Herbert James Palmer

H. James Palmer (August 26, 1851 – December 22, 1939) was the 11th premier of Prince Edward Island and the son of former colonial Premier Edward Palmer.

Herbert James Palmer
11th Premier of Prince Edward Island
In office May 16, 1911 – December 2, 1911
Monarch	George V
Lieutenant Governor	Benjamin Rogers
Preceded by	Francis Haszard
Succeeded by	John A. Mathieson
Leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party
In office May 16, 1911 – January 3, 1912
Preceded by	Francis Haszard
Succeeded by	John Richards
MLA (Assemblyman) for 3rd Queens
In office December 12, 1900 – November 15, 1911
Preceded by	Frederick Peters
Succeeded by	George F. Dewar
Personal details
Born	(1851-08-26)August 26, 1851 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Colony
Died	December 22, 1939(1939-12-22) (aged 88) Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Ada Millicent Patena ​ ​ (m. 1880)​
Relations	Edward Palmer (father)
Children	5
Alma mater	Prince of Wales College University of King's College
Occupation	Lawyer and director
Profession	Politician

Born in Charlottetown, Palmer was educated at Prince of Wales College and then at King's College in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

He was called to the bar in 1876 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1878. Palmer entered the provincial legislature as a Liberal upon winning a seat in the election of 1900. He served as Attorney-General at various times except between 1904 and 1908 when he was out of office. In May 1911 he became premier when Francis Longworth Haszard was appointed to the Supreme Court of the province. At the time, members of the legislature who became Premier were required to resign their seats and run for re-election in a by-election. Palmer did so but was defeated in the December by-election. He resigned as premier and returned to his law practice. The loss of Palmer's seat also caused the Liberal government to lose their majority in the legislature and the lieutenant governor asked the leader of the opposition, John A. Mathieson, to form a new government.