Imperial State of Econia
Imperial State of Econia Kejserliga Staten Ekonia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: "Vivat imperator princeps!" "Long live the Imperial Sovereign!" | |
| Anthem: Long live our Sovereign! | |
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Location | Gävle, Sweden |
| Capital | Bäckahällen |
| Official languages | Swedish |
| Ethnic groups (2020) |
|
| Religion (2023) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Econian |
| Government | Constitutional Parliamentary Monarchy |
| Octavian I | |
| Henry Larsson | |
| Legislature | Rikstinget |
| Independence from Sweden | |
• Independence | 30 October 2023 |
| Area | |
• Total | 054 km2 (21 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 12% |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 125 |
| Currency | Swedish Krona |
| Time zone | UTC-2 (Central European) |
| Driving side | right |
| Internet TLD | .ecs |
The Imperial State of Econia, more commonly known as Econia, is a micronation in Sweden since 2023. It is, according to its constitution a constitutional parliamentary monarchy currently ruled by its first Imperial Sovereign Octavian I. The nation is located along the Econian River, a small stream running through the center of the country. The only bridge within the nations borders crossing the stream is the Sovereigns Bridge, located in the capital of Bäckahällen. The nation is divided into 8 subdivisions, known as principalities, each headed by a ceremonial Prince and an elected Imperial Governor.
Econia is a constitutional monarchy in which the Imperial Sovereign serves as the Head of State with mostly ceremonial and representative duties, although with some reserved powers. The nations Government is led by the People’s Minister, elected by the nations legislature: Rikstinget, which itself is elected by the people once every year. The People’s Minister leads the work of the Government consisting of 9 other ministers responsible for managing different departments.
Responsible for deciding the nations foreign affairs is the Foreign Affairs Committee, whose Chairman is the Sovereign, in cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. While the nation does only have diplomatic relations with 1 other micronation, it does have the ability to establish relations with more. This because of the nations 4 constitutionally required diplomats. The Foreign Affairs Committee is not a Riksting Legislative Committee, however. It instead operates as an independent body consisting of the Government, the nations diplomats, the Imperial Speaker of the Riksting and the Chairman (The Sovereign).
Etymology
The name Econia comes from the word Economic. This because of the fact that the founder back in 2020 built a city named the Economic Empire in the city builder video game Cities Skylines. The name Economic Empire eventually developed into the name Econian Empire, which is turn became the Imperial State of Econia when the constitution was written and the nations official name first coined.
History
Founding
The nations founder Octavian I and his friend Ludvig got an interest in micronations back in 2018 hearing about Molossia and Sealand. They did not do much with this interest back then but it only grew with time and they started to think about what would be the perfect nation in their eyes. Their dreams and ambitions in 2023 lead to the drafting of a constitution which would outline their perfect nation. They thought the process of creating this constitution was so fun that they decided to draft another, this time for a micronation they would establish. On October 30th 2023 this constitution was used as the basis for the Imperial State of Econia, which was declared on that day. It's territory was quickly outlined and it's principalites drawn. On November 1st the Constitution officially entered into effect and the 6 princes to serve alongside the Sovereign and Arch-princess were chosen. The decision that Octavian be made Imperial Sovereign did cause some debate within the friend group that made up the princes but it ended up being generally accepted. The first elections were held on November 5th and resulted with Liberal Party Leader Henry Larsson being appointed as the first People's Minister.
Politics and government
The Imperial State of Econia is a constitutional monarchy with an Imperial Sovereign serving as its head of state with primarily ceremonial duties. The Riksting serves as the nation main governing and legislative organ elected by the people of the nation once every year. The Riksting in turn elects the People’s Minister and the Government whom govern the nation. Even though the Riksting elects the People's Minister they are officialy appointed by the Imperial Sovereign from which all power within the nation is derived. In theory the Sovereign can appoint anyone as People's Minister. They don't even have to be a member of the Riksting, as long as they are a Econian Citizen they can be appointed to the office. However since the People's Minister and their government can be deposed by the Riksting through a motion of no confidence it is standard practice that a leader of one of the political parties within the Riksting is appointed.
The Sovereign is assisted in their work by the Imperial Household of Econia and the Council of State. The latter consisting of the Great Officers of State: The People’a Minister, the Marshall of the Realm (also a member of the royal court), the Chancellor of the Realm, the Great Chamberlain and the Lord High Treasurer.
The Government consists of 10 ministers (People's Minister included) and is responsible to govern the nation on the Sovereigns behalf and excercise their executive powers. Each government minister lead their own department which handles certain parts of ruling the nation, with the exception of the People's Minister who instead handles the entire government. Currently exsisting Departments are:
- Department of State (Led by the People´s Minister)
- Department of Foreign Affairs (Led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs)
- Department of Defence (Led by the Minister of Defence)
- Department of Culture (Led by the Minister of Culture)
- Department of Education (Led by the Minister of Education)
- Department of Justice (Led by the Minister of Justice)
- Department of Public Health (Led by the Minister of Public Health)
- Department of Energy and Food (Led by the Minister of Energy and Food)
- Department of Environmental Affairs (Led by the Minister of Environmental Affairs)
- Department of Transportation (Led by the Minister of Transportation)
Multiple Ministerial posts can be held by the same person to create merged departments. The Department of Energy and Food is a constitutionally merged department, being a merge of the Department of Energy and the Department of Food. All these departments are formally advisorary bodies to the Sovereign who holds all the real power. Most of it is however delegated to other institutions and not kept within the Imperial Throne, which is the name of the institution that holds all the powers of the Sovereign. Succession to the Imperial Throne is layed out in the constitution and stipulates that the heir to the throne is going to hold the office of Arch-prince/princess. The Sovereign does however personally keep some of the powers of the Throne. These include as mentioned above appointing the Government, calling elections to the Riksting by dissolving it, opening new sessions of the Riksting, serving as Commander-in-Chief and the power of Sovereign Signature. This is the collective name for the royal assent required for bills that pass the Riksting to become laws and the Sovereigns veto right that cannot be overturned by anyone but the Sovereign themself.
The Riksting serves as the nations legislature and the main part of the legislative branch. It's duties are basically the same to any other legislature being responisble for proposing bills, voting on bills, scrutinizing the government and deciding on budgets in cooperation with the Government. The Riksting as 29 members, 28 of which are elected from among the 8 Principalities. To be elected as a representative for a Principality it is not required that you be a residence of said principality since some have smaller populations then their number of representatives. The final member is appointed by Sovereign and serves as the Speaker of the Riksting. They are not allowed to be a part of any party and cannot vote during motions of no confidence against the government.
Political parties
| Name | Party Leader | Ideologies | Rikstinget | Government | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | Joseph Marklandia | Conservatism | 5 / 29
|
2 / 10
| |
| Socialist Party | Stig Wallberg | Social Democracy | 4 / 29
|
0 / 10
| |
| Green Party | Lillian Wallberg | Green Politics | 6 / 29
|
0 / 10
| |
| Democratic Party | Karl Rosengren | Centrism | 7 / 29
|
4 / 10
| |
| Liberal Party | Henry Larsson | Liberalism | 6 / 29
|
4 / 10
| |
Law and order
The Constitution establishes the judiciary to be one of the 4 branches of the government. It consists of 4 courts: The People’s Court, the Court of Appeal, the Corporate Court and the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court is the highest of these and deals mostly with constitutional issues. It is led by the Chief Justice, appointed by the Sovereign on recommendation of the Imperial Courts Justices. These courts all have different areas of operation and special rights. Currently the highest sentencing is life in prison, however it is very unlikley prison sentences of any kind will ever be made.
The laws of the nation which these courts are to enforce are decided by the legislative branch, Rikstinget. Bills that pass Rikstinget do however need to signed by the Sovereign before they can become law. Courts cannot use bills without the Sovereigns signature as basis for their work, but it can be used as a guideline unless the Sovereign vetos the bill. Should laws be deemed unclear one of the judges of the Imperial Court is responisble for deciding the best course of action.
Responsible for enforcing the law, the Sovereigns rule and the decisions of the Courts is the Imperial Police led by the National Police Director, appointed by the Sovereign for terms of 5 years. The police are also responsible for the security of government officials, members of the Imperial family and counterterrorism operations. They also participate in ceremonial duites and act as keepers of the peace.
Military
The nations Armed Forces are led by the Sovereign in their authority as Commander-in-Chief and consists of 3 branches: The Imperial Army, Imperial Airforce and Imperial Naval Forces. The Sovereign holds the highest rank within each of these branches. Assisting the Sovereign in leading the military is the Minister of Defence and the Defence Council, consisting of all Generals and Admirals within the Armed Forces as well as Special Commanders appointed by the Sovereign.
The military is tasked with defending the nation and its interest in accordance with national and Swedish law. It is to be funded by a part of the budget yearly put aside and stored in the “War Treasury”. This Treasury is only opened in case of war or other national emergency’s and in peace time the militaries ceremonial duties are funded through other means.
Administrative regions
Econia is divided into 8 Principalities, each with a hereditary Prince leading it. This with the exception of Björsjö which is led by the Arch-prince/princess, the heir to the throne. In the capital principality of Bäckahällen the Sovereign holds the princely office. All these principalities also have their own democratically elected Imperial Governors. These are elected by majority vote and serve as the provinces Head of Government. In the capital province this position is known as the Imperial Mayor. Each province also elects representatives to the Riksting. 4 provinces elect 4 representatives each and the remaining 4 elect only 3 each. Principalities do have a certain level of autonomy however their decisions can be overridden by the Sovereign.
| Princely Standard | Name | Area | Population | Prince | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principalities | |||||
 |
Björsjö | 0,06 km2 | 21 | Sandra | |
|
Lindborgen | 0,08 km2 | 13 | William | |
|
|
Hövdinga | 0,05 km2 | 16 | Milo | |
|
|
Myrmark | 0,03 km2 | 2 | Melker | |
|
|
Framsta | 0,09 km2 | 18 | Ludvig | |
 |
Bäckahällen | 0,05 km2 | 31 | Octavian I | |
|
|
Marklandia | 0,13 km2 | 15 | Max | |
|
|
Sanningmuren | 0,04 km2 | 8 | Alexander | |
Geography and climate
Use this section to write about the terrain, climate, weather, and location of your micronation. A good template for listing annual temperature data is {{Weather box}}.
Economy
Insert fiscal information, such as the micronation's exports, imports, and industries. You can briefly discuss the micronation's currency but that should generally be kept in a separate article.
Culture
Insert information about the micronation's holidays, customs, education, spoken languages, arts, the press, and television here.
Holidays
It is recommended to use the following table for holidays:
| Date | Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Unix Epoch Time day | A day honoring Unix time since the beginning of the Unix epoch on 1 January 1970. |