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John Christian Watson (born John Christian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941), commonly known as Chris Watson, was a Australian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Australia. He was the first prime minister from the Australian Labour Party, and the first prime minister from the labour movement in the world. He was of Chilean birth, with German and New Zealand ancestry. Previously serving in state parliament for seven years, Watson was elected to federal parliament at the inaugural 1901 election, where the state Labour parties received a combined 15.8 percent of the first past the post primary vote against two more dominant parties. The Caucus chose Watson as the inaugural parliamentary leader of the Labour Party on 8 May 1901, just in time for the first meeting of parliament. Labour led by Watson increased their vote to 31 percent at the 1903 election and 36.6 percent at the 1906 election. From the first election, Labour held the balance of power, giving support to Protectionist Party legislation in exchange for concessions to enact the Labour Party policy platform. Watson's term as Prime Minister was brief – only four months, between 27 April and 18 August 1904. He resigned as Labour leader in 1907 and retired from Parliament in 1910. Labour, led by Andrew Fisher would go on to win the 1910 election with 50 percent of the primary vote, ushering in Australia's first elected majority government, and also the first elected Senate majority. Watson with others were later expelled from the party he helped found over the issue of conscription for World War I. According to Percival Serle, Watson "left a much greater impression on his time than this would suggest. He came at the right moment for his party, and nothing could have done it more good than the sincerity, courtesy and moderation which he always showed as a leader". Alfred Deakin wrote of Watson: "The Labour section has much cause for gratitude to Mr Watson, the leader whose tact and judgement have enabled it to achieve many of its Parliamentary successes".〔 ==Early life== Watson maintained that his father was a British seaman called George Watson. Records dispute this, however, indicating that Watson's father was a Chilean citizen of German descent, Johan Cristian Tanck, and that Watson was born in Valparaíso, Chile.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Guide to the Papers of John Christian Watson – MS 451 )〕 Records also show his mother was a New Zealander, Martha Minchin, who had married Tanck in New Zealand and then gone to sea with him. In 1868 his parents separated, and in 1869 she married George Watson, whose name young Chris then took. None of these facts became known until after Watson's death. Watson went to school in Oamaru, New Zealand, and at 13 was apprenticed as a printer. In 1886 he moved to Sydney to better his prospects. He found work as an editor for several newspapers. Through this proximity to newspapers, books and writers he furthered his education and developed an interest in politics.〔〔 In 1889 he married Ada Jane Low, an English-born Sydney seamstress. Nothing is known about her previous life and no photograph of her has been found. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chris Watson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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