William Wilfred Sullivan

Sir William Wilfred Sullivan (December 6, 1839 – September 30, 1920) was a Prince Edward Island journalist, politician and jurist, the fourth premier of Prince Edward Island.

Sir William Wilfred Sullivan
4th Premier of Prince Edward Island
In office
April 25, 1879 – November 13, 1889
MonarchVictoria
Lieutenant GovernorRobert Hodgson
Thomas Heath Haviland
Andrew Archibald Macdonald
Jedediah Slason Carvell
Preceded byLouis Henry Davies
Succeeded byNeil McLeod
Leader of the Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island
In office
1877 – November 13, 1889
Preceded byLemuel Owen
Succeeded byNeil McLeod
Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island
In office
November 13, 1889 – June 21, 1917
Preceded byEdward Palmer
Succeeded byJohn Alexander Mathieson
Member of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island for 2nd Kings
In office
1872 – November 13, 1889
Preceded bynone
Succeeded byJohn P. Sullivan
Administrator of Prince Edward Island
In office
February 14, 1894 – February 21, 1894
Preceded byJedediah Slason Carvell
Succeeded byGeorge William Howlan
Personal details
Born(1839-12-06)December 6, 1839
Hope River, Prince Edward Island Colony
DiedSeptember 30, 1920(1920-09-30) (aged 80)
Memramcook, New Brunswick, Dominion of Canada
NationalityCanadian
Political partyConservative Party
Spouse
Alice Maud Mary Newberry
(m. 1872)
Children6
ResidenceCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Alma materUniversity of Prince Edward Island
St. Dunstan's College
OccupationJournalist, lawyer, and judge
ProfessionPolitician
CabinetSolicitor General (1873–1876)

A native of Hope River, Sullivan had a career as an assistant editor at the Charlottetown Herald as well as a lawyer before being elected to the provincial legislature in 1872 as a Liberal MLA.

A staunch Catholic, Sullivan became leader of the opposition in 1877 to the Protestant coalition government of Louis Henry Davies which had been formed to implement a public, secular school system that denied funding to Roman Catholic separate schools. Sullivan reorganised the Conservative Party and was asked by the lieutenant governor to become premier once Davies' coalition broke up and became unable to command a majority in the assembly.

Sullivan served as premier for ten years and fought for PEI's rights in Canada. He protested the federal government's failure to fulfill the terms of confederation on which the island had joined the dominion in 1873. In 1886, he petitioned the Imperial government in London protesting Canada's delinquency in respect to promises to ensure communication lines between the island and the rest of the country but the problem remained unresolved until the 1900s.

In 1889, Sullivan was appointed Chief Justice of PEI and served in that position until his retirement in 1917. In 1914 he was made a Knight Bachelor by King George V.

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