Grand Republic of Leo

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Grand Republic of Leo
了国
Flag of Second Republic of Leo
Flag
Motto: Liberty, Honesty, Transparency
Capital
and largest city
Crabport
Official languagesEnglish
Recognised national languagesMandarin
Recognised regional languagesEnglish, Mandarin, German
Demonym(s)Leosian
Government
• Premier Major
Tau
• Premier Minor
Javkase
• Premier Speaker
Thomas B
LegislatureGrand Unified Ministry
High Council
Ministry-Senate
Establishment
• Formed
28 July 2019
• Entered Elysium
22 October 2019
• Left Elysium
17 December 2019
• Second Republic
11 January 2020
Area
• Total
5.1 km2 (2.0 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate
11
• 2019 census
8
Membership120
GDP (nominal)estimate
• Total
$140
• Per capita
$12.72
CurrencyLeo Aeris (LEA)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
Driving sideright

The Grand Republic of Leo, or 了国 in Chinese, is a quasination located in Illinois. It was founded on 28 July 2019 by the first Premier Major, Tau. The current Premier Major is Tau, who was elected on 5 January 2020 and most recently won an election on 1 February 2020. The government is mostly active on the Discord server, but localized government does exist and takes part in discussion offline. The micronation maintains a small internet presence and mostly grows by word-of-mouth. In most foreign political situations, the nation has taken a neutral stance and chosen to remain out of large alliances. The nation was founded, joined Elysium, and later left, becoming independent for the second time. The Commonwealth of Illinois joined, becoming the second administrative division, on February 9, 2020, however, the Commonwealth left on February 11, 2020.

History

Founding

The Grand Republic of Leo was founded on the 28 July 2019 by Tau. The nation was founded in order to protect the ideals of the people. The nation was originally formed with 2 legislative bodies. As of 31 August 2019, it was chosen to remove the second legislative body which is known as the Senate Major and combining the two Senates of the Grand Republic of Leo into the one "Unified Senate of Leo".

The first Premier Major, Tau, became the de facto head of state on the 28 July 2019, when the nation was founded. He announced his intent to resign on 27 August 2019, to allow for new minds and people to bring innovative concepts and ideas to the nation. An election for Senate Minor was promptly held, following by an election for Premier Major. This election resulted in AltonPan becoming the second Premier Major of the Grand Republic of Leo.

Shortly afterwards, on 1 September 2019, AltonPan resigned due to personal needs. At the time, there was also mounting pressure for AltonPan to remove some of his announced items from his agenda, such as a military force. It has now become known that there was a plot to remove AltonPan from office and force a spot election. Salibaic/Adam Johnston was named the next leader, and while there isn't a clause stating that a resigning Premier Major could choose the next Premier Major, it was decided that Salibaic/Adam would be honoured as the next Premier Major, with him becoming the third Premier Major of Leo.

Unification with Elysium

As activity in Leo died down, Tau, who won the next election, sought for an answer. At the time Tau's political career in Elysium had begun to reach its peak height, and with relations between Elysium and Leo closer than ever, it made sense to unify. On October 22, Leo became an autonomous region of the Imperial Federation of Elysium. Leo was neglected as an autonomous region despite the leader being Chancellor of Elysium and activity decreased further. In mid-December, sentiment against Elysium within Leo began to grow. Tau took note and on 16 December 2019, a government sponsored poll was held to determine if there was sufficient interest in declaring independence. Later that day, an official referendum was held, in which the final decision was to leave the federation. On 17 December 2019, Leo left the Imperial Federation of Elysium. The new Republic of Leo originally wished to continue relations further, but Elysium chose to cut off relations where they were and hold a neutral stance, respecting the independence of Leo.

Second Republic

Once Tau became Premier Major again on 5 January 2020, he began to assemble a cabinet and change the government system, in which the position of Minister and Senator were combined, as it was viewed to be unnecessary to have both. These reforms were large and changed the country to a major degree, and as such, Tau decided the nation would become enter into the phase of the Second Republic of Leo to better reflect the changes made. In the early January election, the pro-republic Bourbon Party of Leo fought against the pro-Elysium ElyEnter Party, which later became the Democratic Traditionalist party. The election ended up being a sweeping win for the Bourbon Party, which captured over 75% of the vote. Tau later went on to win the February election under the Bourbon Party nomination and has continued to launch more reforms. On 9 February 2020, the Leo annexed the Commonwealth of Illinois at the request of the Commonwealth. On 11 February 2020, the Commonwealth of Illinois declared independence. The Grand Unified Ministry scrambled to find an appropriate solution, and the end result was the recognition of the Commonwealth of Illinois and a statement of neutrality. Following this, events were few and far between, until about a month later, when Tau suddenly stopped functioning. Following a series of stupid and ill-thought events, Tau ended up leaving. His departure did not directly lead to the end of the Second Republic; however, with his absence, activity was limited.

Kingdom of Leo

About two weeks after Tau's departure, the Government of Leo decided to established the Kingdom of Leo on 26 March 2020, with Xavier Jackson, the former Premier Speaker, serving as the first King of Leo. This period in Leo's history was marked by inactivity and little government control. Mr. Jackson was crowned on 24 March 2020, and ruled until 6 June 2020, when he decided to step down from the monarchy for undisclosed reasons. Succeeding him was the former Premier Minor, Moustapha Hozeit, who was the King from 6 June 2020 to the dissolution of the nation on 15 July 2020.

The Neo-Leo Project and the Third Republic

After the dissolution of Leo on 15 July, little was done in terms of the nation and it largely disappeared from the general thought. In early September, Tau decided to reach out to former members of Leo, and he asked them if they'd consider restarting the nation. While the former members did express some interest, Tau ultimately decided that the time was not right to bring back Leo, and shelved the project. Just over two months later, in November, Tau rejoined Elysium. It was upon rejoining Elysium that he made the decision to go forward with the project, and he began to gather former members. This era is known as the Leo Project, and is closely linked to its immediate successor, the Third Republic. The Leo Project was governed by a Provisional Council, made up of anyone who wished to join. On 21 November 2020, the Provisional Council passed the Government Definition Act, which paved the way for a new government to form, structured in a very similar way to the government of the Second Republic. On 23 November, elections began for these positions. Tau was confirmed as the next Premier Major with a 81% majority of votes on 24 November. Three days later, after forming a ministry, Tau proposed Senate Motion 2: Declaration of Independence, and upon its passing, Leo became an independent nation.

Eras of Leo

Official Government Recognised Eras

Era Full Country Name Name of Era Length of Era Notes
1st Era (First Republic) 28 July 2019 - 22 October 2019 Grand Republic of Leo The Messy State 86 Days The first era and republic. The Government was drastic and switched often. The era was mainly led by Tau, and began with the founding of Leo. Inactivity and frequent election swings were a mainstay of this time, with few politicians staying in power for significant lengths of time. At the end of this era, options were exhausted and the government was searching for solutions to their problems. This era ended when the Treaty of Salt Island was signed, absorbing Leo into Elysium.
2nd Era (First Region) 22 October 2019 - 17 December 2019 Elysium Autonomous Republic of Leo The Dark State 56 Days This era is largely regarded as a dark time for the Grand Republic of Leo, in which the end was close at times and the country seemed near to collapse. Little was preserved or saved from this period. Javkase was Premier Major or Acting Premier Major for the majority of this era, and while his rule is regarded well, this era is not. By the end of this period, Leo was neglected, but the few remaining citizens began to build up anti-Elysium sentiment.
3rd Era (Second Republic) 17 December 2019 - 26 March 2020 Second Grand Republic of Leo The Renewed State 100 days This era began with Leo exiting the Federation of Elysium, which was immediately followed by a power struggle in the wake of Tau's departure. Leo left Elysium on bad terms, which resulted in even further growing nationalism. Populism in the country surged along right-wing party lines, shifting the country further and further away from the original values. Tau later returned, and won the January 2020 election, after which he declared the Second Republic of Leo. This era continued through the annexation of the Commonwealth of Illinois. The Second Republic ended with its annexation into the Commonwealth of America.
4th Era (First Kingdom) 26 March 2020 - 15 July 2020 Kingdom of Leo The Inactive State 111 days This era began with Leo being established a monarchy, and was marked by rule from Moustapha Hozeit and Xavier Jackson, both as kings. This era was also largely inactive, and little government existed at the time.
4th Era (Third Republic) 19 November 2020 – Present Republic of Leo The Inactive State 111 days Following Leo's dissolution on 15 July, there was little action. However, in mid-September, interest was expressed in reforming Leo. the project was shelved at the time, but was revisited in early November, and Tau decided to go ahead and gather people to begin Leo once more. Key legislation passed during this period included the Government Definition Act and the Treasury Act.

Government

Head of State and Legislative Bodies

The second election cycle was held on 30 August 2019. The first Premier Major and founder of the Grand Republic of Leo was Premier Major Tau, who served for one term, but later went on to serve 2 more non-consecutive terms, becoming the only Premier Major to serve any non-consecutive terms. The Premier Major is the official head of state of the Grand Republic of Leo, however, there are other positions in the country that hold arguably more power, such as the Premier Speaker of the Grand Board of Ministers. The Premier Major is elected from any citizens who choose to run by all citizens who vote in the elections. The winner is determined by popular vote. There was intended to be a Major Election Cycle every 4 weeks, which is when the Premier Major is elected along with a myriad of other positions. When the Premier Major role is in transition between two people, the former or soon to be former Premier Major is called the Premier Major in Resume and the new Premier Major is called the Premier Major Elect.

Formerly, there were two legislative bodies in the Grand Republic of Leo. They were the Senate Minor of the Grand Republic of Leo and the Senate Major of the Grand Republic of Leo. Both of them could propose and pass legislature. However, candidates for Premier Major were required to be in the Senate Minor at the time of election. Senate Major members get two votes to elect the Premier Major, compared to the one vote that each Senate Minor member receives. On 15 September 2019, these legislatures were combined to become the Unified Senate of Leo. On 11 January 2020, the Unified Senate of Leo was later combined with the Grand Board of Ministers of the Senate Minor (now defunct) to combine the roles of Senator and Minister, which created the lower legislature known as the Ministry-Senate but often just referred two as the Grand Unified Ministry or just Unified Ministry.

The Leosian government altogether has been considered one of the most complex systems for such a small micronation and to some degree, considered over complex and bureaucratic. As one citizen put it, the system can be, "at times plain stupid and difficult to understand." The government system has been largely simplified over time through the combining of positions and removing unnecessary government aspects, however, the way this was carried out at times left certain positions with unusual responsibilities. As per a technicality, each former Grand Board Minister of the Senate Minor represented the Senate Minor, as the Grand Board was forgotten, and by succession laws, there were three legislatures at once due to Grand Board Ministers representing the Senate Minor even though the actual legislative body was known as the Unified Senate. The consensus is that this was caused by bad wording and, on a larger level, worse leadership. The web of responsibilities and roles has created a system with virtually no separation of powers. This system is widely considered innovative, and in Leo is preferred over a regular system as it prevents corruption. The system earned the nickname "The Single System" over time to describe how the system functions.

Grand Unified Ministry

The Grand Unified Ministry is the name of the Legislature, however, it also contains the Grand Ministry and the Ministry-Senate. Each Ministry-Senator, or Grand Unified Minister, runs a ministry of the Grand Ministry. The following ministries are currently active:

  • Ministry of Internal Affairs - Led by Minister Chasm
  • Ministry of External Affairs - Led by Minister Liam P.
  • Ministry of Communications - Led by Minister Phunanon
  • Ministry of Economy - Led by Minister and former Premier Major Javkase
  • Ministry of Immigration - Led by Minister and Premier Speaker Thomas Bainbridge
  • Ministry of Defence - Led by Minister Player Piano
  • Ministry of Justice - Led by Minister Robert Smith

It is required at all times for the number of active ministries to be equal to the number of positions occupied within the Grand Unified Ministry.

List of Premier Majors of Leo

Leo has had five individuals serve as Premier Major in the past, for a total of nine terms, of which four have been served by Tau, who is the current Premier Major.

Number Name Number of terms served Other key figures under administration Notes
1 Tau Smith 4 Player Piano, ChasmFixer, and Javkase Longest serving Premier Major
2 AltonPan 1 Adam Johnston Served only one day
3 Adam Johnston 1 Tau, Javkase Very little activity and little legislation
4 Christina of Cycoldia 1 Tau, Javkase, Player Piano Highly anti-Elysium
5 Javkase 2 Adam Johnston, Tau Served under Elysium control

Economy

Bank of Leo

Logo of the Bank of Leo, including the Mandarin name.

The Bank of Leo is a central bank founded along side the micronation that issues the current currency of Leo, the Leosian Aeris, or known in Leo just as the Aeris, which is a fiat currency. Originally, the currency was to be backed by copper, however, the nation is yet to buy a supply of copper to back the currency against. Once this occurs, the currency will switch to the copper standard, which will be managed by the bank. The Bank of Leo is run by an independent board like a normal commercial company in Leo would be, with the exception that it is also managed by the Ministry of Economy. The current head of the Board of the Bank of Leo is Tau. The system is yet to be fully implemented. The bank cannot print currency without the authorization of the Ministry of Economy. The bank was originally called the Federal Bank of the Grand Republic of Leo, but was later renamed to reflect changes in the nation. In Chinese, the bank is called "了国银行", or in pinyin, "leguo yinhang".

Leo Aeris

Designs for the first series of the Leo Aeris.

The Leo Aeris is the national currency of Leo. It is currently a fiat currency but it is planned to switch over to a copper standard within the next year. Two iterations of the currency have been designed, however, only one has seen circulation so far. Circulation of the currency overall has been very limited, and it is estimated that a total sum of less than a thousand Aeris have ever been printed. This is due to change soon, however, as the government will begin paying workers with Aeris. The denominations of the banknotes are 5, 20, 50, and 200 Aeris. The first series saw all four denominations printed, however, the second series was only designed for the denominations 20, 50, and 200. Plans include introducing coinage at some point down the line, however this is not a focus at the moment and has been relegated to the Ministry of Economy for further thoughts. On January 11, talks began to design a new series of bills. Some High Council members, most notably Chasm, suggested that the currency be renamed to the Tau to honour the founder of Leo. Tau was not a big fan of this idea, suggesting that he is not notable enough to have a currency be named after him. On January 12, Tau decided to go ahead and redesign the Aeris himself as he wanted to reintroduce the currency and begin to use it more often. This resulted in the second series of the Leo Aeris, which is generally regarded as being a much better design overall.

Political Parties

Party Party Leader Spectrum Ideologies Ministry-Senate Seats
Bourbon Party of Leo BPL Tau Smith Right-wing Pro-independence, Laissez-Faire capitalism
5 / 8
Labour Party LP Adam Johnston Left-wing Socialism, liberalism
3 / 8
Monarchist Party MP Hankery Jenkinson Right-wing Conservatism, monarchism, traditionalism
0 / 8
Individualist Party of Leo IPL Elijah Anca Right-wing Anarchocapitalism, social liberalism
0 / 8
Federalist Party FP Gabriel Hackman Right-wing Federalism, decentralism
0 / 8

Bourbon Party of Leo

The Bourbon Party is the current leading party of Leo and holds the majority of seats in both the government overall and the Ministry-Senate, also known as the Grand Unified Ministry. The Bourbon Party of Leo was formed on 1 January 2020 and is a spiritual successor to the Libertarian Party of Leo, which was led by Tau. The Bourbon Party of Leo is also led by Tau, who has taken the role of Party Chairman. The party is also considered the populist party and had the most members compared to the only other significant rival party, the Democratic Traditionalist Party of Leo. The policies consist of economic conservatism but social liberalism. This combination of policies helped secure voters in the January 2020 elections and proved key to maintaining support and growing while sentiment remained negative against their largest rival.

Democratic Traditionalist Party

The Democratic Traditionalist Party was the only other party of Leo following the collapse of the CBT Party. The Democratic Traditionalist Party is led by Robert, the Emperor of Elysium. The policies of the party called for closer relations with Elysium, and the potential to rejoin Elysium later on. These policies proved to hurt the party, as the recent election led to growing nationalist sentiment which further caused the demise of the party. The party used to be known as the ElyEnter Party of Leo, however, as this name did not serve the reputation of the party well, it was changed just before the January 2020 elections in a last ditch effort to garner support and stop the negative sentiment. The party was disbanded on February 8, 2020, due to a lack of members and traction.

Culture

The culture of Leo is mostly mixed, as the citizens have come from all throughout the world and the micronational community. The majority of Leo citizens are also citizens of Elysium courtesy of the former status of Leo as a member state of the federation. Leo chooses not to participate in any sporting events, however, Tau has expressed that the government would support and endorse a team and give them the status of national team if wished. Due to the location of Leo near Chicago, the culture, if it could be branded, would be considered urban midwestern-American.

Geography

Climate

Leo maintains a temperate climate, with warm temperatures in the summer, cold temperatures in the winter, and consistent precipitation year round with no significant rainy or dry season. The harsh winter has proved a barrier to developing land, as few projects have been completed in time for the winter. Snow is typical in the winter and typically occurs from late October to early April. During this season, it is estimated that at least 20% of the residential citizens of Leo leave the area to seek somewhere warmer for the summer. This "flocking" effect also coincides with a dip in the economy, as fewer citizens trade goods on a daily basis.

Land composition

The land is crisscrossed with many small rivers and streams, owing to the heavy precipitation that occurs throughout the year. During the summer, the area is very green with many trees, such as the Northern Red Oak, and various plants. The fauna consists of foxes, deer, and many varieties of birds that live or move through Leo over the course of the year. The entire claim is very flat, with few hills and bumps, as is typical for the region.

Foreign relations

Leo has maintained a small presence online, choosing to engage in active foreign relations with a small and select number of nations. This has resulted in low awareness of Leo online, which Tau has identified as an issue. In response to this, Leo has attempted to gain a larger online presence, however, attempts so far haven't been successful. The foreign policy of Leo under Premier Major Tau has been to stay neutral in most situations.

Elysium relations

Leo's relations with the Empire of Elysium are often a hot topic, as since the independence of the Republic of Leo from Elysium, relations have continued to sour. The Government of Leo considers some of the actions taken by Elysium to be "hostile", but no official declaration of hostilities has been declared yet, as hostilities would prevent Elysium citizens from serving in Leo government, which would incapacitate the government given the majority of citizens are dual citizens. A planned summit between the two nations to occur on 5 February 2020 was canceled after intense discussions between advisors to the government and legislators within the government. The cancellation prompted the Chancellor of Elysium to insinuate war might occur should a summit not occur within the fortnight following the planned summit. Tau has taken an anti-Elysium position in the past, however, his opinion on Elysium has become much softer and he no longer advocates for aggressive or hostile action against the nation. On 9 February, the nations met for a highly successful and effective summit that has largely begun repairing relations between the two nations. This sudden reversal in relations caused an outcry among some government officials, but the response altogether was positive.

Administrative divisions

Leo has two administrative divisions, known as Ciden and the Commonwealth of Illinois. Ciden is located north of Chicago, and has been in existence since the founding of the nation, however, the territory has shifted. The Commonwealth of Illinois was founded in October 2019 and joined Leo on 9 February 2020. The Commonwealth of Illinois is located in central Illinois.