Chairmanship of Newton von Uberquie

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Newton von Uberquie, 31st Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational

The chairmanship of Newton von Uberquie, delegate for Uber-Esse, began on 1 July 2020, when he was elected the 31st Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational in the June 2020 election, winning with a landslide victory of 83.9% against his opponent, Jayden Lycon, with 12.9%, and ended on 31 December. Newton succeeded Thomas Bainbridge, and was succeeded by Jack Dean in the December 2020 election. Newton did not seek re-election.

Newton's term was marked with generally less activity than previous Chairs, as well as from his cabinet, and while it was considered mostly uneventful, Newton initiated the first Charter reform since 2016, organised the first Virtual GUM Summit and became the first chair in 8 years to meet his Vice-Chair in person, when he met with Lord Matthew, delegate for Essexia. He oversaw the organisation reach a record of fifty member states by the end of his term. Newton also received notable criticism on his more laidback approach to decorum, which heavily contrasted Bainbridge, whom himself was criticised for his more stern approach to decorum. Some argued Newton's term saw a rise in unprofessionalism within the organisation, though it was mostly confined to the informal GUM Politan channel on the server. Newton was also criticised for his lack of action following "The Great Shag" scandal, which external sources alleged he had involvement in.

Administration

Cabinet

Although Newton's initial running mate was Karl Friedrich, Friedrich refused the offer of vice-chair, and so Newton picked Lord Matthew to remain as vice-chair, continuing from Bainbridge's term. The chair kept two delegates, Otto Gillespie Birch of Misberia, Secretary for Statistical Research, and Queen Cedar of the Triumvirate of Sonderan, the Safeguarding and Welfare Officer. He presented the Quorum of Delegates with five nominations, all of whom were accepted: Ashley Jaax of Iustus as Secretariat for Public Relations and Press, Emperor Terry of Essexia for Secretariat for Events & Summits, Amelia I of Lytera for Secretariat of Diplomacy & Recruitment, Emperor Adam I of Adammia as Secretariat for Micronational Development, and James Frisch for the position of GUM Archivist, the first to hold the position since Jonathan I of Austenasia who had held it since 2 January 2017. All were accepted by the Quorum with large majorities in favour, three of which unanimously. Newton's choice of cabinet was criticised by some, such as the replacement of Jonathan I as Archivist, and for their inactivity.

Judicial appointments

Newton established the Office of Clerk of the Supreme Court, which would be appointed by the Supreme Justice of the Supreme Court. He nominated Bradley of Dullahan of Wyvern to remain as Supreme Justice of the Supreme Court of the Grand Unified Micronational, and nominated Henry Clémens of Uber-Esse and Jonathan I of Austenasia as Associate Justices. All were accepted unanimously by the Quorum.

Domestic affairs

Newton (left) became the first chair in 8 years to meet his vice-chair in person, when he received Lord Matthew on 20 July

Newton oversaw the passing of the Electoral Procedure Amendment in September 2020, which amended the criteria for electoral eligibility and was the first Charter reform since 2016, and created a Quorum voting room to keep voting separate from the Quorum session discussions. He also posted more regular Quorum updates and moved back to membership applications being made through Google Forms as opposed to the talk page on MicroWiki. Newton became the first chair in 8 years to meet his vice-chair in person, the first time having been between Jonathan I and Jacob Tierney at PoliNation 2012. He also oversaw the 2020 GUM Virtual Summit in November, which had over forty attendees, though the event received mixed opinions.

Reception

His term was marked with generally less activity than previous chairs, as well as from his cabinet, and despite him holding just seven Quorum sessions, significantly less than previous Chairs, critics noted that since membership applications were voted on separately having more than one session a month would give little purpose. Newton also received notable criticism on his more laidback approach to decorum, especially compared to Bainbridge, with some arguing his term saw a slight rise in unprofessionalism. He was also criticised for his lack of action following "The Great Shag" scandal, which external sources alleged he had involvement in. Despite that, some GUM members as well as insiders defended Newton, and believed he was not required to make a statement in any official capacity as he as an individual was not directly responsible for the GUM by his alleged wrongdoings.

His term as chair saw him ranked seventh on Statistic-Dime's list of the Top 25 Most Influential Micronationalists in the MicroWiki Sector of 2020, which was organised and written by Zabëlle Skye et al. He had previously been named Statistic-Dime's Micronationalist of the Month for June 2020 after he was elected, which was mostly due to his abdication as Emperor of Abelden.