Eduardo Daniele

His Excellency
*Sua Eccellenza*
Eduardo Daniele
His Excellency; Sua Eccellenza Eduardo Daniele
	Coat of arms of Eduardo Daniele
Gonfalonier of Verraland
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 25 February 2024
Personal details
Born	Edward Daniels; 11 September 2001 (age 23); Long Island, New York, U.S.
Citizenship	Verraland; Atovia
Nationality	American
Occupation	Student, tutor, micronational statesman, and micropatriologist
Noble family	Daniele
Guild	Gonfalonieri
Signature

Edward Daniels, often known by the Italianized version of his name, Eduardo Daniele, is a micronationalist statesman, politician, and self-proclaimed micropatriologist from Verraland.

Daniels began his career as a micronationalist in late 2015, expressing curiosity upon discovering the Republic of Molossia and the Principality of Sealand. This would lead to further intrigue in the notion of micronationalism, eventually discovering MicroWiki and the Forums respectively. Daniels would go on to lead a handful of personal micronations in his career, often devolving and morphing into entirely new entities. It would not be until 2016 when Daniels established the Grand Principality of Custosia, that his micronational career would become more interactive. After three monarchical incarnations, experimenting with republicanism and eventually becoming a fief of the Thegn-Hold of Siar Fordell, the Custosian project eventually became defunct.

In 2018, Daniels renewed his personal interest in statesmanship, founding the Federated States of Transterra, largely regarded as Daniels' most successful micronationalist project. However, due to academic stress and inactivity, Trasnterra would eventually be absorbed into the Kingdom of Atovia in April 2019 as Verraland-Sylvana. After further external stress and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniels would abscond from micronationalism entirely in June 2020.

Daniels had previously served a prominent role in the Abeldane Empire as Vorsitzender from April 1, 2019 to April 1, 2020. He has also served as the inaugural Chancellor of Atovia from October 13, 2018 to July 8, 2020.

On November 11, 2023, Daniels returned micronationalism, renewing his citizenship and title in the Kingdom of Atovia. On February 25, 2024, Daniels declared himself "Eduardo Daniele," becoming the first Gonfalonier of the Republic of Verraland in the founding proclamation that established the republic.

Verraland is the most recent iteration of Daniele's micronational projects.

Republic of Verraland

Gonfalonier (2024–present)

See: Republic of Verraland

On 25 February 2024, Edward Daniels, under his Italianized name "Eduardo Daniele," officially declared the formation of the Republic of Verraland. In this proclamation, he assumed the title of Gonfalonier of Verraland, bestowing upon himself full executive authority as the head of state. The declaration also laid the groundwork for a legislative assembly called the Council of Consuls, presided over by the Podestà, and emphasized the rights of citizens to gather and exercise their freedoms in accordance with the collective and general will of the republic.

Currently, Daniele is charged with overseeing the constitutional development in Verraland, intended to replace the Constitution of the Federated States of Transterra and establish a second legally binding document within Verraland’s jurisdiction.

On May 19, 2024, Daniele further solidified his foreign policy approach by ratifying the MCLI Treaty, affirming his commitment to a policy known as Long Islandism, which seeks to foster cooperative relations within the Long Island sector. Following the February proclamation, Daniele established diplomatic connections with four other micronations, including Karnia-Ruthenia (a central presence in the Long Island sector), Vishwamitra, the Kingdom of Landopia, and more recently, the Empire of Pacifico.

On August 3, 2024, Daniele expanded Verraland’s territories by founding and annexing the maritime colony of Les Quaisa.

In addition to his governmental responsibilities, Daniele serves as the editor-in-chief of The Scarlet Compass, the official state newspaper of Verraland.

Past micronational endeavors

Edwardia

In late 2015, Daniels watched Tiny Spark and the six-part documentary comedy, How to Start Your Own Country. Daniels claims these two documentaries as crucial for understanding and inspiring his own micronational endeavors. On September 20, 2015, Daniels founded his first micronation, the Kingdom of Edwardia. The early micronation was founded as an absolute monarchy, claiming sovereignty over his home as Edwardian land. Around this time, Daniels shared his knowledge of micronationalism and his personal micronational pursuits with his school friends in a discussion dubbed, the "Workbench Conference". Enamored by the idea of micronationalism, two of his friends would go on to establish micronations of their own; the Kingdom of Cydonia, named after the song Knights of Cydonia by the English band Muse and the Democracy of the Long Isle, named after Long Island, New York.

On October 29, 2015, Daniels ceded the land claimed by Edwardia over to the Democracy of Long Isle for reasons unbeknownst at the time and to this day. This period in Daniels' personal micronational career is often referred to as the Disarray Era, following many micronational incarnations. Of the micronations created, the Vlastist State of Luktonia stands out the most for its early achievements. The Vlastist ideology, regarded as a fusion of fascism and communism, was more or less "tongue-and-cheek" and not at all representative of either ideology. The Vlastist State was most successful for its experimentation with model rocketry. The first rocket launched, dubbed "Ayris I", successfully launched in late May–June 2016. Around that same time, the Vlastist State would be dissolved.

Custosia

See: Kingdom of Custosia

On July 16, 2016, Daniels returned to his micronational endeavors and established the Grand Principality of Custosia. A glimpse at potential stability, Custosia itself had some minor success in its lifespan. Following even more influence on the forums, the Grand Principality would eventually evolve into a Kingdom after acquiring more land. Following unstable reforms in Custosia, the first incarnation named the First Kingdom would collapse on October 7.

Daniels, then inspired by republican ideas, established the Republic of New Custosia. The transition from an absolute monarchy to a democracy proved to be challenging for Daniels at the time. Unable to attract new citizens, the Daniels's vision for a republic began to crack at the seams. Attempts were made to prevent New Custosia's collapse on December 30, 2016. Unfortunately, these attempts were futile and the Republic ceased to exist.

Faced with the collapse of the Frist Kingdom and the Republic, Daniels set out to restore the Custosian monarchy. Thus, the Second Kingdom of Custosia was established. Believing that the Grand Unified Micronational would be crucial for Custosia's stability, Daniels applied for membership. Unfortunately, the Second Kingdom's membership was turned down by the Quorum of Delegates which eventually lead to the collapse of the Second Kingdom out of sheer humiliation.

On February 20, 2017, Daniels reached out to the Thegn of Siar Fordell, Ser John Marshall, who offered Custosia fiefdom status in the Thegn-Hold of Siar Fordell. A treaty was signed between the two parties officially establishing the Fiefdom of Custosia. Daniels, now a Lord under the Fiefdom, was able to maintain a stable Custosian state. On April 23, 2017, Daniels declared independence from Siar Fordell, establishing the final incarnation of Custosia, the Third Kingdom.

Following independence from Siar Fordell, the Third Kingdom of Custosia was re-established as an absolute monarchy. Following minor reforms, Daniels adopted a constitutional system and called for elections. Following a line of inactivity, the Third Kingdom eventually collapsed, closing the Custosian micronational project.

Transterra

See: Federated States of Transterra

The Federated States of Transterra declared independence on May 5, 2018, under the leadership of Edward Daniels, who became the first President of the new republic. Initially, Transterra was made up of only the State of Verraland. A significant event occurred on June 14, 2018, with the establishment of the Transterrian Lounge, a Skype-based community that brought Transterran citizens together and formalized their community platform.

From June 15 to June 17, 2018, Daniels began crafting the Constitution of the Federated States of Transterra. This led to the formation of the Constitutional Convention of Transterra on June 17. With the help of Connor Stumperth, the final draft of the Constitution was ratified on June 19, 2018, by key figures like Daniels, Stumperth, Alexander von Hapsburg, and Andy Irons, recognized as the founding fathers of modern Transterra.

The transition into a federal presidential constitutional republic occurred on June 19, 2018. Soon after, on July 22, 2018, the first presidential election took place. This period also saw the establishment of the Emergency Legislature of Transterra on June 21, 2018, and the creation of the Free Sylvana Territory on July 21, 2018. Noteworthy developments included Daniels being appointed Secretary of Culture on August 1, 2018, and Transterra joining the Konmalehth and the Micronational Statistics Bureau on October 6, 2018. The presidency faced a unique challenge during the 2018 election when a tie occurred on July 24, 2018, between Connor Stumperth and Alexander von Habsburg, leading to a constitutional crisis. However, the crisis was resolved the next day with the Emergency Legislature adopting a new amendment to address electoral ties, resulting in Stumperth assuming the presidency on July 29, 2018.

Abeldane career

Edward Daniels played a pivotal role in the political landscape of the Abeldane Empire, where his career was marked by significant contributions to the governance of Abelden. As a member of various cabinets, serving as Stellvertreter, and eventually having been twice elected as Vorsitzender, Daniels held key positions that influenced policy-making and helped shape the Empire's direction during a critical period of its development. His leadership and strategic vision were instrumental in strengthening internal activity and advancing the empire’s interests on the international stage. Daniels' tenure in the Abeldane Empire left a lasting legacy, cementing his reputation as an influential statesman within the Empire.

Daniels' career in the Abeldane Empire remains his most significant achievement in micronationalism.

Early career

Edward Daniels began his political career in the Abeldane Empire following the December 2017 federal election, elected as an MP for the United Rhinoceros Party in the Reichsversammlung, the Parliament of the Abeldane Empire. He was an attending member of the Shiro ministry as the Imperial Press Secretary. In the April 2018 federal election, Daniels briefly retired from Abeldane politics. By the June 2018 federal election, Daniels returned to the Reichsversammlung, elected as a member of Die Rechte, later renamed the Abeldane National Union and colloquially referred to as the Populares. Returning to a cabinet position under the First Freayth ministry, Daniels was appointed as the Minister of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Daniels would switch parties again by the September 2018 federal election, elected as a member of Liberty Union and as Stellvertreter, defeating the incumbent Maxwell Pollack. In the Second Freayth ministry, Daniels also served as Ministry of State and Reichsregierungskabinett Affairs. As Daniels' career ascended, he gradually took interest in becoming Vorsitzender, a wish he had since his career in Abeldane politics began in late 2017.

Daniels, initially nominated as Stellvertreter, was nominated for the Vorsitzendership by Liberty Union in the upcoming December 2018 federal election. The fifth opinion poll released by L'Sydunche, Abelden's official online newspaper, on November 22, 2018, had Daniels at a comfortable 52.9%, securing a 5.8% lead over his opponents, compared to previous polling had Daniels relatively tied or within the margin of error vis-à-vis his opponents. By November 28, 2018, Daniels had dropped to 11.8% in the polls, down 41.1% from his initial lead. Daniels would eventually withdraw from the race after his performance in opinion polls proved unfavorable. Daniels was elected to the Reichsversammlung in the December 2018 election.

In early 2019, Daniels would form his own political party, Liberty Front, as a spiritual successor to Liberty Union after its demise early that same year. Under the newly formed Kârjasary ministry, Daniels would serve as Attorney General of Abelden, his longest serving cabinet position, from January 7 to April 1, 2019.

Vorsitzendership (2019-2020)

Following the reforms in 2018, the term lengths for the Vorsitzender and Stellvertreter were extended from four months to six months. Elections for the executive and legislative branches were staggered, with elections held every three months, alternating between the two branches. Although the initial plan was to implement this staggering in December 2018, it was postponed to 2019 to allow for a fresh start. As a result, Tarik Kârjasary and Nicholas Kaos were set to serve only three-month terms, while their Reichsversammlung counterparts were to serve six-month terms. It was also decided that the executive elections would be held first to allow for a full six-month term for the Reichsversammlung. Emperor Newton called for the election writs on March 8, 2019, and scheduled all federal elections to take place from the last consecutive Thursday to Sunday of each month. Those elected would begin their terms at the start of the following month. By the March 2019 executive election, Daniels would be elected Vorsitzender for Liberty Front in March 2019. His term set a new record at 366 days, following re-election in the September 2019 executive election, surpassing the previous longest term held by former Vorsitzender Llweyln Lawton. Daniels' administration became notable for its radical decentralization reforms and its focus on increasing state activity. This period saw the successful politicization of Morgannwg and Tusmore, as well as the reoccupation of the previously defunct Alexander and Rai governments.

Daniels' Vorsitzendership was also marked by the Behemothgate scandal, where espionage accusations led to the expulsion of several prominent Behemoth Party members and a subsequent mass exodus of the party's members from Abelden. This period witnessed the rise of the Party of Royalists and Cooperatism as the second-largest party in the empire, while the Abeldane Social Ecology and Liberty Front parties declined to minor status. Additionally, the establishment of six state parties as part of the effects of decentralization, contributed to a lasting legacy of political diversity within the Empire.

Daniels has claimed that in private correspondence with Stephen Freayth, one of the three designated, both constitutionally and de facto founders of Abelden, as well as the former Emperor of the Abeldane Empire, that he was the best Vorsitzender in Abeldane history.

Daniels, upon completing his one year term, sarcastically joked, "what now?"

Post Vorsitzendership, GUM Referendum (March - May 2020)

Following Daniels' consecutive, one-year term in the office of the Vorsitzender, he would continue as an active member of the Reichsversammlung and leader of Liberty Front. Shortly after the Abeldane executive election, March 2020, Patrick Renwick was elected to the office, serving as leader of the Populares. A seemingly uncompetitive election, following a wave of cooperation that defined the sessions of 11th and 12th Reichsversammlung, Renwick would win in a landslide victory, defeating Thomas Bainbridge, leader of the Party of Royalists and Cooperatism, a party that sought to preserve the reign of Emperor Newton I, Emperor of the Abeldane Empire.

In May of that year, lines were drawn in the newly contentious question of Abelden's admission into the Grand Unified Micronational. Previously, the Abeldane Empire had been a member of the GUM before leaving in the Abeldane GUM membership referendum, 2018, which marked a significant withdrawal from the MicroWiki community to focus on the Konmalehth and its community. During Renwick's his campaign for the Vorsitzendership, Renwick expressed his intentions to reintegrate Abelden within the MicroWiki community. The government viewed GUM membership as a crucial step in this reintegration process. Consequently, on May 3, Renwick presented a bill to the Reichsversammlung on behalf of Stephen Freayth to schedule a referendum on GUM membership.

The decision to join the GUM received widespread political backing from both the government and opposition. Vorsitzender Patrick Renwick’s Populares, along with the opposition Party of Royalists and Cooperatism, and the Abeldane Social Ecology, all supported GUM membership. Although Emperor Newton did not officially endorse the campaign, he actively advocated for joining.

The Yes campaign emphasized the pivotal role the GUM could play in helping Abelden reintegrate with MicroWiki and expand its foreign relations. They highlighted that since Abelden left the GUM in 2018, the empire had struggled to establish new foreign ties, with most new connections being made through Abeldane officials serving as GUM delegates for other nations. During the campaign, the government announced it would ensure the Empire would equally focus on both the GUM and the Konmalehth.

The Yes campaign utilized a mix of political posters, video ads, and public debates to promote their message.

The No side was primarily driven by the grassroots campaign group Coalition for a Better Abelden, led by Emiel Hardy, and the Liberty Front, headed by former Vorsitzender Edward Daniels. This campaign also garnered substantial support beyond political circles.

The No campaign argued that GUM membership would reduce Abelden's commitment to the Konmalehth and that the country should pursue a unique approach to foreign relations outside the GUM. They also pointed out that Abelden had previously rejected the GUM in 2018 and during a January 2020 opinion poll, where 76% of Abeldanes opposed GUM membership. The slogan "Abelden has already rejected the GUM" was frequently used.

The Coalition for a Better Abelden produced numerous campaign posters and two video ads leading up to the referendum, and they actively participated in public debates.

Concordia alliance, scandal, and departure (June - July 2020)

Following the successful "Yes" campaign victory in the GUM referendum, a political alliance between Liberty Front and the newly founded Pirate League was formed in June of 2020, called Concordia. Outside of these political activities, Daniels was struggling with the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the existential realities in the death of Nicholas Randouler on June 3. Daniels would eventually abscond entirely during the June 2020 federal election, which saw significant gains for Concordia, particularly the Pirate League, which surged from being one of the smallest parties in the Reichsversammlung to securing a plurality with over 40% of the vote. Liberty Front followed in second place, garnering nearly 25%. Meanwhile, the ruling Abeldane National Union saw its support collapse by more than 40 percentage points since the December election, prompting Patrick Renwick to resign from the Vorsitzendership and triggering a snap executive election.

Atovian career

Chancellorship (2018-2020)

Daniels' initial political career was largely linked to Daniels' friendship with Connor I, given the latter's participation in early the constitutional developments of the Federated States of Transterra. Daniel's was elected the first Chancellor of Atovia in 2018 as a Libertarian, first assuming the office on October 13, 2018. In early April 2019, Daniels, serving duly as the president of the Federated States of Transterra, announced his intention to merge Transterra with Atovia due to his increasing workload as a high school student. Both parties agreed to the merger, which was formalized with a treaty and took effect on April 23, 2019. This merger had several significant impacts. Firstly, the Kingdom of Atovia gained control over all the federal states of Transterra, which became provinces within Atovia. These states included Verraland, Judesberg, Sylvana, and Tuskawanta. Secondly, all Transterrian citizens were assured the right to Atovian citizenship upon completing the standard application process.

After Transterra was assimilated into Atovia on April 23, 2019, the treaty included a provision that reclassified Transterra's federal states as Atovian provinces. Due to limited citizenship and shared land ownership in Verraland and Sylvana, these two provinces were merged and have been governed as one since June 27, 2019. On December 16, 2019, the province of Tuskawanta was dissolved and its land was ceded to Verraland-Sylvana, prompted by the low number of citizens. By March 21, 2020, Daniels switched parties, forming the Atovian Solidarity Party.

Personal life

Outside of his involvement in micronationalism, Daniels is an undergraduate university student majoring in political science, while also working as a tutor.

Among Daniels' hobbies, writing is his most cherished form of expression, and he has written numerous short stories and had two poems published. He also enjoys listening to music, particularly progressive rock and jazz-fusion, and is a voracious reader.

Daniels is a self-described Anglophile.

Political and philosophical beliefs

In American politics, Daniels was once a registered member of the both the Libertarian Party and Green Party, between 2019 and 2020. Around 2021, Daniels switched his party status to independent, and has since then been critical of partisan politics as it stands in the United States. As of 2024, Daniels is a critic of contemporary political discourse and practice. He has expressed interest in technocratic, corporatist, and syndicalist alternatives to political and economic organization. Daniels does not describe his political orientation as right-wing or left-wing, favoring syncretism as a more appropriate label. He is also sympathetic of classical republicanism.

In international relations, Daniels describes himself as a structural realist.

Daniels cites the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a major inspiration in the development of his political theory and philosophy.

Religion and spiritualism

Born into a secular Christian family, Daniels does not practice a specific religion. He has expressed interest in theism and the philosophy of religion, subscribing to Pascal's wager as a convincing argument for believing in the existence of God. He is also influenced by Western esotericism and religious syncretism.

Honors

Foreign honors and awards

Karnia-Ruthenia
- Honorary Colonel of the Imperial and Royal Regiment of Hussars (15 August 2024)
Landopia
- Member of the Order of Saint Caecilia (19 October 2024)

References