Stephen, Prince of Dracul
| Stephen | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Dracul CGD CSD KNS KtS KCC OOD DKO | |
 His Royal Highness, 2024 | |
| Prince of Dracul | |
| Reign | 16 July 2023 – present |
| Predecessor | Jakob I |
| Heir Apparent | Courtney (until 2024) Jakob (since 2024) |
| 1st Chancellor of Dracul | |
| In office 5 September 2022 – 15 July 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Cooper (11 August 2023) |
| 2nd President of Dracul | |
| In office 8 January 2022 – 5 September 2022 | |
| Vice President | Connor Modena |
| Preceded by | Dmitri Howie |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| 1st Vice President of Dracul | |
| In office 25 September 2017 – 8 January 2022 | |
| President | Dmitri Howie |
| Succeeded by | Connor Modena |
| Born | 13 February 1991 Zimnicea, Romania |
| House | Jipa |
| Father | Unknown |
| Mother | Claudia (birth) Mary Frances (adoption) |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Military career | |
| Nickname(s) | Birdman Bernadaddy |
| Allegiance |  United States Dracul |
| Service/ | United States Coast Guard Dracul Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 2011-2013 (USCG) 2017-2021 (DAAC) 2022 (DAAC Reserves) |
| Rank | Auxiliary Member (USCG) Major General (DAAC) |
| Unit | Flotilla 81-06-10 (USCG) |
| Commands held | 1st Special Ops. Wing (DAAC) |
| Battles/wars | Rebellion of 2018 |
| Styles of Stephen | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
His Royal Highness Stephen, Prince of Dracul (b. 13 February 1991), formerly known as Stephen Luke, is a Draculian micronationalist, regent, and statesman, who was the 2nd President, 1st Chancellor, and now the reigning Prince of the Commonwealth of Dracul. Stephen has been known in the community for his professional demeanor, campaigns against suicide awareness and hosting events, such as MicroWorkshop 2021 and Micro Improvement. On 25 September 2017, Stephen helped establish Dracul with original Co-founders Dmitri Howie and Mark Millner.
Early life
Stephen was born on 13 February 1991 in Zimnicea, Romania, to Claudia Jipa, a public school student. He was raised Roman Catholic and is of Romanian descent. When he was six weeks old, he was adopted by an American Family and flown to Galveston, Texas. In Galveston, his adopted father worked for UTMB Health as a Social Worker in Renal Transplant. His adopted mother worked as a school teacher, then Principal.
After the passing of his adopted father in 2003, Stephen moved with his adopted mother to the Houston suburbs, to the town Friendswood, Texas, where he went to middle school, Junior high, then High school. Stephen was in his middle school orchestra, playing violin for a year, before moving to Junior high. Once Stephen attended high school, he joined the school's marching band in his sophomore year, until his graduation in 2010.
Micronational career
Stephen began his interest in Micronations in 2016, while watching YouTube Videos and reading forums. It wasn't until the end of 2017 when Stephen proposed to founder Dmitri Howie, about the idea of creating their own micronation.
Vice Presidency
When Stephen started Dracul in 2017 with co-founder Dmitri Howie, he decided that he'd rather work behind the scenes, before serving in a higher position. Throughout most of his time as VP, he led Dracul as "Acting President", since Howie mostly remained inactive with personal health issues. In 2020, Stephen decided to run in the 2021 elections as a Presidential Candidate, with his running mate Connor Modena as his Vice Presidential Candidate. After some negotiation, he eventually decided at the end of 2020, to run his campaign on the Dracul Conservative Party ticket after having been asked to by party leader Charles Ross. During his time as vice president, Stephen has garnered a reputation within the micronational community specifically amongst long-time and older micronationalists for his professionalism and work towards ensuring a level of maturity among the younger micronations within Dracul's diplomatic realm.
Suicide Awareness Campaign
Stephen, along with 10 other micronations rallied together to start a suicide awareness campaign, which provided a list of nearby centers for those suffering from suicidal thoughts. The list, located on Dracul's official website, included centers in more than five different continents. Westartica was one of the most contributing to this campaign.
Prezan Military Academy
Stephen began serving as an instructor for basic courses in June 2021, due to his experience in the U.S. Coast Guard and Dracul military. He taught several courses, including military knowledge, customs, leadership, and many others. Stephen was the first instructor to nominate an alumni as an instructor, Karl Frederick.
2021 Presidential Candidacy
Stephen announced his 2021 Presidential Candidacy in 2020, stating he would "Jumpstart Dracul for Good", due to a high level of inactivity on the part of Government Officials and Citizens. Although his plans haven't fully been announced, he saw his vice presidency as a true success. Connor Modena was announced as his vice president nominee. On 8 November 2021, he won the Presidency with 100% of the vote. Voter turnout was 42%.
Micronational Podcast
Stephen agreed to assist Connor Modena with the formation of the micronational podcast Micro Improvement, which launched in March 2022, to assist new and current micronationalists, struggling with developing and maintaining micronations. The podcast provides tips and tricks on how to correct issues and go about developing successfully. Stephen typically invites on distinguished guests with experience in the community, to discuss such talking points.
2023 Monarch Reign
In July 2023, Stephen was informed by Prince Jakob of his abdication from the throne, citing a lack of availability for the throne. He was informed that he was selected as the new reigning Prince, since it was decided that the next Prince would be in-house. Stephen Luke then became Prince Stephen and was installed on 16 July 2023 at noon.
Political Views
Stephen identifies as (American) right leaning on the political spectrum and generally describes himself as a Republican. His economic belief supports few regulations by the government, excepting health and safety regulations, while also supporting government subsidies for small businesses. His social views are generally neutral, without much opinion on climate, sexuality or gender. Since his resignation as Chancellor, and induction into the Monarchy, his political views are now seldom expressed, to avoid a Monarch from showing favoritism to one political group.
Personal life
Outside of micronationalism, Stephen spends most of his time working in nonprofit organizations and storm spotting for the National Weather Service. Currently, Stephen works as a Guest Services Agent in Houston, Texas. Most of Stephen's private life includes video gaming, studying to become a private pilot, and graphic art design.
U.S. Coast Guard
Stephen served in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary from 2011 to 2013. He mostly worked as a public affairs member, communicating with the media, teaching water safety and vessel inspections to the general public. With this being a volunteer position with minimal advancement, he resigned two years later to focus more on tasks with improving his skills in other areas.
Catching Online Predators
Stephen spent much of his late high school years into early adult life, specifically from 2008 to 2018, assisting law enforcement agencies across America with the apprehension of online predators. This was how Luke met former Dracul President Dmitri Howie initially, as the two served in non-profits, aimed specifically at predator apprehension. Most of his tasks consisted of working as an online decoy, collecting chat logs and video/photo evidence, which was ultimately turned over to police for criminal prosecution.[1]
Police Academy
Law enforcement has always been the main focus of Stephen's, as he created the first law enforcement club in his high school, was a police explorer, and studied law at a previous college, prior to 2019. Stephen also assisted law enforcement with apprehending online predators from 2008 to 2018. From 2010 to 2019, Luke worked as a Private Security Officer until his planned graduation from the Police academy in 2019. Unfortunately, due to health reasons which led to a lack of school attendance, he resigned two months before his graduation.
Ribbon bars
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Badges
| Badges worn by Stephen Luke |
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Awards and decorations
Awards
Austenasia: Commander of the Austenasian Order, 2022
Ebenthal: Knight of the Order of the Ebony Crown, 2022
Flandrensis:
- Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Melting Mountain, 2021
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Melting Mountain, 2020 (second time)
Gradonia: Knight Companion of the Order of Charlington, 2020
Occidia: Recipient of the Cross of Independence, 2020
Penn:
- Recipient of the Order of Diplomacy, 2022
- Recipient of the Commemoration of the Second Anniversary of the Foundation of the Penn Federal Republic, 2023
Slitronia: Great Inspirer of the Order of Inspiration, 2022
Snagov: Recipient of the Order of Friendship, 2022
Vishwamitra:
- Grand Cordon of the Most Eminent Order of the Foxtail Orchid, 2023 (dormant)
- Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the First Anniversary of the Vishwamitran Monarchy, 2021
- Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the Crystal Jubilee of the Foundation of Vishwamitra, 2022
- Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 21st Birthday of Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya, 2023
- Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Lotus, 2022 (abolished in 2022)
- Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the Vishwamitra, 2020 (abolished in 2022)
Westarctica:
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Snowflake, 2021
- Knight of the Noble Order of the Sword, 2020