Lord Saunders
His Grace Lord | |
J. A. Saunders | |
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KCM KD BSc | |
6 October 2018 - 28 July 2019 | |
Successor | Lady Worthington |
22 October 2018 - 10 October 2019 14 October 2020 - 25 October 2021 | |
Predecessor | Lord Helliker Lord Michael |
Successor | Lord Michael Lord Green |
25 October 2021 - 7 December 2022 | |
Predecessor | Lady Thornton |
Successor | Emperor Adam I |
Residence | Corellia |
Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
Occupation | Software engineer |
His Grace Lord Sir J. A. Saunders, 1st Archduke of Outer Adammia MP KCM KD BSc is an Adammic politician and noble who served as the former fifth and seventh Prime Minister of the Empire of Adammia, and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the founder of the populist Storm Party, and currently leads the Independent Party. He is one of only three people to have been elected to multiple terms as Prime Minister, the first person to have been elected to non-consecutive terms, and he is widely considered to be one of the most charismatic and prolific Adammic politicians of all time.
Non-micronational life
Saunders is a computer science graduate of the University of Birmingham. He currently works in the software industry.
Micronational career
Saunders discovered the Empire of Adammia through the University of Birmingham Liberal Democrats in late 2017. He was knighted in February 2018 and became a full citizen in September 2018, at the Emperor's invitation. On 6 October 2018 he founded the Storm Party, with the goal of removing the ruling Liberal-Moderate Party from office.
After winning the seat of Delegate of the Colonies on 13 October 2018 in local elections, Saunders won a landslide majority in the 2018 National Election a week later, defeating Lord Helliker to become the Empire's fifth Prime Minister. Saunders and his activists campaigned in the election on a scale never seen before in Adammic politics, and this is widely considered to be the reason for his unexpected victory.
When forming his Cabinet, Saunders appointed himself as finance minister.
In July 2019, Saunders called an internal leadership vote of the Storm Party, in which he did not stand, effectively resigning as party leader and as Prime Minister. He was succeeded as president by Lady Anna Worthington. He remained as a caretaker PM until the general election. He continued working with the Storm Party, taking up the position of Director of Communication and Strategy.
Saunders was elected as an MP on the Storm Party list in the first general election to the House of Citizens in September 2019. However, he resigned from Parliament and as his party's Director of Communications on 21 October 2019, citing frustration with Adammic bureaucracy, after his attempt at a cross-party compromise on an amendment to the Government Ministries Act failed. For a while he was effectively retired as a politician, and he retired from the Adammic Army in May 2020.
Prior to the 2020 general election, Saunders came out of retirement to announce his candidacy as an independent for the House of Citizens. Several days before the election, he created the Independent Party with Lord Maude and Lord Helliker. This party subsequently won the popular vote and gained three seats, and quickly formed a government based on a pre-existing deal with the Storm and RGA parties. As a result, Saunders became the first person since Emperor Mother Jayne to serve a second term as Prime Minister, and he became the first PM to return after spending an intermediate term out of the position. During his term, he held regular video calls with the Emperor, a new innovation within government. In July 2021, he co-signed with the Emperor the instrument ending the COVID-19 state of emergency. However, his term also saw inactivity within the government, due to a combination of the pandemic and increased external pressures on ministers. Shortly after his Deputy PM, Lord Billy Thompson, resigned in September 2021, the RGA dissolved. This, combined with the inactivity of a number of Storm and Independent Party ministers, effectively destroyed Saunders' majority, and the Liberal-Moderates found themselves able to easily pass bills through Parliament despite his objections. Facing a lack of interest from his fellow party members, he initially announced that the Independent Party would not be contesting the 2021 general election, effectively resigning as Prime Minister. However, with electoral reform quickly at the forefront of the campaign, he decided to run on a solo ticket, in order to contribute to the reform discussions. As the 2021 general election was uncontested, he was automatically elected as the only Independent Party MP. Saunders immediately issued three key demands to the Lib-Mods: a cross-party unity government, a commitment to electoral reform, and an early general election once electoral reform was delivered. Lib-Mod leader Lord James Green, facing assuming power without a democratic mandate, soon agreed to Saunders' demands. Saunders subsequently became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the national unity government.
Within Adammia, Saunders is well known for his rhetoric and his campaigning ability.
Honours
Chivalric
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Meerkat - 19 February 2021 (previously KM from 19 February 2018, and COA from 19 February 2019)
- Knight of the Order of the White Dove - 1 January 2019
Academic
- Bachelor of Science (Computer Science, University of Birmingham)
Lord Saunders House of Saunders
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Noble titles | ||
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Preceded by Office established |
Archduke of Outer Adammia 4 October 2020 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Office established |
Duke of Corellia 31 December 2018 - 21 September 2019 |
Succeeded by Lady Lucy Griffiths |
Preceded by Office established |
Count of Astonia 21 September 2019 - 4 October 2020 |
Succeeded by Lord Patrick Gilbert |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Lord Alex Helliker Lord Charles Michael |
Prime Minister of Adammia 22 October 2018 - 10 October 2019 14 October 2020 - 25 October 2021 |
Succeeded by Lord Charles Michael Lord James Green |
Preceded by Sir Owain Davies |
Minister of Finance 23 October 2018 - 10 October 2019 |
Succeeded by Lord Charles Michael |
Preceded by Lady Sophie Thornton |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 25 October 2021 - 7 December 2022 |
Succeeded by Emperor Adam I |
Preceded by Sir Asher Bond |
Delegate of Abroad Citizens 13 October 2018 - 24 January 2019 |
Succeeded by Sir Ned Hilton |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Office established |
President of the Storm Party 6 October 2018 - 28 July 2019 |
Succeeded by Lady Worthington |
Preceded by Office established |
President of the Independent Party 29 September 2020 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Office established |
Storm Party Director of Communication and Strategy 28 July 2019 - 21 October 2019 |
Succeeded by Vacant |