View source for Ser Şanorin

{{Gylian name|Şanorin|Ser}}

{{Infobox person
| name              = Ser Şanorin
| image             = SerŞanorin(small).jpg
| image_size        = 200px
| birth_date        = 7 February 1927
| birth_place       = Valona, [[Alscia]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2007|12|18|1927|2|7}} 
| death_place       = Kaşa, [[Tomes Region|Tomes]], [[Gylias]]
| occupation        = {{flatlist|
* Businesswoman
* writer
* activist
* politician}}
}}

'''Ser Şanorin''' (7 February 1927 – 18 December 2007) was a Gylian businesswoman, writer, activist, and politician. She is considered the co-founder of [[Socialism in Gylias#Aristerokratia|''aristerokratia'']] together with [[Sima Daián]], providing much of its theoretical underpinning. She helped ''aristerokratia'' establish a distinctive niche in the [[Golden Revolution]], and enjoyed a long career as a warmly-regarded public figure, including a long term as [[Gylian Senate|Senator]] for [[Tomes Region|Tomes]] and a presidential run in [[Gylian presidential election, 1967|1967]].

==Early life==
Ser Şanorin was born on 7 February 1927 in Valona, [[Alscia]]. She came from a modestly well-off family: her father was a banker and her mother was an {{wpl|art dealer}}. In her childhood, she also used an Italianised spelling of her name, ''Sera Scianorina'', in deference to the strong {{wpl|Italophilia}} of Alscian society.

She grew up learning {{wpl|Italian language|Italian}} and [[Gylic languages|Zineran]] as her native languages. This gave her a marked Italian accent and sing-song lilt when speaking Zineran or other languages, a trait that would become her trademark in politics.

She attended school in Alscia until [[Alscia#Dissolution|it joined]] the [[Free Territories (Gylias)|Free Territories]], at which point she continued with [[Education in Gylias#History|volunteer classes]]. During the [[Liberation War (Gylias)|Liberation War]], she started an {{wpl|apprenticeship}}, which led to her establishing a successful {{wpl|cooperative}} for repairs.

By the end of the war, she had settled in [[Tomes Region|Tomes]] and had founded a successful [[Regions of Gylias|regional]] chain of maintenance and repair establishments called ''Sereparatio''.

==Career==
Ser developed an interest in politics during the war. She was repulsed by the [[Communism in Gylias|statist communists]] and harked back to what she considered the more genteel politics of Alscia in her youth. She developed her beliefs by synthesis of several traditions, including [[Mary Grant]]'s humanism, [[Phaedra Metaxa]]'s ''mousaikratia'', and [[Conservatism in Gylias#Hannaism|Hannaism]], but struggled to find an outlet that would match them.

The spread of the ethos of [[Culture of Gylias#Luxury|socialised luxury]] during the [[Golden Revolution]] provided an ideal environment for Ser's ideas to flourish. The final catalyst was a meeting with [[Sima Daián]]; the two found that they were kindred spirits politically and decided to work together as a team. They published the first ''aristerokratia'' {{wpl|manifesto}} in 1960 and set out to promote the idea, becoming contributors to ''[[The Travelling Companion]]'', and entering politics.

Within the team, Ser provided the main theoretical underpinning of ''aristerokratia'', while Sima by her own admission worked mainly to polish its language and conceive an appealing image. In line with Ser's intentions, ''aristerokratia'' became a form of [[Socialism in Gylias#Social democracy|social democracy]] centred around [[Culture of Gylias#Luxury|socialised luxury]] and the [[Conservatism in Gylias#Hannaism|Hannaist]] notion of "rescuing nobility from the nobility", which coupled the ideal of a {{wpl|classless society}} with preserving the ideal of elegance and refinement as an inspiration to others. 

===Senate===
Ser ran for the newly-established [[Gylian Senate|Senate]] in the [[Gylian federal election, 1962|1962 federal election]]. She was elected as an {{wpl|independent politician|independent}} candidate for [[Tomes Region|Tomes]]. She won re-election in [[Gylian federal election, 1969|1969]], [[Gylian federal election, 1976|1976]], [[Gylian federal election, 1980|1980]], [[Gylian federal election, 1985|1985]], [[Gylian federal election, 1990|1990]], and [[Gylian federal election, 1995|1995]], and served in the Senate until it was reformed to a {{wpl|sortition}}-based body in 2000.

In the Senate, she served on the [[Gylian Parliament#Committees|Permanent Committee on Culture, Arts and Leisure]] and [[Gylian Parliament#Committees|Permanent Committee on Public Standards and Integrity]]. She proved an especially colourful and popular Senator, cultivating close friendships with colleagues [[Phaedra Metaxa]] and [[Teisa Rede]]. Ser and Teisa were nicknamed the "{{wpl|trench coat}} caucus" due to their similar appearances and their habit of sitting next to each other in the {{G-NI}} area.

===Public image===
[[File:SerŞanorin.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ser Şanorin in 1962]]
The ''aristerokratia'' project demanded appropriate supporters, and Ser and Sima duly transformed themselves into appealing and elegant figures to match. Ser adopted a trademark appearance consisting of a [[Ðaina Levysti#"Levystile"|Levystile]] skirt suit with a {{wpl|cloche hat}} and a {{wpl|trench coat}}. She hired a {{wpl|personal assistant}} who accompanied her virtually everywhere, especially holding up {{wpl|umbrella}}s to shield her from the elements, giving her an image of aristocratic eccentricity.

Ser purposefully cultivated and emphasised the aspects of her personality that matched the ''aristerokratia'' ideal, joking with Sima that they would be "cartoon characters in the service of beautifying Gylian life". She played up her Italian accent as a reminder of her Alscian origin, and was nicknamed "the Italian from Tomes" (''l'italiana di Tomes'').

Upon election to the Senate, Ser resigned from her roles on the ''Sereparatio'' cooperatives. While her rhetoric focused on her ''aristerokratia'' ideals, she did speak with pride about her business career. She entered politics with considerable financial comfort, but never earned enough to participate in the [[Social Partnership Program]]. However, she did encourage the perception of herself as rich since it helped her better represent the ideals she advocated.

Ser ran for the [[President of Gylias|presidency]] in [[Gylian presidential election, 1967|1967]], placing third with 17,3% of first preference votes. As they had planned beforehand, Sima took her place in [[Gylian presidential election, 1972|the next election]], finishing third with 17% of first preference votes.

==Later life==
After leaving the Senate, Ser spent the rest of her life in quiet retirement with her family. She still went out of her way to go to ''Sereparatio'' cooperatives for repairs or maintenance needs, showing her pride and support of the chain that had become a well-established institution in Tomes.

==Death==
Ser died of natural causes on 18 December 2007 in a Kaşa hospital.

==Private life==
Ser was married to an Italian husband. The couple created a large family through {{wpl|adoption}}, ultimately adopting 10 children.

==Legacy==
Ser and Sima played a great role in popularising ''aristerokratia'' as a quirky presence in [[Politics of Gylias|Gylian politics]] and public life.

Ser was a highly influential model for many [[Socialism in Gylias#Social democracy|social democratic]] politicians, who cultivated similar public images and adopted ''aristerokratia'' as part of their ideology. Ser was greatly pleased by this, joking that she "taught others how to be soft in politics". She was fond of observing that [[Socialism in Gylias#Social democracy|social democracy]], despite or due to its "milder" and {{wpl|reformism|reformist}} nature, relied on flamboyant public figures like herself or [[Lilja Kjellberg]] in order to keep up with the more radical wings of [[Socialism in Gylias|socialism]] and [[Communism in Gylias|communism]].

[[Category:Gylian politicians]]