900 to take a few years to study at King's College in Cambridge, England before transitioning to the University of the City of Mistlân. During his time at Kings's College, he befriended a young John Maynard Keynes. He claimed that his experience in England opened him up to the wider world and helped him see a bigger picture. He excelled throughout his education eventually getting a degree in political science and philosophy with a minor in law.

Time In India
J. C. Murrie had his first job as a travel-reporter in British India as part of a Doggerland government visit starting in 1905. He enjoyed his time in India so much that he decided to stay there taking a post at the official embassy in then-named Bombay. However, he soon grew tired of India once claiming, "[Bombay] was always swelteringly hot and full of rain. Even the rain was warm as good bathwater. I was just so used to the cold of Brun-Nord. I did love the land but I longed [for] Doggerland and my people,". He fell through on this and eventually returned to Doggerland in February of 1907.

Time in The United States
Before officially returning to Doggerland, Murrie made one last voyage abroad to visit New York City and Philadelphia in the United States of America. He later remarked, "To the [me] of that time, these cities were marvels of modern technology. I wanted to bring that sort of life and joy to Doggerland,".

Early Years
Once he had returned to Doggerland, Murrie decided to travel across the country for a journalism report. Whilst on his voyage, he encountered several dock towns and learned of their oppression and struggle. In late 1907, he decided to get his life in order and start working with the West Doggerland Dockworker's Union, or WDDU. He worked primarily out of Hoovsted and Mistlân fighting for labor rights and writing political reports. He soon gained notoriety in the world of Doggerland labor for his fierce speaking style and no-nonsense attitude.

Union Leadership and Activism
J. C. Murrie gained national attention when he began campaigning for Doggerland to transition to democracy. He gave his famous "On These Shores" speech whilst speaking in Kensingston in 1912 to promote a Doggerland parliamentary system. When The First World War began, he was initially opposed to Dogger involvement. But, after consultation with other union members, he decided that the best course was to have the country help supply arms to the allies. After meeting with royal government officials, they denied having Doggerland take sides. At this time, Murrie also became the leader of the WDDU. So, he drafted a plan where the union would form its own private entity to supply arms to the United Kingdom with public ownership of the said entity. Soon, workers flocked to the WDDU arms department for easy money. Because of this, Doggerland's economy grew through the war.

Democratic Transition
J. C. Murrie started to become a key player in democratic activism under the wing of leader Jan Vander Zijk. In 1919, he helped orchestrate a march on Nandels Port with WDDU members and other activists. During the march, fights broke out, and eventually, the royal guard was called in. They arrested and injured many protesters claiming they were committing unlawful acts. This only strengthened the democratic movement. In 1922, the Monarchy eventually signed in to order that the first snap elections would be held in January of 1923, with real elections next scheduled for 1926. Murrie immediately got into the early politics supporting the rights of workers and oppressed minorities. He joined the newly formed Arbeidsparti to promote his ideas. However, he chose to maintain his official standing for the Nonpartisan Caucus in order to run for a seat.

First Three Years
On April 5th, 1923, J. C. Murrie was sworn in as the first-ever Deputy Prime Minister of Doggerland. The non-partisan caucus won a plurality of seats and led a government coalition with Jan Vander Zijk, a non-partisan, as the first Prime Minister of Doggerland. Jan Vander Zijk chose Murrie as Deputy PM to show support for the growing labor movement, despite Zijk's personal reservations. Murrie immediately started drafting legislation as a member of parliament. He wrote bills for worker protections, business regulations, and one of the first pieces of hate crime legislation. The first 3 years were primarily filled with laying the groundwork for future parliaments. He passed the Ordinance Campaign Act which made it so corporate interests could not directly contribute to political activity.

Dutch-Union Scandal
Murrie himself eventually got caught up in a scandal in 1925 where a group of activists claimed that he once tried to pass a union act that made it harder for Dutch Doggers to gain benefits. Throughout his life, Murrie had been accused of anti-Dutch sentiments, which he most always denied. A later investigation determined not very reliable evidence to the accusation, so Murrie was safe in his position for the time being. However, this scandal nearly stopped his career dead in its tracks.

Second Term as Deputy Premier
In 1926, the first real parliamentary election of Doggerland was held following the snap election 3 years prior. When the election came around, the nonpartisan caucus had fractured back to rudimentary parties. The Progressive Conservative party won the largest amount of seats for any party, although the nonpartisan caucus was still in control. This lead to Zijk being re-elected and J. C. Murrie being re-appointed to his position, despite Murrie's strained relationship with the PC Party. During his second term, both Zijk and Murrie focused on helping modernize Doggerland by writing the Technological Activity Act which established an official patent office for Doggerland. However, the second term of Jan Vande Zijk would be cut short in 1927.

Power Crisis of 1927
On October 29, 1927, Prime Minister Jan Vander Zijk had a heart attack whilst in the National Guard Building in Nandels Peak on a visit. He was immediately taken to the royal medical concern in main Nandels Port. He soon entered into a drafting-coma whilst he was treated until November 1st. After some ill-notion procedures and increased arterial clogging, Jan Vander Zijk was pronounced dead in the very early hours of November 2nd, 1927. The first Prime Minister of Doggerland was dead. There had been no instructions on who would take over when a Prime Minister died. As such, The King took a temporary post whilst parliament deliberated for all of 16 hours until it was decided that the Deputy Prime Minister would take the position until the next election.

First Short Term
In the late hours of November 2nd, 1927, J. C. Murrie was sworn in as the second Prime Minister of Doggerland. One of his first acts was to set an official chain of command for leadership. He accomplished other minor acts including the Pharmaceutical Distribution Act, the Coastal Development Act, and the Federal Office Act. They each established a national pharmaceutical developer, organized fishing standards, and allowed the government to take property leases respectively. In 1928, Murrie established a prime ministerial decree which allowed him to pass reforms directly. This was controversial at first but later proved to be very useful.

Suffrage and Reformation Decree of 1928
One of his more controversial early acts was the Suffrage and Reformation Decree of 1928. Whilst the parliament had only been around for 5 years, local elections had been going on for up to 150 years. In each case, women and many Native Doggers were forbidden to vote. Time and time again, the monarchy ruled for this in effect. In 1928, when J. C. Murrie established a prime ministerial decree, he decided to pass an equality measure as his first decree. That became the Suffrage and Reformation Decree of 1928, which allowed all Dogger citizens above the age of 20 to vote in local and federal elections and allow women to partake in worker's unions. Whilst there were still some forms of local discrimination, this largely cut the issue. Many more conservative members of parliament tried to have Murrie ousted because of this, but the parliament narrowly voted to have him remain.

The Great Political Switch of 1929
Whilst Murrie was a registered member of the Arbeidspartij (Labor Party), he had officially maintained his position in the Nonpartisan Caucus. That changed in March of 1929 when a great restructuring happened in the Dogger Parliament. Many conservative members of the Nonpartisan Caucus were fed-up with Murrie, so they decided to form their own party; the Progressive Conservative Party, or PC. If Murrie was to remain in power, he could not stay part of the caucus and retain a government. So, he made the decision to formally incorporate the Arbeidspartij as an actual political party in Doggerland. Soon, other MPs joined the cause and split from the caucus. Eventually, it was left with the Arbeidspartij holding a plurality with the Worker's Party in government as well. J. C. Murrie would stay as prime minister.

The Great Depression
In October of 1929, the Great Depression hit the United States of America. The country was a bastion of world trade, so other countries started to succumb as well. Doggerland's depression hit hard in early 1930 with skyrocketing unemployment and a severe economic downturn. Doggerland primarily traded with the United Kingdom, which traded primarily with the USA. The chain reaction got worse as it went down, leaving Doggerland at the brunt of it. J. C. Murrie was quick to step into action. He immediately instituted a number of reforms.

Life After Premiership (1946-1951)
After retiring from politics, J. C. Murrie still continued in the national spotlight. In 1947, he was a speaker at a diplomatic convention in San Francisco, California in the United States. His speech was livecast on TV across the USA and eventually recorded and brought to Doggerland.

Fellowship
He was eventually offered a research fellowship at his alma mater, the University of the City of Mistlân. Thus, he moved to a house in the Navigation Neighborhood of Mistlân to work with the university. He continued giving lectures on world events, economics, and political theory. His last very famous speech was delivered in 1949 in Hoovsted titles "For The Children of Tomorrow". Due to his worsening health, he left his position in the fellowship in December of 1950.

Illness and Death
Murrie had always been a heavy smoker of both tobacco and, rarely, opium. He described it as a way of relaxing for the business of political life. In 1949, he was diagnosed with lung cancer yet he continued his position at UCM. Eventually, his health grew poor enough that he had to finally retire in December of 1950. He spent his final months in relatively bad condition before slipping into a brief coma in July of 1951. On August 16, 1951, J. C. Murrie died at age 69 in his sleep at his home. A large funeral procession carried his body from Mistlân to Hoovested and eventually Nandels Port. There, he was buried at the King's Cemetery near the modern-day Murrie Historical Center.

Relationships and Sexuality
J. C. Murrie never married during his life. Although there is plenty of hearsay, there is no indication that he ever took on a girlfriend or mistress. During his life, many accused him of being a homosexual, although he never publicly addressed these claims. Most of these said claims were from political opponents and weren't taken very seriously until after his death. In 1993, it was discovered that there were ready-to-publish papers from 1945 that had possible evidence of a homosexual affair with Member of Parliament, Alfred Herril. To this day, the presumed evidence has never been confirmed but many believe it to be true. It is possible that fear of these documents releasing played a part in his decision not to seek reelection in 1946.

Family Life
As mentioned earlier, J. C. Murrie never married or had documented accounts of a partner. This resulted in Murrie having no accounted children. During the beginning of his political career, pamphlets were circulated that claimed Murrie had fathered a "bastard" child with a woman in India and another in America. These claims were repeatedly refuted by him. Murrie grew up with 4 siblings, one of which was Amelia-Josephine Murrie, the Dogger ambassador to England from 1941-1955.

Timely Public Opinion
During his time in office, J. C. Murrie was relatively popular across Doggerland. He had an especially high approval with working-class English Doggers on the west coast. His approval was more mixed among those of Dutch descent. Working-class coastal Dutch in provinces like Zuidvis and Zuipont had strong support for Murrie due to their intrinsic ties to his own base. More upper-class Dutch in provinces like other parts of Zuipont and Zuidbete despised him throughout his career due to his presumed English favoritism and catering to working-class citizens more than wealthier ones. His views with Native Doggers tended to be moderate with no distance opinion. For much of his career, Murrie generally did not pay much attention to their concerns besides those of the poor. On the other hand, he was much friendlier to the community than other future successors.

Ties To Colonialism
Due to the fact that he spent his early years in British South Africa and spent part of his adulthood in India during The British Raj, many have thought Murrie had significant ties to favors of colonialism. Although he had never expressly defended racist tactics, he was never all too friendly to colonized people groups, primarily in Africa. He initially did not show support for the rising Indian Independence, but eventually showed limited support after 1944.

Locations In Murrie's Honor
Being one of the first and most recognized Prime Ministers of Doggerland, J. C. Murrie has several locations named in his honor.

General Locations

 * The J. C. Murrie Seaport in Nandels Port, Brun-Nord; the largest port in Doggerland
 * The Murrie Labor Building in Toiburg, Vioke.
 * J. C. Murrie Domestic Terminal at Mistlân International Airport.

Monuments, Memorials, and Other Attractions

 * The J. C. Murrie Statue and Square in Mistlân, Zuidvis.
 * The J. C. Murrie Historical Center in Nandels Port, Brun-Nord.
 * Murrie Regional Nature Preserve in Stacall.
 * Murrie City Gardens in Hoovsted, Steibo