Spencer I
| Spencer I | |
|---|---|
| |
March 1, 2010-April 1 | |
| Predecessor | Himself and Parker I (as Co-presidents) |
| Successor | Parker I |
December 16, 2009-January 1st, 2010 and February 1-March 1, 2010 | |
| Predecessor | (1st term) Position created (2nd term) Parker I and Luke of Secundomia |
| Successor | (1st term)Parker I and Luke of Secundomia (2nd term) Himself (as President) |
| Political party | Secundomian Conservative Party/Secundomian Libertarian Party |
Spencer I is a retired micronationalist who helped found the Republic of Secundomia. Alongside his brother Parker I he helped draft the original constitution of Secundomia. He was co-consul of Secundomia at its inception and was elected president of Secundomia multiple times as a member of the Secundomian Conservative Party. Prior to Secundomia, he was founder and president of the Republic of Skillz. He founded the Secundomian Libertarian Party and was Prince of Sterling in 2010. After the rise of the Eran Federation, Spencer stepped away from Secundomia and micronationalism in general.
Personal life
Spencer is the younger brother of fellow micronationalist Parker I. They were both homeschooled together through most of their early lives, but Spencer decided to pursue a public school education in 2009. The used this divided attention to great effect in Secundomia. While Parker was able to run most of the day-to-day operations using his extra time on the internet, Spencer was able to use his connections at school to create brick-and-mortar activity.
Micronational life
Republic of Skillz
Spencer found interest in micronationalism in December 2009 after reading Wikipedia articles about Molossia, the Aerican Empire and Sealand with his brother Parker I. The two brothers resolved to create a nation. On December 14, 2009, Spencer founded the Republic of Skillz with his friends at school. The full list of citizens is lost to time but Phineas Snow and Nate I were among them. The citizens elected Spencer president and he returned home to tell Parker of the nation.
Skillz was unstable and collapsed the next day after Snow and other citizens left the nation. This coincided with the foundation of the Kingdom of Secundomia by Parker I, who had immediately declared war on Skillz. Nate remained as vice president but he and Spencer found the nation untenable long term. Spencer decided to merge the remnants with Parker's Kingdom and form a new, unnamed Micronation Republic.
Recruitment
Spencer recruited many Secundomians to the young micronation from his grade at school. These Secundomians include the Nate I, artist and cultural leader, designer of the Secundomian flag, Phineas Snow, chief Architect, and controversial Protest Group leaders Rahim I and Ibrahim I. Outside of Ibrahim, few of Spencer's recruits had large political ambitions but were extremely active as artists, entrepreneurs and military personnel. They often voted as a block in favor of Spencer in presidential elections which meant that catering to the needs of this segment of Secundomian society was critical to political success.
Spencer became somewhat of a kingmaker in Secundomian politics. Luke derided the influence of this voting block claiming it was impossible for him to garner political support due to the extreme activity of Spencer's friends. After the Cabinet Crisis and the departure of Rahim from the nation this block began to lose significant power. Nate became less active while Phineas was preoccupied with military duties and cautious about politics. Ibrahim began to run in elections himself which further split Spencer's base. Spencer was largely unable to gain political power again in Secundomia.
Elections and Administrations
Consulate (December 2009)
Spencer I, along with Parker I, named themselves interim "co-consuls" until a formal election could be scheduled. In this time, Spencer was involved in the drafting of the Secundomian constitution, first on paper and then transcribed into email by Parker. Spencer was a highly active figure in the brick-and-mortar operations of Secundomia but was less active on email threads.
Spencer announced his candidacy to run for re-election in the December 2009 Secundomian elections. He was unable to garner support on the email chains where the election was conducted and ran a quiet campaign. In contrast, Luke of Secundomia and Parker I engaged in significant mudslinging about the election and began to draw the ire among the citizenry of Secundomia. Luke also campaigned heavily against Spencer and accused him of being inactive. The preliminary phases of the election saw Spencer eliminated from contention and reduced the field to Parker and Luke.
Spencer played a major role in the resolution of the December campaign. Despite being out of the running, he met with co-consul Parker I and they resolved to a system of co-presidents which would enable Parker and Luke to both take power. Spencer was initially somewhat resistant and proposed that this new system be subject to a public referendum rather than consulate fiat. After the public referendum was released and received significant support, Spencer retroactively approved the amendment to the constitution and approved the change, resulting in the co-presidency of Luke and Parker.
Co-President (February 2010)
Spencer again announced his candidacy for President in the January 2010 elections. Incumbent co-president Parker announced a joint-ticket candidacy with Spencer attempting to realign from Luke and increase support from Spencer's voting block. This strategy was successful and both were elected to the office of co-president. Luke derided Spencer's influence and refused to accept the result for some time.
As co-president Spencer I joined the Secundomian Conservative Party forming a united administration under the SCP. The administration presided over a period of internal quiet. Spencer also became Prince of Sterling at this time. While Parker focused on international affairs, Spencer was mainly in charge of the internal running of Secundomia at the time. This division of power was agreeable to both brothers and resulted in a welcome stability in comparison to the earlier strife.
Spencer became an extremely popular figure during the co-presidential administration. Even among Luke's supporters Spencer began to gain popularity. The administration approved a shift to a single president for the next election cycle and Spencer became an early frontrunner. The Conservative Party primary resulted in a tie between both co-presidents and thus both carried the Conservative line in the general. Against Parker and the independent candidacy of Ibrahim, Spencer achieved a landslide victory carried by speeches and mailers that outcompeted his opponents.
Prior to his inauguration, he presided over a short period in Secundomia known as the Golden Days. Multiple states were formed and Secundomia's first official flag was approved. This period increased public anticipation for Spencer's administration, seen by many as a continuation of this successful period.
Presidency (March 2010)
Spencer became the first Secundomian president with full powers on March 1, 2010. He governed with an even hand and devolved much of his power to others, appointing the first cabinet in Secundomian history. Although he was head of state in Secundomia, most foreign affairs were devolved to Parker and Spencer focused mainly on the internal governance of the republic. He further signed a law creating the Secundomian Congress and conducted Operation Annex which increased the size of the capital of Middle Secundomia.
Under the Secundomian Constitution, Spencer was automatically nominated for reelection in the March elections. Despite his popularity, Spencer decided to run a quiet campaign and focus on his bid for Citizen's Council. He declined to seek the nomination for the Conservative Party and run on the independent Presidential Ticket. For the first time, party lines became important in a crowded general election. Spencer and Liberal Party candidate Seth I each received a small portion of votes while Conservative candidates Parker and Luke received 75% of the total share. Parker was elected president, and Spencer accepted defeat. However, he was elected on the Conservative line to the Citizen's Council and took office as a council member on April 1.
Councilor (April–May 2010)
Spencer joined the Citizen's Council of the Secundomian Congress in April 2010. Any actions by the council were put on hold by the Cabinet Crisis. Spencer played a small, but significant role in the crisis. Alongside much of Secundomia, Spencer was an early supporter of Rahim and Ibrahim's right to speak out against the Parker I administration. He even affirmed many of the complaints and aligned with the Protest Group. As a juror in the Trial of Ibrahim I, Spencer ruled in favor of Ibrahim and helped contribute to the early end of the trial.
After the trial, Spencer began to realign with Parker I. Spencer agreed that Ibrahim and Rahim crossed a line with their harassment of the Empress of Atlan. As a councilor spencer cast a deciding vote to exile Rahim I from the country and issue a warning to Ibrahim. This action resulted in the apologies from the leaders of the Protest Group and the end of the Cabinet Crisis.
Spencer announced his candidacy for re-election to the Citizen's Council in May 2010 alongside a parallel bid to return to the office of the presidency. Spencer won the Conservative Party nominations, defeating challenger Ibrahim I in the process. Ibrahim decided to run on an independent ticket and Parker ran on the automatically nominated Presidential ticket. In a shocking move, Spencer dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Ibrahim in late may. He mistakenly believed that this would ensure Ibrahim's presidency not realizing that Parker was also running. This move did put wind in the sails of the Ibrahim I campaign, however, resulting in an unresolved tie. Spencer won re-election to the Citizen's council in the same election.
Interim Presidency (June 2010)
Due to the unresolved tie at the end of President Parker I's two-month term, Spencer was agreed by Ibrahim and Parker to oversee an interim period until a runoff election could be held. Spencer thus returned to the office of the president in Secundomia on June 1, 2010. After several runoff attempts, a final vote was certified by the Secundomian government and Parker I became president on June 8, ending the shortest term of any Secundomian president. As a result of this outcome, Parker had to refuse his seat on the Citizen's Council, leaving Spencer as the only member. Parker and Spencer agreed that this situation was untenable and dissolved the Citizen's Council for this term.
Governorship of Gravois (July 2010-2016)
After resigning his Citizen's Council seat, Spencer returned to life as a private citizen in Secundomia. He and Phineas Snow oversaw the development of forts in District 12 and the Backwoods of Middle Secundomia. Spencer contributed to a project mapping Secundomian states in early July. He also contributed to the maiden voyage of the SRS Flying Squirrel.
At the July 2010 SCP convention, Spencer submitted a bid for the Conservative Party line in the July elections. Spencer was defeated at the convention and ran as an independent. A victory at the convention would have been a boon to his election, but as his primary base of support lie among independents, the loss was not devastating. However, a lack of computer access during the general election process lead to his defeat to SCP candidate Luke.
On July 22, Spencer became governor of the new state of Gravois. He met with President Parker I and President-elect Luke at the Gravois National Naval Base shortly after to celebrate the state's entry into the republic. He also accompanied President Parker on a diplomatic embassy to St. Louis, Missouri the next week.
Spencer again revived his bid for president in the September 2010 elections. After defeat by incumbent president Luke in the Conservative Party primaries, Spencer split to form Spencer's Super Awesome Party of Super Awesomeness which would eventually become the Secundomian Libertarian Party. Under the SSAPSA banner, Spencer was defeated in the general election by Parker I, running on the independent line.
Spencer lit the Micronational Olympic torch at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Micronational Olympics hosted by Secundomia. He became a lead figure in the organization of the Olympics and was set to compete at several events before it was cancelled. After the failure of the Olympics, Spencer turned his focus to the Secundomian space program. He lead the team of Project Eagle, constructing both Eagle I and Eagle II. Alongside President Parker and Phineas Snow, he oversaw the two successful launches of Eagle I before its subsequent breakup.
Spencer successfully garnered the Libertarian Party nomination for president in the 2011 Secundomian Elections. The initial elections resulted in a tie between Spencer and incumbent Parker I. Spencer aggressively contested the election results claiming his vote was not counted. Although he had expressed his intent to vote for himself, according to Parker he never officially registered his vote via the email system. In February Spencer continued to contest the incomplete results mired by low turnout. After a runoff was finally scheduled, Spencer officially lost the election 3-1. He stepped away from Secundomian politics entirely after this point except for his responsibilities as Governor of Gravois. He was never officially removed from office until the rise of the Democratic Republic of Secundomia when the Revolutionary Coalition lead by the Worker's Party officially stripped him of governorship.
Awards and Decorations
See also
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