Cassious Castovia

Cassious Cartreau Castovia
Cassious Castovia's official Presidential photo portrait, 2010
11th President of Zamastan
In office November 16th, 1982 – December 5th, 2015
Preceded by	Damian Lorrie
Succeeded by	Zacharias Castovia
Personal details
Born	August 11, 1949 Anchorhead, Alenchon, Zamastan
Died	December 5th, 2015 (Age: 66) Providence, Northern Isle, Zamastan
Cause of death	Brugada Syndrome
Nationality	Zamastanian
Political party	Blue Conservative Party (Zamastan)
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Spouse	Mara Camden Castovia
Children	Zacharias Castovia
Parents	Scott Castovia (father) Amanda Castovia (mother)
Relatives	William Castovia (Great-Grandfather), Percy Castovia (Grandfather)

Cassious Cartreau Castovia was a Zamastanian politician who served as the 11th President of Zamastan starting in 1982 until his death in 2015. He assumed power in an emergency election after the death of President Damian Lorrie. Prior to the presidency, he served as the Governor of Zian and had additionally served on one of that state's main appellate courts. He is widely considered to be one of the most consequential leaders in Zamastan history, seen as a strategic diplomat and one of the most powerful leaders of his time. He was, however, notorious for the conflicts he engaged Zamastanian forces in; presiding over both the First War in Vulkaria and the Second War in Vulkaria. In 1984, he threatened to send troops to Cadair to fight the Republic of Prydania if they didn't honor the Rhyddid Treaty. .

Castovia also presided one of the largest economic surges in Zamastanian history, and he passed several pieces of legislation that improved basic civil rights for its citizens. Castovia passed away of an unexpected and undetected heart disease known as Brugada Syndrome on December 5th, 2015. His son, 25 year old real estate and tech billionare Zacharias Castovia, assumed the Presidency on January 1st, 2016.

Early Life and Education

Cassious Castovia in the 1971 Tofino University Yearbook

Cassious Castovia was born on August 11th, 1949, in Anchorhead, Alenchon. He was born to Scott Castovia and Amanda Castovia, part of the illustrious Castovia Family, being the grandson of Percy Castovia and the great-grandson of William Castovia. As he was born during the World War, his father and mother were often busy performing civic duties as part of President Marvin Gaviria's stride to boost national morale. Following the war, Scott moved his family to Tregueux, Tregueux. Cassious attended primary schools in the Tregueux public school districts and later was accepted into Tofino University, where he studied law.

Political Career

In 1974, at the age of 25, he was elected to the Governorship of Zian as the youngest ever governor elected in the nation's history. As Governor, he unveiled several tax cut legislation plans as well as plans for oil drilling off Zian's coast, which brought much criticism from environmental groups and many members of the Green Liberal Party. Castovia famously ran against President Elene Abotsford in 1974 as the youngest ever Presidential candidate at the time, but was crushed in the election by a wide margin. Castovia would not seek Presidential election again until the 1982 emergency election.

Assuming the Presidency

Following the death of Damian Lorrie in the crash of the Presidential plane, an emergency election was held in which Cassious announced his candidacy. He ran along his affiliated Conservative party roots and won in a large margin of victory.

Domestic Policy

Castovia talks to reporters at the Presidential Mansion in 1987

Castovia’s first act in office was the renewal of public transport systems and safety in personalized vehicles following the Zian Prime 0 crash. The laws he passed set in motion the safety registrations for vehicles including seat belt laws that insured greater protection on the road. Included in this new system of safer roads was a complete overhaul of the current road system, including the installation of nationwide roundabouts as opposed to intersections, wider two lane roads with divergent exits, and more moderate speed limits.

Economics

In 1995, Zamastan began importing oil, but as consumption kept rising and the nation's oil fields became less productive. Throughout the 1990s the world price of crude oil ranged between $10 and $40, and the average price at the pump did not exceed $1.40. Oil prices tripled after 2002, peaking at $147 in July 2001, about $4 a gallon; the price has continued to fluctuate widely. The theme of "energy independence" led to legislation mandating more fuel-efficient autos—even electric vehicles—and more efficient use of energy, ranging from insulation to new light bulbs. Even worse than the high price, was the fear of shortages. Many proposals and pilot projects for replacement energy sources, from ethanol to wind power and solar power were discussed and, indeed, funded by Congressional Hall after 2000. In the economic stimulus package signed by President Castovia in early 2002, billions of dollars were allocated for research and development of new energy sources.

After 2003, new methods of extraction opened up vast new deposits of oil in the Labret Formation in Pahl and the Northern Isle. As much as two trillion dollars’ worth of natural gas is potentially available in the Ziapet Formation deposits located in the historic 19th-century oil fields in Zian, stretching from Tofino through Jade into western Horseshoe Region. However, there is sharp debate underway regarding the environmental impact on the region's fresh water supply. The question of drilling in the Northern Islands National Wildlife Refuge (NINWR) was highly controversial, but the 2004 Tarin Gulf Oil Spill put all new drilling on hold.

LGBT Rights

Though most of his first official duties as President for the first quarter of his first term (6 months) were merely social issues, the Supreme Court and the Congressional members of the government discussed a growing trend in the global community – that of legalizing gay marriage. The LGBT community around the world had started gaining momentum, specifically in the fact that laws outlawing homosexuality were being abolished in many Euronian and Adulan nations such as Rio Palito, Quetana, and Austrolis around the 1980s. On June 4th, 1983, Castovia signed a bill that allowed for individual counties to allow their own passage of same-sex marriage. This was a hotly disputed act, but it progressed Zamastan’s social climate further towards the adapting world.

Voting Reform

Castovia also made a point to reform voting rights for minorities and immigrants who were granted citizenship following several decades of legislation that hindered voting opportunities and allowances.

Foriegn Relations

Coalition of Crown Albatross

President Castovia (right) meets with President Nikolai Ubotrov of Beleroskov (left) in 2012

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President Castovia (right) meets with Coalition of Crown Albatross Secretary-General Adrik Pavel of Baytonia in January, 2015

Castovia was sharply critical of the Coalition of Crown Albatross, once the darling of liberals. He repudiated what he felt was its corruption, inefficiency and failure to assist in the Vulkarian crisis. However, despite his own notions towards the organization, his administration often undertook responsibilities for the C.C.A., such as intervening in the Jaginistan Civil War following the 1982 invasion by Beleroskov and in the Verdusa Civil War.

Cadair Intervention

The Prydainian Conflict began on 9 December, 1983. The Republic of Prydainia moved soldiers into Ruthin, a city clearly given to Cadair in the Rhyddid Treaty. This was seen as an act of war and Mab Darogan Gerallt Morgan met the challenge by taking military bases in Carmarthen and Pontypridd, which Prydania controlled. On 4 January, 1984, Prydainian militants launched mortars into Cardiff and Machynlleth, causing twelve civilian deaths, four military deaths and ninety-seven injuries. On 18 January, 1984, President Castovia threatened to declare war on the Republic of Prydainia if they didn't honor the Rhyddid Treaty. Thus the Prydainian Conflict ended.

Treviso Nuclear Crisis

The Treviso Nuclear Crisis was a disasterous nuclear meltdown which registers as one of the worst man-made disasters in world history, as well as the worst nuclear accident in world history. On January 26th, 1992, a nuclear reactor near Treviso, West Chanchajilla, shut down unexpectedly. The workers at the facility had little training, and the strain of continuous small errors led to the overheat and shutdown of one of the seven reactors. For roughly three days, the station was simply abandoned and closed, but the building heat (unknown to the facilities employees) resulted in a combustion explosion, destroying the reactor’s core, outer walls, and damaging the two reactors next to it. The damage then increased drastically as low-pressure systems caused cold air to vent into the heated cores, causing sparks that ignited a slimmed nuclear explosion. The reactor was located adjacent to the city of Treviso, and the explosion allowed radiation to escape that devastated the outskirts of the city, killing an estimated 5,600 people over the following three years. The West Chanchajillan government under President Parish White tried to cover up the incident, however when scientists detected the radiation plume in the atmosphere directly above Zamastan airspace, President Castovia called the Chanchajillan President as a show of force to block the contamination. Facing possible armed conflict over the crisis, the nation of Cadair used their pacifist stance to broker a peace treaty between the two nations, allowing for scientists to eradicate the contamination zone, evacuate citizens, and overhaul many nations' energy programs.

Vulkaria

Alanis Pride Parade Bombing

On June 18th, 1983, a bomb detonated at a packed LGBT celebration rally in Alanis, killing 106 people and injuring over 400. This attack was originally thought to be perpetrated by a radical hate group, which was condemned by President Castovia and the leaders of nearly every allied nation of Zamastan’s. However, it was soon discovered that the attack was carried out by a terror group operating out of the newly founded nation of Vulkaria. Throughout the rest of the week, many more attacks took place against other targets. Most were small attacks that failed to kill people, however, two attacks of significance did occur that pressed Zamastan’s interest beyond domestic policy for the first time since the second world war. The first of these occurred on June 20th, where a bomb detonated outside of the Presidential Mansion in Tofino, killing seven security guards and four tourists. President Castovia wasn’t injured, but the glass windows of the Gaviria Room in which he was sitting did shatter and injure some of his aids. The second attack was a mass stabbing at the Tofino Airport which resulted in the deaths of three people and the injuries of nearly forty more. Zamastan demanded action, and Castovia started working on a military plan to put Zamastan back into the global schedule.

First War in Vulkaria

The 1982 Vulkaria Coup D'etat was the attempted militaristic overthrow by the far-left marxist of Vulkaria of the right-wing capitalist New Vulkarian People's Army government under the command of Bernard Coard. On April 2nd, 1982, Coard's forces were attacked at the Ministry in the capital city of Vulkar, which led to intense street fighting. Several executions and massacres were taken by both sides of the conflict, but eventually, the politics of the time won over for Coard's forces, when they were given supplies by several capitalistic nations - most notably Zamastan. On April 31st, Prime Minister Yaan'a Tillman was killed by the NVPA, along with many members of his cabinet. In May, the government was officially re-established when the NVPA took control of the capital, and Eugenia Charles was instated as the new Prime Minister. Resistance by the former-government forces and the new rebel-terror group, the Malvarian Liberation Front, continued to fight for control of the last urban centers. Fighting came to a stand still on June 23rd when NVPA forces took the last major city in Vulkaria, Amstelveen. However, sporadic fighting and isolated attacks from the M.L.F. would continue well into 1983.

The Castovia administration began supplying funds and weapons to heavily militarily-influenced government factions in Vulkaria beginning in 1983. In that year, with assistance from the Vulkarian national intelligence agency, the Zamastanian military organized and financed right-wing paramilitaries in the rural villages of Vulkaria, known as the Bungle-Bara. The tracing of secret funds for this scheme led to the revelations of the Zamastan–Bungle affair. In 1988 Castovia authorized the sale of arms in Vulkaria in an unsuccessful effort to free Zamastan hostages in the province of Mulwa; he later professed ignorance that subordinates were illegally diverting the proceeds to the Bungle’s. Castovia's approval ratings plummeted in 1988 as a result of the scandal, and though he won his 4th election, many Zamastanians began to seriously question his judgement. While the president's popularity improved in his final two years, he would never again enjoy the support he had had in 1983-4. The War in Vulkaria, though supported by most Zamastan’s in its reasonings, became a stalemate for the rest of the Castovia administration. The war officially ended on April 28th, 1991, after nearly 8 years of fighting, when Cassious Castovia announced the end to battle-operations within the region. Though the M.L.F. was not completely destroyed, their ability to wage war was significantly diminished. In the course of the war, 8,738 Zamastanian troops were killed, 23,393 Vulkarian troops were killed, and over 109,000 M.L.F. fighters were estimated to have died. Zamastan to this day is one of Vulkaria’s strongest allies and even has a military base within the region which serves as an air force stationing position.

Second War in Vulkaria

In 1999, a new administration in Vulkaria was elected that was lenient towards more radical political thoughts. However, this unintentionally led to a revitalization of the M.L.F. and many other embattled groups wanting to take over power. A civil war erupted in 2000 once again, and the nation was embroiled with Zamastanian interests once again being threatened. Castovia announced a “red-line” against the rebels in 2003, and after his reelection, he decided to send aid to the Vulkarian government in the form of soldiers on October 4th, 2004. On October 15th, the full scope of the civil war’s brutality was realized by the Zamastan military when rebel forces stormed the city of Amstelveen and swiftly captured Vulkarian positions. The war started to deescalate in 2004 as rebels began to flee the region in shipping vessels for Malvare. By February 6th, 2005, the remaining rebels surrendered. Costs of the Second Vulkarian War were staggering; 3,246 Zamastanian troops killed, 103,500 Vulkarian troops killed, over 720,000 rebels killed, and roughly 1.2 million citizens died amidst the brutal fighting.

The Castovia administration was praised for ending the war but extensively blamed for the immense loss of life, both from the allied military coalition and the Vulkarian populace. Including the citizens, soldiers, and rebels, roughly 1 in every 80 Vulkarians died in the war. The final death toll with all combined sides in the five years of fighting was 2.1 million people. President Cassious Castovia faced brutal drops in his approval ratings when, on April 21st, 2006, a leaked document showed that Zamastan bombers had been the cause of thousands of civilian deaths during the battles, specifically at Amstelveen and Barneveld. As this became further clear, Castovia was reelected to his 11th term as President in 2006 amid mild but still above average approval ratings. Among the prime debate topics during his run was the conflict in Vulkaria and a percieved sense from many as Castovia being likened to a warmonger.

Death and Legacy

President Cassious Castovia suddenly became ill in 2015. Perhaps the most consequential President up to that moment in history, Cassious Castovia passed away on December 5th, 2015, from diagnosed Brugada syndrome. He was 66 years old. Zacharias Castovia attended his father's funeral on December 15th in Tofino. Standing next to his mother, members of his father’s cabinet, and world leaders, Castovia gave the eulogy for the highly respected leader.

Zacharias became President in a special election, assuming the presidency on January 1st, 2016.