Haldric Maldian

Dr. Haldric Maldian
2nd Premier of the Caropsyne Pontanore
In office 15 May 1996 – 7 July 2000
Preceded by	Phodric Dormond
Succeeded by	Miria Seranoda
Defense Minister
In office 5 April 1993 – 14 May 1996
Preceded by	Haldric Maldian
Succeeded by	Goriath Moscana
Interior Minister
In office 5 April 1993 – 14 May 1996
Preceded by	Fostana Rule
Succeeded by	Marias Dortmond
Member of the Pontiana
In office 5 April 1993 – 7 July 2000
Constituency	Ariatra Zemella
Personal details
Born	(1927-06-30)June 30, 1927 Carmeldanna, Ariatra
Died	July 7, 2000(2000-07-07) (aged 73) Fornænda
Cause of death	Suicide
Nationality	Caropsyne
Political party	Moderate
Spouse	Soria
Children	1 daughter and 3 sons
Residence(s)	Ariatra, Carops
Education	PhD Linguistics
Alma mater	Imperial University Fornænda
Profession	Politician, Professor

Haldric Maldian (born: 30 June 1927, died: 7 July 2000) was the 2nd Premier (Pontissiano) of the Caropsyne Pontanore.

Early Years and Personal Life

Haldric Maldian was born on 30 June 1927 in the town of Carmeldanna located outside the city of Ariatra in Southern Carops during the economic depression of late twenties and early thirties. His parents owned an expansive farm where they raised pigs and grew grain. Unlike most farms in the region, theirs was likely one of the few profitable ones as many were forced to shut down. His parents were fiercely religious and instilled in Haldric his own beliefs from a young age. Haldric was just entering his first year of primary schooling when Premier Dorias Rormold had been overthrown by the Fostana who then subsequently declared a national emergency, shutting down the Pontiana and taking complete control over the country.

At the age of 12, Haldric was transferred to a Fostitio in Ariatra. It was at this time that the State of Carops at in the grips of the Great War against Loslakia and her allies. The Fostana, in need of men, conscripted his father to fight. When he learned this news, he feared that he would never see him again. To help him cope with his father's absence, he began writing elaborate compositions with complex language structures. As kept writing, his interest in language grew. At the front, his father would read these and would share his pride for his son with his compatriots. Luckily, he survived the conflict and both father and son were reunited.

Haldric would graduate with first honors in language from his Fostitio in 1946 and given a chance to further his knowledge in lingustics at the Imperial University Fornænda. He discussed the opportunity with his parents and he felt bad that he was turning his back on their farm but they both encouraged him to continue his studies. He received his doctorate in linguistics in 1951. For the next twelve years he would lecture students at the university. He met his wife Soria (nee. Gamela) one day over a cup of coffee at an cafe in Ariatra following an earlier guest lecture at Holmas University in 1954. They would date for three years before getting married in 1957. Both Haldric and Soria would have four children together.

Maldian's father passed away in 1964 which would leave his mother a widow. Haldric, his wife and children, and his mother arranged his funeral which was well-attended by the people of Ariatra and his village of Carmeldanna. During his final years, Haldric had started to be introduced to his vast network of businessmen and military officials. This network would serve him well many years in the future when he would transition to a life of politics. Throughout the sixties and seventies he would give numerous guest lectures around the world and write several academic papers on ancient and modern Thearean language structures. Maldian and Phodric Dormond would meet in the early 1980's and would quickly form a close friendship which would make them future political allies. Over the eighties he would make several powerful allies in the business community and the military leadership.

Political Career

The Fall of the Fostana and Election to the Pontiana

Maldian, despite agreeing with some of the Fostana's policies, recognized that some of their more reactionary stances stood to destablize the country. He would observe the council's heavy-handed supression of Hermalas Socialist Uprising in 1991 and their failed attempt at using military force to disperse protesters in his home city of Ariatra the following year. Although he was not a direct participant, he was sympathetic to their demands, believing that in order for Carops to be truly be strong - the people needed to be in charge, work together under an ethos of national pride and cooperation. In the wake of the protests, Chair Rolmand Roth decreed that the Pontiana would reopened and democracy would be restored. Elections were called for 3 April 1993.

There had been political parties during Fostana rule, but they were largely just social clubs and none really had the infrastructure to carry out a true campaign. Dormond created the Moderate Party and immediately recurited Maldian to join. The two of them would work to create a manifesto that the ordinary voter could see that would make them appear as the true 'centrist' party, but through Maldian's crafty use of language, he was able to bury much of their shared ideology of center-right politics, state interventionism, civic nationalism, and a strong military that would become the core of future Dormondism. He would become the party's candidate for his constituency of Ariatra Zemella and be tasked with delivering Ariatra's votes on the day of the election.

The Moderate Party won the highest number of seats in the Pontiana due in part for Maldian's efforts to secure a large percentage of the vote in Ariatra and other areas of southern Carops. By law, this made Dormond the Premier but he did not have enough votes in the chamber to govern alone. Maldian assisted in brokering the coalition with the Social Democratic and the Liberty parties.

Dormond Government

Haldric Maldian would serve as both Defense and Interior Minister in his friend's Government. Within months of taking both portfolios, there was an assassination attempt made against him, supposedly by foreign agents. Prior to his election, he was already a trusted voice in the country but his popularity grew following the attack. As Defense Minister, he was given the lead to dramatically build up the Pontanore's armed forces, investing three times what had been expended by the Fostana the previous decade. Their arguement was that to properly defend their restored democracy and properly project Caropsyne interests, the military needed a complete overhaul. Unbeknowst except for himself and Dormond, a considerable amount was diverted to the Damosca to carry out operations. In his capacity as Interior Minister, he was responsible for maintaining the safety of the Pontanore's citizens, something which he is thought to have excelled at during his term.

Like Dormond, Maldian shared a similar worldview in regards to international affairs and encouraged the Pontanore to implement aggressive foreign policies that were antgonistic against countries whose foreign policy disagreed with that of the Pontanore's. This included the Republic of Curiastan whom they believed to be a threat to long-term influence in developing countries. This brought Maldian into direct conflict with the Foreign Minister Miria Seranoda who was highly critical of the Government's handling of foreign policy.

Phodric Dormond's Government collapsed over the events of the Great Oil Crisis of 1996 where it was perceived to be inept and slow to react to problems facing the Pontanore. Members of his own party including respected backbencher Alza Permentanna demanded his resignation. Foreign Minister Seranoda fled to Ardalia where she gave a fiercely critical address over State Television claiming that the Government had been ruled by the Damosca. She delivered a damning dossier to the Pontiana's Executive Committee listing a range of terrorist acts for which she claimed Dormond (and by relation Maldian) were responsible for orchestrating. Having lost the confidence of the Caropsyne people and the threat of a motion for his removal being put before the chamber, Dormond announced his resignation and snap elections called for. Maldian would become Premier based on the results of the election and would reassemble the original coalition government.

Premiership

Maldian's elevation to Premier gave him an opportunity to reshuffle the cabinet and ensure the coalition did not splinter away like it had under his friend. He gave Social Democratic Chairman Marias Dortmond the position of Interior Minister. Seranoda was formally removed from the government in her role as Foreign Minister and handed it to Liberty Party Chairman Garel Thormond. Maldian would tap rising star Goriath Moscana to take over for him at the Defense Minister, and despite his own reservations, decided to make the well-respected Alza Permentanna both Health and Culture Ministers.

Haldric continued many of Dormond's policies including further investment and build-up of the armed forces and his aggressive, hardline and nationalistic foreign policy against other governments who did not agree with the Pontanore. This included Curiastan whom he placed a trade embargo upon for their involvement in the Oil Crisis. This officially started a cold war between the two countries. The Ardalian Civil War would break out in October 1996 and announced that the Pontanore would honor the terms of the Treaty of Taerisz it had signed with the legitimate government by providing soldiers, weapons, and war material to help keep the democratic government in Hran in power.

Relations with the Curian bloc got worse with the rise of the dictatorship of Marshal Andart Sadner resulting in an war of harsh words between the two leaders. In April 1997, there was a potential Curian plot to kidnap Miria Seranoda who had fled to Ardalia in self-imposed exile. Although Maldian still hated Seranoda, he could ill-afford to allow her to be captured and give his Curian rivals a propaganda victory. He instructed the Damosca to get to her first and take her to Euvodora where she would take up the position of Administrator-General in exchange for her to cease her public criticism of the government.

Maldian would face the repercussions of the 1996 Oil Crisis with the outbreak of the Jaj Revolution in Chonoré by the Jaj Independence Front in October 1997. He reacted swiftly and with overwhelming military force to crush the movement before it could spread across the rest of Polythia. The Pontanore would engage in a series of military conflicts that would send soldiers to many corners of the world, including Wulgaria and Curiastan, and all would be considered victories. At the ensuing peace talks saw the Pontanore delegation storm out after they claimed they had been insulted by the Curian delegation. Following this, the Pontanore demanded reparations and refused to withdraw occupying forces from Curiaistan, something which furthered Maldian's reputation as a violent and warmongering man.

Downfall and Death

Maldian's hawkish foreign policies had caused several years of chaos on the international stage and prompted Alza Permentanna, Goriath Moscana, the Chair of the Fostana Rolmand Roth, and Administrator-General of Euvodora and former Foreign Minister Miria Seranoda to secretly work towards the removal of Maldian's Government. Seranoda, leading the effort, shared with them damning evidence confirming the Damosca had gained undue influence over government affairs and would quietly distribute small pieces to members of the Pontiana to spark criticism against the Premier, and fostering constitutional uncertanity.

This would carry on for several months until Seranoda and her allies were ready to strike. On the afternoon of 3 July 2000, in an unprecedented move, the Fostana abruptly stopped their proceedings mid-session and marched upon the Pontiana Palace, effectively invading the lower house. This sparked five-day long Constitutional Crisis of 2000. The Fostana demanded Maldian's resignation and new elections called. At the same time, Seranoda exposed the enormous links between the Dormondist political grouping and military and Damosca figures and the latters influence over government affairs. Over the next three days, the Pontiana Executive Committee would listen to the evidence while several ministers resigned. Late in the morning of the fifth day, the committee voted to remove Maldian and called for new elections to be held.

In what was supposed to be a bloodless event precipated rapidly into the infamous Siege of the Pontiana by the Damosca. The atrocities committed during this battle and the chaos created are believed to have been what drove Haldric Maldian to take his own life. He was found hanging from a light fitting on the ceiling of his office within the Pontiana Building, draped in the flag of the Pontanore. A suicide note expressed severe regret and guilt at the events that had unfolded during the siege. He was survived by his wife Soria and their four children. With his death, Dormondist political ideology was branded firmly in Pontanore politics and would paralyze the Moderate Party for decades to come.

The Pontanore would be governed by a civil administration for three weeks while snap elections were held. Miria Seranoda soundly defeated Olimand Kossroth for the Premiership.