Alexander Winter

The Right Honourable Alexander Winter MC
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Foreign Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office 17th June 2008
Monarch	Emperor Connor I (17 June 2008 - present) Empress Emily I (17 June 2008 - 11 November 2008) Empress Alice I (1st August 2012 - present)
Preceded by	Lilly Stephenson
Member of the High Imperial Council
In office 22 October 1999 – 17th June 2008
Monarch	Emperor Daniel I
Transport Minister
Assuming office January 31 1996
Monarch	Emperor Daniel I
Succeeding	Stuart Leveson
Member of the Imperial Council for Dunlisle
Incumbent
Assumed office September 26 1994
Majority	57.2%
Personal details
Born	200px July 8th 1967 Portstock, Allied Castarcian States
Died	200px
Resting place	200px
Nationality	Castarcian
Political party	Centrist Party
Spouse	Elizabeth Winter
Children	1
Parent	200px
Alma mater	University of Pearsonville

Alexander Winter (born 8 July 1967) is a Castarcian politician who has been the foreign minister since 17 June 2008.

Winter first entered the Imperial Council following his election in 1994 as a Member of Council for Dunlisle. He has retained this position in every election since, garnering a majority of 57.2% during the most recent elections of September 2013.

He was promoted to the High Imperial Council during 1999 by Emperor Daniel I, remaining in this position until 2008, when he was appointed to the role of Foreign Minister by the newly coronated Emperor Connor I.

Biography

Early Life

Alexander was born on 8 July 1967 as the son of two train drivers. He was sent to Portstock Primary School and was a model student who quickly showed an aptitude for sports. He played for his school football team as an attacking midfielder and at the age of 8 was signed to the academy of Portstock County FC. Alexander continued his education at secondary school and Portstock College, attaining solid results.

Early Adult Life

When Alexander was 18, he decided not to pursue a footballing career with Portstock County, but instead followed in the footsteps of his parents and trained to become a train driver. However, this did not go to plan as Castarcian Rail were not hiring at the time. Regardless, Alex still found himself in a rail-related career, entering an apprenticeship as a track engineer.

Entry into politics

Whilst Alexander was good at his job and it paid well, he was not particularly content. With the encouragement of his partner (later his wife) he decided to indulge the political ambitions that had been suppressed by his parents and do something he enjoyed. Alexander knew that the council seat of Portstock was well and truly under the control of MC Vincent Abbott, who as of 1990 had controlled the seat for nearly 15 years. Instead, he chose to contest the neighbouring seat of Dunlisle, standing for the Centrist Party, but was defeated by the Conservative candidate. However, four years later, Alexander won the seat with a 57.2% majority. He has retained this seat for over twenty years as of the current day.

Rising political career

On 31 January 1996, Alexander was appointed as transport minister, owing to his experience and knowledge of the rail networks and systems. He oversaw the electrification of many lines and ensured minimal disruption to train timetables in the process. At the turn of the century, he was appointed to the Imperial High Council and managed to solve the financial troubles of Castarcian Rail, meaning that the rail network did not have to be privatised and could instead remain in public ownership.

Appointment as Foreign Minister

When Emperor Connor I ascended to the throne on 15 June 2008, the first thing he allegedly did was to ask Alexander to be his foreign minister. Alexander immediately accepted and started his role two days later. At the request of his new Emperor, Alexander transformed the foreign office from an institution that barely held relations with others solely for the purpose of trade into something that could forge proper ties with friendly nations and be a part of international alliances.

Some blame this as a cause of the Great Castarcian War, which erupted shortly after these changes occurred, on 11 November 2008. However, this did not result in any major changes to his foreign policy after the conflict came to an end 9 months later. In fact, at the end of the summer of 2009, the country became generally more extroverted in an effort to gain allies who would support them in tough times in the future. To date, the Empire has a lax attitude to dealing with other nations, to the point where it is commonly accused of ignoring human rights abuses as long as the ACS benefits from some agreement.

Personal Life

Alexander has been married to Elizabeth Winter since 1993, and has one child with her by the name of Hayley (born 2001). Between 2008 and 2010, Alexander housed Alice Von Kleine, who later became Empress, in a scheme which saw him provide her with a home and some income in exchange for childcare, with the additional obligation that she also engaged in studying. During this time, Alexander introduced her to the world of politics and Emperor Connor I, to whom she is now currently married to.