Sir Julius Vogel (February 24, 1835 - March 12, 1899) was New Zealand's first Jewish prime minister. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works.

Early life

He was born in London and studied chemistry and metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines. He emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1852, then moved to Otago in 1861, where he was the first editor of the Otago Daily Times.

Political life

He first became involved in politics in 1863, holding a variety of appointed and elected posts. He was premier 1873 to 1875 and again in 1876. During his political career, Vogel worked for reconciliation with Maori, an effort generally regarded to be successful. In 1887, he introduced the first Women's Suffrage Bill to Parliament, although suffrage was not actually granted until 1893. Vogel was knighted in 1875.

Trivia

Vogel is so far the only practicing Jew to become a head of government outside of Israel. (Benjamin Disraeli was of Jewish extraction but raised in the Church of England.)

Vogel is also reputed to be the first New Zealander to write a science fiction novel; Anno Domini 2000 - A Woman's Destiny , published in 1889. It anticipated a utopian world where women held many positions of authority. Interestingly, New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote and by 2000 was largely governed by women (as the Governor-General, Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Chief Justice are all women).

The New Zealand awards for science fiction writing, the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, are named in his honour. Vogeltown, a suburb of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, was also named for him, as was Vogel House a former official residence of New Zealand Prime Ministers, used during most of the 20th century.

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