William F. Lloyd

Who was William F. Lloyd?

Sir William Frederick Lloyd was a newspaper editor and Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1918 to 1919.

Born in Stockport, England, Lloyd emigrated to Newfoundland in 1890 where he taught school before becoming a journalist and becoming editor of The Telegram. He was first elected to the Newfoundland House of Assembly in 1904 as a Liberal and became Leader of the opposition in 1916.

Due to a political crisis over conscription the government of Sir Edward Patrick Morris formed a National Government and invited Lloyd to join as Attorney-General. After Morris retired at the end of 1917 the governor asked Lloyd to form a government even though he was from a minority party. Lloyd took over the National Government but in 1919 his minister of finance, Sir Michael Patrick Cashin, who had succeeded Morris as leader of the Newfoundland People's Party moved a motion of no confidence and defeated the Lloyd government. Cashin became the new Prime Minister and Lloyd returned to the opposition benches.

Lloyd served again in government, briefly, as minister of justice in 1924.