Gaius Soergel Publicola
| The Honourable Sôgmô Gaius Soergel Publicola SOTS MΑθΠ KOF KOH KOB OBS GCL ZL OZ PCR | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sôgmô Soergel speaking at the 2017 MicroCon with reporting coverage by Vice News. | |
14 April 2011 - present | |
| Predecessor | Office established |
19 October 2010 - 20 February 2011 | |
| President | Lisa Cassidy |
| Predecessor | as Baron of Kremlum Sandus |
| Successor | as Sôgmô of the State of Sandus |
| Predecessor | as Chairman of the Democratic People's Republic of Sandus |
| Successor | as Governor of the Territory of Sandus |
April 2010 - 28 July 2010 | |
| Predecessor | as Baron of the Barony of Sandus |
| Successor | as Baron of the Barony of Kremlum Sandus |
21 December 2009 - April 2010 | |
| Predecessor | as Speaker of the People's State of Sandus |
| Successor | as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic People's Republic of Sandus |
July 2009 - 21 December 2009 | |
| Predecessor | as Lama of the Grand Lamate of Sandefreistikhan |
| Successor | as Baron of the Barony of Sandus |
26 May 2009 - July 2009 | |
| Predecessor | None, Sandefreistikhan founded |
| Successor | as Speaker of the People's State of Sandus |
| Born | 15 April 1995 Trenton, New Jersey, USA |
| Birth name | William Soergel |
| Citizenship | Sandum, American |
| Nationality | Sandum |
| Political party | Citizens' Party of Sandus |
| Other political affiliations |
Communist Party USA |
| Relations | Oliver Armstrong |
| Residence | Appartement du Sôgmô, Quercus Candida, Sandus |
| Occupation | Sôgmô of Sandus, Academic |
| Profession | Ancient History |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhist, Religio Romana |
| Website | Facebook Website |
| Allegiance | Sandus, Sandefreistkhan |
| Service/branch | Sandum Defense Forces, People's Defense Forces |
| In service | 2009 - 2011 |
| Rank | General, General Marshal |
| Battles/wars | Neda War, Murrayfield Civil War, War over Micronational Communism, New Euro-Erusian War, New European Civil War, Great Ideological Conflict |
| Awards |  Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Throne of Sandus Member of the Honourable Order of Athena Pronoea
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Gaius Soergel Publicola, né William Soergel, is the current Sôgmô of the State of Sandus. Soergel has occupied various positions in Sandus since 26 May 2009 across six different constitutions, and has reigned as absolute monarch since 14 April 2011. They are known for being a Polytheist Buddhist, a Communist, and a major community proponent of seriousness and professionalism.
They were born in the State of New Jersey of the United States before he moved westward to live in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 6 months. They would remain in Arizona for the next 10 years until he would move to a small community near Baltimore, Maryland, where the cultural homeland of their micronation is located. In August 2017, they moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for graduate school and to where Sandus's current capital, Quercus Candida, is located. Since July 2019, they have been engaged to the Sanôba Oliver Armstrong.
Early life
Soergel was born in Princeton, New Jersey, in April 1995 before they and their family moved to Arizona later in the year. Their father is an academic historian and professor, and their mother a social worker. Both met at the University of Michigan, where later Gaius Soergel Publicola began pursuing a history PhD program in the latter half of 2017. They have one sister, as well, who was born in Arizona in 1991. They were baptised into the Episcopal Church but were never confirmed. They and their family stopped attending church in 2000.
Soergel's early life is marked by a series of self-discoveries which ended up shaping their young adulthood and adulthood. First, in July 2005, when moving from Arizona to Maryland, they learned about the Soviet Union and Communism and, after that time, began to learn more about Russian history and the history of Marxism. They started to identify as communist soon after. Second, in November 2006, the future Sandum royal family visited a Tibetan Buddhist temple in western Central Maryland known as Kunzang Palyul Chöling (KPC). At KPC, the eleven year old Gaius Soergel Publicola began to meditate in the Padmasana posture in the prayer room of the temple, despite a lack of prior instruction, setting off a spiritual awakening. Over the next three years, they learned about the basics of Buddhist philosophy and explored their spirituality through learning of different Christian churches, Judaism, Islam, and other faiths. They decided to convert to Tibetan Buddhism on 12 April 2009 and took refuge in their guru, Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo, in May 2009. In late July 2017, they formally took refuge and received their Tibetan refuge name, Tseten Dorjé. Over time, as well, Soergel began to take a humanist approach to the study of polytheist religions and, beginning in mid-2009, began identifying as a Polytheist or Neo-Pagan, while also remaining Buddhist. Third, from 2007 to 2012, when Soergel Publicola began dating, they were attracted to both men and women, and later to non-binary transgender people. In time, they began to realise that they were bisexual and, in 2013, came out to friends and family as bisexual. They went on to facilitate a bisexual discussion and support group at the University of Maryland, College Park, from 2014 to 2017, and later came out as androgynous and began using gender neutral pronouns in 2016.
As early as their childhood, Soergel displayed an interest in micronationalism with various micronation-like projects, including one potentate on their primary school's playground, a fictional city inspired by a story in a 2003 Arizona state reading exam, and another potentate-like project when in early secondary education. In 2008, in their last year before transferring to high school, Soergel brought together their middle school friends to form the micronation Trénois (also Trénoî), the predecessor micronation to Sandefreistkhan and later Sandus.
Micronational activity from 2009 to 2011
![[icon]](/wiki/File:MicroWiki_mark_black.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
Reign as Sôgmô
| Styles of Sôgmô Gaius Soergel Publicola | |
| Reference style | the Honourable Sôgmô |
|---|---|
| Spoken style | the Honourable Sôgmô |
| Alternative style | Comrade Sôgmô or Comrade |
Other Micronational Activities
Intermicronational Activity
GUM
Organisation de la MicroFrancophonie
Second Life
Micropatriology
Personal life
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
Criticism
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Awards and decorations
Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Throne of Sandus
Member of the Honourable Order of Athena Pronoea
Knight of the Order of the Fir- Knight of the Order of the Hawk
Knight of the Order of Bohr
Grand Cross of the Order of the Lotus
Knight Commander of the Order of the Uskorian Lion- Companion of the Order of Uskor
Knight Commander of the Order of the Snowflake
Cavaliere of the Order of the Blue Star
Presidential Citation Ribbon
Knight of the Order of the Star of the Sea
Knight of the Royal Order of Jaguar
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