Sir Charles Stanley Monck 1819 - 1894
An Irish peer and former member of the Palmerston administration, Lord Monck was named Governor General of British North America in 1861. During the American Civil War he laboured to keep hostilities from spreading north to British territory. An early proponent of the desirability of union of the British North American provinces, Monck devoted his energies and the prestige of his office to the cause of Confederation. His appointment was extended to allow him to become the first Governor General of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. He retired to his estates in Ireland the following year.
From: Wikipedia
Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck
Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck, GCMG, PC (Templemore 10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894 Enniskerry) was the last Governor General of the Province of Canada and the first Governor General of Canada after Canadian Confederation. Prior to Confederation he was concurrently Lieutenant Governor of both Canada West and Canada East.
Monck obtained a law degree from Trinity College, Dublin. He married his cousin Elizabeth Monck in 1844, and in 1849 he inherited his father's title of Viscount Monck. In 1852 he was elected MP for Portsmouth, and from 1855 to 1858 he served as Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston.
In 1861 he was appointed Governor General of British North America as well as Governor of the Province of Canada. During this time, the Canadian colonies were beginning to organize themselves into a confederation. The American Civil War had just broken out, and the Trent Affair caused diplomatic tension between the United States and Britain. The Canadian government was eager to gain some measure of independence during this turbulent period. The Quebec Conference, the Charlottetown Conference, and the London Conference, at which the details of confederation were discussed, all took place during Monck's time as governor. Monck supported the idea, and worked closely with John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier, and Étienne-Paschal Taché, who formed the "Great Coalition" in 1864.
In 1866 Viscount Monck became a peer with the title Baron Monck. When the Canadian colonies became a semi-independent confederation the next year, Monck became the country's first Governor General. Monck was also responsible for establishing Rideau Hall as the residence of the Governor General in Ottawa.
In 1868 Monck was succeeded by John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar. He returned home to Ireland, where he became Lord Lieutenant of Dublin in 1874. He died in 1894.