Charles Coghlan (politician)

The Honourable Sir Charles Coghlan KCMG
Coghlan, photographed as Premier c. 1925
1st Premier of Southern Rhodesia
In office 1 October 1923 – 28 August 1927
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Sir Francis Chaplin (Administrator)
Succeeded by	Howard Unwin Moffat
Member of Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly
In office 29 April 1924 – 28 August 1927
Succeeded by	Allan Ross Welsh
Constituency	Bulawayo North
Member of Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council
In office 24 April 1908 – 29 April 1924 Serving with Gordon Stewart Drummond Forbes Robert Alexander Fletcher
Preceded by	William Henry Haddon William Napier
Constituency	Western
Personal details
Born	Charles Patrick John Coghlan (1863-06-24)24 June 1863 King William's Town, British Kaffraria (today South Africa)
Died	28 August 1927(1927-08-28) (aged 64) Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia
Resting place	Matopos Hills, Rhodesia
Political party	Rhodesia Party
Spouse	Gertrude Mary Schermbrucker ​ ​ (m. 1899⁠–⁠1927)​ (his death)
Children	2
Alma mater	South African College, Cape Town
Profession	Lawyer, politician

Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan, KCMG (24 June 1863 – 28 August 1927), was a lawyer and politician who served as Premier of Southern Rhodesia from 1 October 1923 to his death. Having led the responsible government movement in the territory during the latter days of Company rule, he was Southern Rhodesia's first head of government after it became a self-governing colony within the British Empire.

Born, raised and educated in South Africa, of Irish descent, Coghlan moved to Bulawayo in 1900 to practise as a lawyer. He was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council in 1908, representing the Western electoral district. Over the next decade he supported the renewal of the British South Africa Company's royal charter to administer the Rhodesias, and opposed Southern Rhodesia's amalgamation with either Northern Rhodesia or the Union of South Africa. He led a delegation to London to discuss responsible government in 1921, and two years later Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing colony. Coghlan sat in the Legislative Assembly as Member for Bulawayo from 1924 to his death.

Coghlan was buried near Cecil Rhodes's grave, at "World's View" in the Matopos Hills near Bulawayo.