Henry Clémens
Henry Clémens OBW et al. Duke of Mercia-Lurk, Count of Siñbaša | |
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Depiction of Clémens (not actual image) | |
21 August 2024 | |
Kaiser | Newton I |
Chancellor | James Reginald Frisch |
Predecessor | Otávio Mangini |
30 April 2020 - 1 January 2021[1] | |
Diarchs | Himself Newton |
Lord-regent | Patrick |
Gonfaloniere | See list
|
Successor | Patrick (as regent) |
5 June 2015 - 16 March 2018 | |
Heir apparent | Andrew, Count of Wingsington |
Heaminister | See list
|
Coronation | 24 June 2015 |
25 June - 25 December 2017 | |
Vice Chair | Newton von Uberquie Tarik Kârjasary |
Predecessor | Adam I of Überstadt |
Successor | Adam I of Überstadt |
28 March - 25 June 2017 (Acting) | |
Vice Chair | Newton von Uberquie |
Predecessor | Adam I of Überstadt |
Successor | Himself |
3 August 2014 - 5 May 2016 | |
Vice President | Brandon Wu John Churchill |
Born | 6 October United States ![]() |
Citizenship | Würtige, Uber-Essian, American |
Ethnicity | Essian |
Political party | People's Alliance |
Occupation | Politician, journalist |
Religion | Christian |
Henry Clémens OBW SEO OIS SAV MOG KOS (in Essian: Enzo Clémens; in Sabian: Henrí Krementas) is an Essian-Würtige micronationalist and journalist currently serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of the Technocratic Capital of Würdigeland. He is well-known as the founder of the now-defunct Essian Commonwealth and the Uber-Essian Union, the latter a union between the Commonwealth's successor and the Confederation of Uberquiesenberg.
The founder of six micronations within its geographic region, Clémens is regarded as the creator and historian of the Houston sector. Following the 2015 dissolution of the Federated States, Clémens—the aforementioned micronation's first and only president—went on to establish the Essian Commonwealth that June. Following stints in a variety of different micronational projects, Clémens eventually rose to the Chairmanship of the Grand Unified Micronational.The Commonwealth was dismantled in 2018, after which Clémens took an extensive hiatus from micronationalism.
Upon returning to micronationalism amidst the COVID-19 pandemic two years later, Clémens became a Diarch of the Uber-Essian Union alongside Newton von Uberquie. Patrick Renwick has executed his duties as the Essian Lord Regent since December 2020, when Clémens indefinitely stepped aside from the day-to-day activities of the Union.
In recent times, Henry has become an elusive figure, rarely issuing public statements. Despite his evasiveness, Clémens has served as Supreme Justice of the Grand Unified Micronational in the time since handing regency over.
Federated States & early Esse
Early career
Henry first encountered micronationalism through the Principality of Sealand. Initially laughing at the concept of micronationalism, Henry eventually became interested, and started his first micronation - the Republic of Concord - on 3 August 2014. He told several close friends about his micronation, and they in turn formed their own micronations soon after. The three formed an organization that standardized currency and sought to establish agreed-upon borders between the claims their three micronations.
Despite close cooperation, Henry and his friends collectively lost interest in their states by mid-September. Henry then introduced his friends Brandon Wu and John Churchill to micronationalism, and together they merged into a new micronation, the Federated States of America. The Federated States immediately held its "First Convention," where Henry was appointed as President.
During the Federated States' Second Convention, Henry lobbied for major changes referred to as the "Progressive Reformations" which intended to transform the Federated States into a new, authoritarian state. Despite the reforms being successfully passed, the reformations were forgotten upon the adjournment of the convention.
By April 2015, Henry's activity in the MicroWiki community was responsible for the Federated States finally opening diplomatic relations with other micronations. During the Constitutional Convention that month, Henry moved for similar reforms to those of the Second Convention, launching what he dubbed the "Royalist Reformation." The proposals were highly criticized by Congress and he was scorned. He eventually disavowed the movement entirely.
Henry announced that he would be resigning as President of the Federated States on 1 June 2015, after several weeks of growing tensions within the government. Two days later, on 3 June, the remaining members of Congress resigned and Henry renounced his Federated States citizenship, essentially marking the end of the micronation.
Commonwealth of Esse
The end of the Federated States created a divide between the "Big Four" of the Federated States. Brandon Wu went on to establish the Republic of Galveston, John Churchill became a citizen of Mercia after a brief hiatus, and the fourth Congressman retired from micronationalism entirely. In the days following the end of the Federated States, Henry formed the Commonwealth of Esse, where he served as Lord Protector.
After falling into inactivity after several months leading Esse, Henry proposed reviving the Federated States in December 2015. The new convention - referred to as the "Sixth Congress" - set out to reform the Federated States under a new name. The reformed Federated States thus became known as the Atlantic Commonwealth.
The Atlantic Commonwealth was officially established in January 2016, and quickly several political parties appeared. The first was Henry's own United Atlantic. At its height United Atlantic fielded three candidates. The January elections were fairly unanimous, with Henry being elected to a second term as President (the first term being considered his tenure as President of the Federated States), despite his initial wishes to retire from the position. United Atlantic won 2 council seats.
Success was short-lived for the Atlantic Commonwealth, as most every citizen of the Commonwealth left out of disinterest within the following two months. Henry continued leading the Commonwealth as its only active citizen for several months more, serving as the President of a now-vacant Executive Council.
Leadership and mid-career
Economics
With a growing interest in economics starting the year before, Henry's idea of creating a micronational stock exchange began to take form. Talks with Anthony Clark - then the architect behind the Micronational Dollar - were underway to establish the trading currency for the exchange, dubbed the "Quetico Microinternational Stock Exchange." The stock exchange was established formally on 15 May.
Henry became a full citizen of Mercia and joined the People's Democratic Party in May 2016, following an opinion article he wrote on its most recent general election.
Henry's rising involvement in the State of Koss and his growing partnership with Lucas Campos led to him launching a self-coup in the Grand Duchy of St.Clemens, his most recent attempt at sustaining a micronation. Henry ceded authority over the former land of St.Clemens (and the Valdslandic realm of Vespucciland) to Campos, the Anax of Koss. He also renounced citizenship in Abelden and Nedland.
Henry and Campos began a project that intended to build on the concepts of both the Micronational Dollar and the Quetico Micronational Stock Exchange, which had both fallen into a state of inactivity. The result was the Micronational Economic Group, the product of a collaboration between five individuals assembled by Henry and Campos. The Group's Foundation Treaty - written primarily by Henry - was ratified on 27 July 2016.
In Mercia, Henry turned coat to the PDP's primary opponent, the National Liberal Party during the August by-elections. After only about two weeks in the National Liberal Party, he was elected Deputy Leader. Only weeks after that, a vote of no-confidence was launched against First Minister and PDP leader Alejandro Whyatt. The PDP dismantled shortly thereafter.
On 22 August 2016, Henry was elected as the inaugural Chair of the Micronational Economic Group. In September, Henry returned from his hiatus in the Abeldane Empire and founded the Independence Party of Abelden. After arranging for elections for his successor in the Micronational Economic Group, Henry then abruptly left the community on hiatus.
During Henry's hiatus, the Micronational Economic Group effectively dissolved and the Principality of Valites was ceded by the State of Koss.
Intermicronational politics
Henry returned from hiatus quietly on 20 November 2016 with the establishment of the United States of Wings, where he assumed the new pseudonym Emerson Rief. Eventually, it became widely known that Henry and Emerson Rief were the same person. In late January 2017, Henry publicly returned under his previous name, reviving the Essian Commonwealth and installing himself as its absolute monarch. Esse was recognized as the successor of the United States of Wings by the Grand Unified Micronational, enabling Henry to maintain his delegation in the organization.
Henry, on behalf of the Independence Party of Abelden, was elected 16th Vorsitzender of the Abeldane Empire and the Commonwealth on 27 February in a shock victory. Henry arranged a government composed of all major parties, a positively-received bipartisan arrangement that continued on as a tradition for several administrations following his own. Shortly after the election, the Independence Party saw a large boost in membership migrating from the collapsing Conservative Party.
On 11 March, Henry was nominated and elected Vice Chairman of the Grand Unified Micronational following the resignation of his predecessor, Shiro Mephistopheles. Shortly after his election to the post, Henry began to roll back much of his then-growing micronational activity elsewhere, resigning from all posts in the Democratic Union of British States, Republic of Mcarthia, Desi Empire, and Mercia.
Henry ascended to the post of Acting Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational shortly on 28 March following the resignation of Adam I of Überstadt, who was urged to resign due to inactivity concerns. Hours following his ascent to the GUM Chairmanship, Henry resigned as Vorsitzender of Abelden and relinquished his citizenship altogether.
Henry's Acting Chairmanship in the Grand Unified Micronational was highly active, defined largely by the second 24 Hour Quorum, a charity event which raised over $200 for various charities. Largely due to the success of his term, he was elected unopposed as Chairman that June, becoming only the second Chairman to be elected as such immediately after holding the position of Acting Chair.
Retirement
In late August 2017, Henry relinquished citizenship from all micronations but two: Esse and the Empire of Paravia. On 4 September, Jonathan I of Austenasia, MicroWiki site owner, appointed Henry a MicroWiki admin. After quickly pushing through two Charter amendments in the final two weeks of his term, Henry left his post as Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational in December after serving a full six-month term (the first Chairman under the 2016 Charter to serve a full-term).
The Quorum of the Grand Unified Micronational confirmed Henry as an Associate Justice on 17 January 2018, though he resigned shortly afterward when he abruptly announced his intention to dismantle the Essian Commonwealth and depart from the MicroWiki community by the end of March. The Essian Commonwealth was formally disestablished in 16 March 2018, and Henry had left the MicroWiki community entirely by May 2018.
2020 return & recent activities
COVID-19 era
Henry returned to the MicroWiki community in March 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon the March 2020 revival of Mercia, Henry stood as a candidate on the party-list of the National Liberal Party ahead of the April general election. The National Liberal Party garnered five seats - enough to constitute a parliamentary majority - and in its first session, the new Parliament House elected Henry as the new Mercian First Minister.
Henry became Lord of the Confederation of Esse in April 2020. The Confederation was founded with the intent to form a confederal union with the Palatinate of Uberquiesenberg, a longtime ally of the defunct Essian Commonwealth. Upon the creation of the Rema Treaty of Union, Henry became a diarch of the new Uber-Essian Union alongside Newton von Uberquie in June 2020.
On 30 May 2020, Henry once again became a member of the Reichsversammlung, this time representing the Kingdom of Tusmore. Serving only to fill a vacancy and a member of the Abeldane National Union, Henry served until the June federal election, when he declined to seek reelection. He proceeded to run a campaign to return to the Vorsitzendership in the July 2020 Abeldane executive election despite being ineligible for the office, seeking to gain publicity for a variety of reforms in the Empire; said platform included a fully-executive Vorsitzendership and increased centralization. This campaign came to a swift end with the Concordiagate controversy, when Henry relinquished his Abeldane citizenship once again.
In June 2020, Henry once again became an Associate Justice in the Grand Unified Micronational. He served until January 2021.
Henry was named the 19th most influential member of the MicroWiki community in the first edition of MicroWiki's 25 Most Influential.
At the end of 2020, Henry announced that he would be indefinitely instituting Patrick Renwick as Lord Regent of the Confederation of Esse. Having delegated his day-to-day powers to Renwick, Henry went on yet another indefinite hiatus beginning on 1 January 2021.
Regency & Würtige politics
Since Patrick assumed the position of Lord Regent, Henry became increasingly elusive. In September 2022, Henry made his first decree in nearly two years when he ceded the historic city of Reme and replaced it with the present-day Essian territories. Despite the decree, Patrick remained Lord Regent indefinitely.
In November 2022, Henry announced a campaign for Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational, aiming to take office over five years after his previous term. His campaign focused on issues of safeguarding, activity, and strengthening the authority of the organization. After a historically close election, the campaign concluded in defeat by just a single vote for the Clémens campaign with record 100% voter turnout. Shortly after the election, Henry was appointed Supreme Justice of the Grand Unified Micronational, making him one of only eight people to have served as Chair, Vice Chair, and Supreme Justice. Henry later resigned from the role in April 2023 and departed the GUM entirely, citing safeguarding concerns including those central to his earlier campaign for the Chairmanship. He later returned in July 2024, immediately thereafter being appointed an Associate Justice for the third time.
During his absence from the Essian government, Henry played an instrumental role in the 2021 revival of the Würtige Empire. Amidst his regency, Henry became a resident of the Technocratic Capital of Würdigeland, serving as its representative to the Imperial Council of the Empire beginning on 7 June 2021. Three years later, Henry would be elected the 3rd Prime Minister of the Technocratic Capital of Würdigeland.
Political views
Micronationally, Henry Clémens has been known for his small executive administrations, known for dissolving "unneeded" ministries and departments; in particular, his dissolution of the SCRIL, and removal of the office of Speaker pro tempore as Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational serve as examples. This - in addition to his advocacy for stronger central governments and reduced constitutional powers of political subdivisions, particularly in Abelden - has led to him being described as a centralist, unionist (in Uber-Esse and Abelden), and reformist. In what has been coined "political minimalism," Henry has also been known to reject more complex political and judicial government structures. Henry has voiced his distaste for large, bureaucratic court systems, favoring flexible political structures that are built around changing activity levels. This rejection of complex political structures was particularly evident within Henry's own Essian Commonwealth, which operated under an absolutist government with powers delegated to a small legislative branch as deemed suitable by the monarch.
In the Grand Unified Micronational, Henry's Chairmanship was known for frequent 'projects' aimed at keeping the existing membership active. Similarly to his "bare bones" approach to micronational governments Henry regularly expelled inactive members of the organization, insisting a small, active GUM was better than a large, inactive one. When he returned to the GUM in 2020 following his two-year micronational hiatus, Henry's positions within the GUM shifted to an insistence that the pre-existing GUM framework was limiting and harmful. During his December 2022 Chair campaign, Henry advocated for strengthening the GUM executive and making the organization a more selective body, suggesting the GUM should focus on fostering a healthy and safe community for its diverse membership and criticizing its historical inaction in doing such.
Henry has historically been known as one of the most staunch supporters of the Grand Unified Micronational since he became the organization's Vice Chair in 2017. In a 2020 editorial entitled "A comprehensive defense of the Grand Unified Micronational," Henry defended the organization from its critics while admitting that the organization had much work to do in order to "cash in on [its] potential." [2] However, following his unsuccessful campaign for the Chairmanship in December 2022 and his subsequent stint as Supreme Justice, Henry departed the organization and flipped on his longstanding pro-GUM position, expressing disillusionment with the GUM's inability to take concrete action on issues and suggesting it would be better off dissolving entirely if its members were not willing to give the organization stronger law-making abilities.
Discography
as Pinball
EPs
- Flood (2017)
- Quarantine Beats (2021)
Singles
- "West Woodberry" / "Conquest" (2017)
- "Indigo" (2022)
- "Violet" (2022)
with Diarchy
Albums
- The Diarchy (2018)
EPs
- Sojourn (2020)
Singles
- "Paper Tiger" (2017)
- "Superstition Mountains" (2017)
- "Emma" (2017)
- "Aura" (2020)
- "Superstition Mountains (2020 version)" (2020)
- "Nothing Off the Top of My Head" (2021)
- "Camden" (2022)
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
Royal Styles of Henry, Lord of the Essians | |
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Reference style | His Majesty |
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Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Alternative style | Sir |
Because of his activity throughout a wide variety of community micronations, Henry's title has frequently changed despite increasing stability in the latter period of his career. The most frequent changes in his adopted style came throughout the summer of 2016. After the reformation of the Essian Commonwealth, however, titles became more firmly established, with the final style being established through the 2018 Essian Constitution. Henry's style changed once again following the Rema Treaty of Union and the creation of the Uber-Essian diarchy.
- 3 August 2014 – 1 June 2015: President Henry Twain
- 1 June 2015 – 6 January 2016: Lord Protector Henry Twain
- 6 January 2016 – 5 May 2016: President-Councillor Henry Twain
- 5 May 2016 – 1 June 2016: First Secretary Gareth Henry Twain, Jr.
- 1 June 2016 – 27 July 2016: Grand Duke Harry of Saint Clemens
- 27 July 2016 – 27 January 2017: Prince Henry I, OSC, OSR, MOG, ORL
- 27 January 2017 – 28 February 2017: HG Lord Henry
- 28 February 2017 – 1 June 2020: HIllM Lord Henry
- 1 June 2020 – present: The Diarch Henry, Lord of the Essians
Offices and honours
Present offices
Uber-Esse: Lord of the Confederation of Esse, since 30 April 2020
Würdigeland: Prime Minister of the Technocratic Capital of Würdigeland, since 21 August 2024
Würtige honours
Esse: Sovereign of the Essian Order, 15 July 2016
Uberquiesenberg: Captain of the Order of the Uber-Ritter, 25 May 2017
Mercia: Duke of Mercia-Lurk, April 2020
Würtige Empire: Order of the Black Wolf, 3 August 2021
Foreign titles
Shorewell: Duke of Shorewell, May 2017
Sabia and Verona: Count of Siñbaša, June 2017
Foreign honours
Koss: Cavaleiro of the Majestic Order of Giovanna, 26 September 2016
Shorewell: Knight of the Order of Peace, 21 February 2017
Paravia: Great Knight of the Order of the Imperial Star, 22 March 2017
Jupiter: Friend of the Kingdom, 10 April 2017
Space Port: Protostar Medal, 22 May 2017
Stravinia: Knight of the Order of Stravinia, 28 May 2017
Custosia: Knight of the Order of Custosia, 10 June 2017
Shorewell: Member of the Order of the Imperial Feathers, 5 July 2017
Karnia-Ruthenia: Royal Order of Saint Stephen, 15 November 2017
Sabia and Verona: Companion of the Order of the Needle, 28 December 2017
Tusmore: Commander of the Tusmorish Order, 4 April 2020
- MicroWiki's 25 Most Influential: 19th most influential member of the MicroWiki community, 2020
New Virginia: Member of the Noble and Illustrious Order of Saint Marinus, 31 December 2020
Gradonia: Knight of the Order of William I, 31 December 2020
Misberia: Knight of the Order of The Star of The Sea, 31 December 2020
New Richmond Republic: Order of Camaraderie, 25 August 2024
Former titles
Mercia: Baron (replaced with Patrician-Viceroy)
Mercia: Patrician-Viceroy (replaced with Duke)
Abelden: Earl of New Keutschen (replaced with Marquis)
Abelden: Marquis of New Keutschen (relinquished in 2020)
Former honours
Nedland: Knight of the Order of the Star and Rose, awarded 25 May 2016 (revoked in 2020)
Abelden: Grand Commander of the Order of the Rampant Lion, awarded 10 September 2016 (relinquished in 2020)
Abelden: Commander of the Order of St. Bartholomew, awarded 10 October 2016 (relinquished in 2020)
Abelden: Knight of the Order of Memery, awarded 20 February 2017 (relinquished in 2020)
Austenasia: Officer of the Austenasian Order, 4 June 2017 (relinquished in 2023)
Sunþrawejgaz: Member of the Order of Trun, 1 January 2018 (relinquished in 2023)
References
- ↑ On indefinite leave since 1 January 2021; Powers relinquished to Lord-regent Patrick.
- ↑ https://essianmessenger.wordpress.com/2020/05/10/a-comprehensive-defense-of-the-grand-unified-micronational/