William Watt

William James Watt (/wɒt/; 16 April 1930 – 12 November 1979), also known as Bill Watt, was an Enderronian politician who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Enderron, from May 1979 until his assassination in November 1979. Serving for just 171 days, Watt is Enderron's second-shortest-serving prime minister, only ahead of Robert Poole who served for 90 days. Watt died on 12 November 1979 in Duyfken, Sylvania, making him the third prime minister, after Norman Frederickson and Benjamin Thrailkill, to die in office.

Watt was born and raised in Wentworth. He studied law at the University of Wentworth and opened his own legal practice before entering politics. He joined the Social Democratic Party in 1960, initially working as a staffer and then treasurer of the Wentworth branch of the party. He entered federal parliament at the 1966 federal election, winning the safe Social Democratic seat of McDonald in northeast Wentworth.

After the Social Democrats won the 1970 election in a landslide, Watt was appointed to the Cabinet and frontbench by incoming prime minister Calvin Rhinehart, serving as Minister for Social and Community Services, a position he held until 1973, when he was promoted to Treasurer. After this, he became an increasingly powerful figure in the Rhinehart Government. Watt is credited with shifting the Social Democratic Party's economic platform away from heavy state interventionism and towards a more moderate economic liberal position, then called "economic rationalism". His policies would directly influence Enderron's radical economic reform in the early 1980s, which transformed the country from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trading economy. His fiscal policies have been referred to as Wattonomics, and have been the subject of lasting debate. His tenure as treasurer coincided with the global mid-1970s recession and its aftermath.

By the end of the decade, Watt's position in the cabinet had become essentially equal with Deputy Prime Minister Taylor Colbeck. With Prime Minister Rhinehart's popularity in rapid decline, Watt mounted a leadership challenge against Rhinehart in May 1979, and narrowly won to become the 30th Prime Minister of Enderron.

As prime minister, Watt largely retained the Rhinehart Government's reformist and progressive platform, but also proceeded in a more economically liberal position than his predecessor. Despite its short tenure, the Watt Government implemented a number of significant policies regarding immigration and multiculturalism, which Watt strongly promoted. Watt was prime minister at the height of the exodus of refugees from Vietnam. Under his leadership, Enderron heavily increased its intake of Vietnam refugees and non-white immigrants.

Six months into his term, Watt was mortally wounded when shot with a pistol at point-black range on 11 November 1979 while touring the city of Duyfken in Sylvania Prefecture, and died the next day. He was succeeded by James Thorpe as prime minister. Arthur Harvey was arrested, charged and convicted for the killing, and was determined to be acting alone, though Watt's assassination continues to be the subject of widespread analysis and numerous conspiracy theories.

Watt's short prime ministership makes his tenure difficult to rank; his actions as treasurer have a greater legacy than his term as prime minister.