Shalum

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The Empire of Shalum
Flag
Motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Anthem: "Advance the Flag and Bison" Lyrics
Capital and largest city	Aragon
Official languages	English, German, and Dutch
Ethnic groups	83% Shalumite 7% Maldorian 4.7% Acrean 5.3% Other
Demonym(s)	Shalumite
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
• Imperator	Tyler Holland
• Prime Minister	Ethan Solaris
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Imperial Council
• Lower house	National Council
Formation
• Unification of Shalum	1548
• Establishment of Holland Dynasty	1549
• Imperial Period	1550-1944
• Reformation of New Empire	1945
Area
• Total	1,292,620 km2 (499,080 sq mi)
• Water (%)	5.13%
Population
• 2005 estimate	103, 985, 625
• 2015 census	110, 859, 259
GDP (PPP)	2014 estimate
• Total	$3,985,145,456,940
• Per capita	$37,845
Currency	Dollar (SD)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+705
Internet TLD	.shm

Shalum, officially the Empire of Shalum, is a empire is a sovereign state located in northern Tyran. It is made up of eight constituent states, and covers an area of 1,292,620 square kilometers (499,083 sq mi) with a largely temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Aragon, with a population of just over eighteen-million people. In total, the Empire of Shalum has a population of 110,859,259 people as of the last national census.

The Empire of Shalum is a unitary state governed by the: Imperator of Shalum, Prime minister, and Imperial Council made up of either members of the nobility, or individuals who have been hand-selected by the executive. The city of Aragon has acted as the seat of Shalumite government since the establishment of the Holland dynasty in the year 1549.

History

Main article: History of Shalum

Government

Shalum is an Executive Imperial Monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, as well as a Supreme Court. The executive branch consists of Imperator Tyler Holland, as well as members of his direct family who are traditionally given some say in how the government operates. Like many hierarchical structures in Shalum, the rights of succession are very directly laid-out. In the event that the Imperator passes away, Shalumite male-preferential primogeniture law dictates that it is the right of his firstborn son to rise to the position of executive. Should he be unavailable, or decline the position, it the right of the next-born son to take the position. Should no living male heirs be available, the eldest female child of the executive may rise to power as Imperatrix. Should none of the direct decedent of the Imperator be available, the position of power is transferred to cadet branches and then the Dukes of Shalum until a successor has been decided.

The legislative branch is overseen by Prime Minister Henry Phelps, who was nominated and appointed by the Imperial Monarch, and then confirmed by the Imperial Council. Thee Upper House of the legislative branch is made up of the Imperial Council with 400 members, who are either lower ranking nobles (Dukes, Counts, Barons, Junkers, or Knights) or have been hand-selected by the executive to serve the Empire. The Lower House is known as the National Council, and has 300 seats of which 220 are directly elected from the Duchies of Shalum by popular vote, while the other 80 are personally appointed by Dukes and Duchesses of Shalum to also serve six-year terms.

The judicial branch of the Shalumite government is represented by the Supreme Court. It is made up of: twelve permanent judges. a Chief Justice, courts of appeals, ducal courts, district courts, and city courts. The Empire governs its citizens through the means of a civil law system, which also incorporates elements from Germanic law codes as well. Laws can be both created and amended in the Imperial Council, while the actual regulation of the legal system falls into the hands of the Ministry of Justice. Both the executive and legislative branch of the Imperial government are subject to judical review if the Supreme Court sees it fit, however, it is rare for such actions to be taken.

While one must be selected by the Head of Government to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, they must also be confirmed by the legislative branch, and approved by the executive before they can assume office. Appellate, Ducal Court, district, and city court judges are normally elected by the Duke of their respective duchies. The Shalumite judicial system is known for being very direct in its mission to interpret and enforce the laws of the Empire, and is known for its high degrees of: transparency, integrity, and accountability. It is unusual for the death penalty to be issued to criminals in Shalum, except in the cases of multiple murders, multiple rapes, or treason.

Armed Forces

Main article: Shalumite Armed Forces

The armed forces of the Empire of Shalum, officially known as the Shalumite Armed Forces, consists of threeprofessional branches: the Imperial Shalumite Army, Imperial Shalumite Air Force, and the Imperial Shalumite Navy. It also consists of two civilian branches, the Imperial Army Korp of Engineering and the Imperial Defense Force. These forces are all managed by the Ministry of Defense, which is headed by the Minister of Defense. The Commander-in-chief is the Shalumite monarch, Tyler Holland, to whom all of the members of the armed forces swear allegiance to. The Armed Forces are charged with protecting the Empire at home and abroad and promoting Shalum's global security interests.

Throughout the course of history, the Shalumite armed forces has played a key role in assuring that the Empire remains sovereign and protected from hostile foreign powers such as Azurlavai. It has established itself as a force to be reckoned with after emerging from the majority of its conflicts successfully, or has at least managed to force stalemates that have resulted in peace. The Imperial Army considers itself to be one of the best equipped and trained land forces in Tyran. As of the year 2015, Shalum spends approximately 2.2% of its GDP on the military and research and development for it.

Because of this, Shalum has a thriving arms industry, which is primarily based out of the Duchy of Hallefeld. The most prominent company, Shalumite National Defense Industries (SNDI) is based out of Dresden, the capital city of the Duchy. It is headed by Duke Nicolas Weidmann, whose family founded the company in 1914. In response to the alliance Shalum and TECT agreed upon in recent years, SNDI and Wolf Armaments have become partners, and have even co-designed vehicles such as the Honigdachs IFV. Other prominent defense companies based out of the Empire are Frankfurt Heavy Engineering and Aragon Avionics.

Imperial Ministries

Main article: Imperial ministries in Shalum

Administrative divisions

File:Shalum map.png

Shalum's administrative regions

Number	Administrative region	Capital	Duke/Duchess	Population (2015 census)
1	Haford	Aragon	Tyler Holland
2	Hallefeld	Dresden	Jack Harper
3	Heneheim	Frankfurt	Joshua Blackburn
4	Crestone	Niece	Nicholas Weidmann
5	Kravola	Olympus	Matthias Mannheimer
6	Iron Island	Kaiserwerth	Victor von Grath
7	Grudeheim	Fontera	Magnus Rickenbacker
8	Maldoria	Concordia	Dranis Donsowar

Economy

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Shalum

Historically speaking, Shalum has always been a large producer of agricultural products. Expansive areas of arable land, coupled with modern farming practices, and the application of technology in general, have all combined and have allowed the Empire to become a leading exporter of goods in the region of Tyran. In the past two decades, farming industries in Shalum have striven in order to adopt greener farmer practices, through the use of solar panels and vertical farms. CoAgro is the most prominent agricultural company in Shalum, and is both owned and managed by Duke Joshua Blackburn.

Wheat, poultry, dairy, bovine meat, pork, corn, vegetables, cereal grains, and fodder grasses are recognized as some of Shalum's primary exports.

Infrastructure and Transport

Shalum has a technologically advanced transport network consisting of: high-speed railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services, and air routes that criss-cross the country. For the most part, Shalumite duchies are tasked with maintaining these services, though it is to be expected to receive assistance from the Imperial Korp of Engineering. The Shalumite Expressway Cooperation operates several toll highways and roads across the country, as well as a number of service amenities along the routes.

ShalumRail, the national railroad operator of the Empire, provides frequent train services to all major Shalumite cities, as well as many smaller to medium sized towns. There are several major rail lines that span the country, connecting the cities of: Aragon, Dresden, Olympus, Frankfurt, Niece, Fontera, and Concordia to one another, allowing for easy travel and commerce. In recent years, the Shalumite government has begun to look into developing high-speed rail lines to service the country as a whole. As of 2010, the first high-speed rail system was brought into service, connecting the cities of Aragon and Dresden. All major cities in Shalum have urban rapid transit systems, and express bus terminals are available in large cities.

Shalum Air, which was founded in 1965, has served 45,000,640 passengers, including 14,800,000 international passengers, since its founding. It is the largest airline company in Shalum, providing both domestic and international routes. Combined, the company services as many as 300 air routes across the globe. There are also several smaller companies in Shalum that offer domestic routes for cheaper rates.

Energy

There are a number of considerably large oil and natural gas deposits in the seas north of Shalum, which have been subject to harvesting for many years. As of the year 2010, Shalum produced as many as 478,000 barrels of crude oil a day. While much of the country's energy is produced through coal power, a number of advances have been made in clean energy including: hydropower, wind power, and solar power. Approximately 10% of Shalum electricity is generated from a mix of these clean energy sources.

Shalum is a nuclear power, using it both for service and military purposes. Nuclear power in Shalum accounts for approximately 30% of the electricity produced in the country, and research is very active with investigation into a variety of advanced reactors, including a small modular reactor, a liquid-metal fast/transmutation reactor and a high-temperature hydrogen generation design. Fuel production and waste handling technologies have also been developed locally. Shalum has also began to export nuclear reactors, and is capable of providing services to construct and maintain them.

Technology

Since the 20th Century, Shalumites have striven to be innovative in several fields of the technology sector. Shalumite companies has been somewhat influential in the shipping and construction industry, and have worked to create more advanced and cleaner diesel engines. Companies based out of the Empire have been active in the software and electronic field, with Nordic Mobile being the most prominent company in the country for telecommunications. Due to the increasing popularity of electronic attacks in modern times, and their crippling nature, the cyber-security sector has seen a large increases. In the year 2010, the Shalumite national government committed to the training and hiring of at least 4,000 cyber security experts and technicians in order to better protect the nation.

Shalumite scientist pride themselves on their development of medical care equipment and medication products. Since the early 1990s, the Shalum government has invested in the development of a domestic biotechnology industry, and the sector is projected to grow to $6.5 billion by 2014. The medical sector accounts for a large part of the production, including production of hepatitis vaccines and antibiotics. Biotech companies in the Empire have stated their intentions to become the world leaders in their sector, and have even pioneered the development of enzymes for converting waste to cellulosic ethanol.