John P. Sheridan (A1-0)
John P. Sheridan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of the Stoinian Star Kingdom | |
| Assumed office 1615 PD | |
| Monarch | King Andrei III Stoian |
| Preceded by | Regent MacArthur |
| Representative of Ceria | |
| In office 1610 PD – 1614 PD | |
| Preceded by | Office not created |
| Governor of Ceria | |
| In office 1606 PD – 1610 PD | |
| Lieutenant | Miles O'Killna |
| Preceded by | Office not created |
| Succeeded by | Miles O'Kilna |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8th June 1561 PD Sinaia, Stoinian Star Kingdom |
| Nationality | Stoinian |
| Political party | Independent (1606 PD- 1610 PD) Centrist Party (1600 PD - ) |
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte Sheridan |
| Children | 6 |
| Mother | Karen Sheridan |
| Father | Harold T. Sheridan |
| Relatives | General Paul W. Sheridan |
| Education | Sinaian Institute of Technology and Sciences |
| Occupation |
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| Net worth | ~$1.8 million |
| Awards | Star of Colonial Excellence |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | The Builder |
| Allegiance |  Stoinian Star Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Stoinian Royal Engineer Corps Stoinian Military Administration |
| Years of service | 1596 PD - 1606 PD |
| Rank | Legate |
| Unit | Ceria Research Division
|
| Battles/wars | Velutarian War |
John Phillip Sheridan is the current Chancellor of the Stoinian Star Kingdom in his second term. As the Head of Government he serves the Star Kingdom and is a staunch centrist. He previously held the positions of Representative, Governor and Legate. All while putting the planet Ceria on the map in the Star Kingdom.
Early Life
Born in Sinaia itself he was the son of a journalist and a make-up artist. Although they lived in Sinaia they were on the lower end of the middle class, amongst the poorer of the Star Kingdom. However they still were plenty, being the third of eight siblings. at home where they formed a strong family bond. From a young age he was fixing parts of the house with his father and his older brothers. Although he excelled scientifically at school, he had difficulties with mathematics and languages. So he took extra courses at school and even mastered the aristocratic language of Sinaian, the King's language. After his High School he enrolled into the Sinaian Institute of Technology and Sciences as an Ships Engineer student.
Engineer Career
After a longer program of 6 years instead of 5, he got a job at AriesCorp at the Kuatis Drive Yards. He was responsible for the framework design on the gravitational ring on the Alton-class luxury cruiser. With the cruiser line being a success he made quite a fortune and was even promoted for his dedication and hard work for the project. The rest of his civilian career he spent on restoring older generations of cruisers. During his time on Kuatis, he met his future wife Karen Sheridan and married her two years after meeting her.
Military Career
Only 5 years into his engineering career the Velutarian War broke out. It hadn't taken long before his oldest brother had died in the initial wave of the Velutarian advance in the Tozorian Sector. This prompted him to enlist in the Royal Army Engineer Corps. Due to the nature of the war he was directly put to work. Given his experience, he was posted to Ceria Research Division in the Hyperion Sector. There he worked with his fellow engineers to re-engineer Velutarian technology. This proved a very slow process however and took over 8 years to even get to a functional prototype ship. His work would prove important to the war effort, especially for Grand Admiral Corvousier's Infinity Project. Sheridan had also risen through the ranks and when the Legate of Ceria, military governor, was to be reposted, he took over the position. This new administrative job aligned well with Sheridan's leadership skills although he didn't have any proper training. His quick rise through the ranks and jump to Legate was a rarity, even in the days of the Velutarian War. Under Sheridan's leadership , the Ceria Research Division would continue to re-engineer technologies for the Royal Navy.<br.
During the entirety of the Velutarian War, he lost three brothers and a sister who gave their lives for Mankind. His family was heavily affected by this, especially John himself as he was close with his brothers.
Legate of Ceria
As the new Legate of Ceria he was not only responsible of the construction plans for the Military, but also the planet itself for eventual civilian colonization. He was the Ceria's Military Governor and thus came a lot of responsibilities. He proceeded to expand the construction sites and ensure raw resources, effectively concentrating it all in one place at the equator. With the newly warships with adapted Velutarian tech, Ceria became an important hub for military warships and it thrived in it. However in 1600 PD the Velutarian War had ended and his non-war time Legateship would begin. He was offered another posting, but refused as he wanted to bring this planet on the map. In the next six years he gave Ceria a space elevator and expanded its mining operations. All to support the shipyards of Ceria which would become a major hub in the Hyperion Sector. To attract contractors, he opened the market earlier to companies and used extensive migration campaigns while also lowering taxes. This combined effort attracted many Stoinians whose homeworlds had been glassed during the Velutarian War. Ceria would become a melting pot of different Stoinian cultures.
Political Career
Governor of Ceria
At the end of his Legate mandate, he decided that we wanted to further develop Ceria as he had grown attached to the place. He decided to run for Governor and won the race with 70,6% of the votes. As Governor, he would further expand Ceria City and healthcare institutions, his money came from the immense sum that AriesCorp had given him for exclusive rights to Ceria's Shipyards for the next 5 years. He accepted and this was critiqued by some as favouritism due to his previous work with them, but it was within legal boundaries. Amongst the populace, he became known as the Builder and was awarded the Star of Colonial Excellence for his work for the colony. He also provided subsidies for agriculture as that industry had never really been expanded during his Legate Mandate and most of the food had to imported. This would again attract over 10.000 Stoinian to start new farms on Ceria as the taxes were still relatively low. Amongst those new colonists, many were wounded veterans from the Velutarian War accompanied by their families. His four year term went smoothly as he completed his promises and maintained excellent approval ratings. While many expected him to run for a second term, he instead opted to become the first Representative of Ceria in Stoinian Congress. The people overwhelmingly voted for him as he won the race against Paul Smith with 85,6% of the votes.
Representative of Ceria
As the first Representative of Ceria, he enjoyed his new job in the People's Assembly. Here he would first grasp interstellar politics which had began to reappear after Regent MacArthur's autocratic rule. He would mingle with fellow Representatives from the Hyperion Sector and become more and more aligned with the Centrist Party. During his time as Representative, people noted his dedication and military efficiency. Many viewed him as a competent leader. He was invited multiple times to join the Centrist Party, but refused as he didn't want to affiliate himself with the party just yet. After a years retirement back on Ceria, he was asked to be the Centrist's Party candidate for the Chancellery when the Chancellor Jasbir Mabal's last term closed to an end.
Chancellor
With the help of the Centrist Party, he was elected by 55,3% of the popular vote in the second round against Logan Matthews of the TPCE. While campaigning, he promised to further strengthen outer colonies and repairs for damages from the Velutarian War. In his first term he mainly focused on the new Thousand Colonies Initiative set in motion by his predecessor, Chancellor Jasbi Mabal. This initiative plans to colonise around 2.000 new worlds to solidify the Stoinian Star Kingdom. He made sure to strengthen colonization procedures with the military and also expanded businesses opportunities to the outer colonies. He won his second term with 65,8% of the popular vote and promised to further develop the outer colonies through further subsidisation. Sheridan has proven to be competent Chancellor and has a high approval rating. However, his approval rating has dropped since he wishes to engage in commerce with other star nations rather than fight them. This stance has lost him some supporters in the Tozorian and Qingdao Sectors who remain xenophobic bastions.
Political Views
Although he was raised in the capital, he still holds the outer colonies in high regard. He considers Ceria his new home and relates well with the outer colonies. This is contrary to most politicians in the core, who would rather focus on the core's financial sectors and keep the outer colonies relatively cheap. Sheridan is proof that it can work differently than previously thought. He looks to bring the rich lives from the core to the outer colonies by enabling the people there to build the colonies themselves. This doesn't mean that he cuts all government spending. On the contrary he increased government spending on healthcare and education.
Another example was his bill which gave pregnant women special status in businesses. As the population needs to recover from the devastating Velutarian War, women need to be ensured that they won't lose their job due to pregnancy, while promoting repopulation. That's why no pregnant women can be fired after two years of giving birth, but at the same time businesses pay 40% less taxes for the respective person.
He also is a strongman for policies which give engineers more freedom and subsidies. This is due to Velutarian technology that still needs to make its way into the Stoinian market. That way Stoinia will hopefully know a new technologic golden age. He also gutted Congressional staff members' salaries, which he deemed unnecessary as a means to save taxpayer money.
Unlike politicians from the outer colonies, he isn't for more power to the local Governors and Lords. He has voiced his concerns that this is making the Star Kingdom dysfunctional and remains a strong opponent of Lord Ethan Thorne's Traditional Party for Colonial Empowerment. As for the progressives, he views them too extreme as they wish to ban things like the Great Hunt outright and many core Stoinian traditions. Like the Governor of Rhodesia, Douglas Smith, he wishes to see a more gradual transition than an abrupt one. Nor is he a proponent of a hypothetical Stoinian Republic.
He also isn't fond of the press putting themselves where they shouldn't. That's why he keeps his children away from the spotlights. He is a strong supporter of privacy and has expressed concerns of the press misusing the right to journalism to infringe on peoples privacy and in some cases smearing people's reputation for news. While his father was a journalist himself, Sheridan voiced his concern on how the press changed its attitude to previous values.
As for recent contact with other nations, he is especially interested in making economic ties. He sees the potential of peace through commerce, a concept relatively new to the Stoinians who have known only war. He especially wishes to make strong economic ties with nations who have fellow Terrans amongst them. Like the King, he wishes to explore the possibility to express dominion over other through non-military actions, like installing Stoinian economic dependency in other nations.