Geordinia

Kingdom of Geordinia Geordinia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Fra fjell til sjø" (from mountain to sea)
Anthem: God Save the King
Map of the major cities of Geordinia in Anteria
Capital	Portland
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	English, Geordinian
Demonym(s)	Geordinian
Government
• Monarch	Aleksandr IV
• Crown Princess	Victoria
• Statsminister	Harald Stordahl
• Senate President	Carla Ordene
• Lord Chief Justice	Earl of Gjerland
Constitutional Monarchy
• Unification	14th November 1241
Population
• Estimate	61,521,316
• 2017 census	61,419,215
HDI	0.914 very high
Currency	Krona (K)
Time zone	GMT (Geordinia Mean Time)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left

The Kingdom of Geordinia (jaw-din-ee-ya) commonly called Geordinia, is a Constitutional Monarchy located in Anteria. Geordinia shares a land border with Vaxicor to the South-West and The Step Forward to the South. The Kingdom of Geordinia, comprising of a population of approximately 61.5 million, consists of 15 provinces and the capital territory which houses the capital, and largest city, Portland.

The Kingdom of Geordinia was founded in 1241 when the fifteen provinces of modern day Geordinia, then Kingdoms, joined together. The unification of the fifteen kingdoms was a result of a series of unions between the nations which began in the late 12th century. In 1178, the union of Crowns between the Kingdom of Algrand and the Kingdom of Trovjord marked the beginning of the series of unions, now called the Years of Union. After this marital union, many more occured between the crowns of the fifteen kingdoms. On 14th November, 1241, the unified kingdoms passed a new constitution which established the Kingdom of Geordinia. Since its founding, the relationships between the now fifteen provinces has evolved a great deal.

Geordinia is a Constitutional Monarchy with a federal system of government. The current Head of State is King Aleksandr IV. All of the provinces have an idential provincial government. Each province has a ceremonial office holder, called the Lord Lieutenant, who is appointed every 10 years by the Monarch and performs ceremonial and official duties for the Monarch. The provinces also each have a unicameral parliament called the Riksdag which consists of directly elected members called Members of the Riksdag (MKs), and each have a small executive government led by a directly elected Governor. The Federal (often referred to as the national) Government has a few unique differences. The major difference is that the Statsminister, the leader of the executive government, is appointed by the Monarch and leads the largest party in the House of Representatives; the lower house of the federal Storting. The Statsminister is not directly elected by the electorate compared to the provincial governments. In 2012 there was a referendum to change the way the Statsminister is elected to a direct election, however, the referendum failed with 68% against the changes. The federal legislature, the Storting, is also bicameral, with the Upper House being the Senate. The Senate consists of 100 appointed peers of the realm who are appointed by the Monarch.

Etymology

The name Geordinia is derived from the historical name for the land that is now Geordinia. The land was, before 1241, named Jordinia which means land of earth and snow in the ancient language of Calayan, the native tongue of Geordinia. Over time, Geordinian and English became the main languages of the six countries that inhabited what is now Geordinia and so the name Jordinia slowly changed to Geordinia, due to the increased size of the english speaking population.

In 1241, when the six nations officialy unified under a new constitution to be a new nation, it was decided that the new nation would take the name of the land that it was situated on, and so the name Geordinia was used as the Calayan language was then considered to be ancient as it was no longer spoken or written.

The correct term for a citizen of Geordinia is a "Geordinian".

History

The Kingdom of Geordinia was founded in 1241 when the fifteen provinces of modern day Geordinia, then Kingdoms, duchies and principalities, joined together. The unification of the fifteen realms was a result of a series of unions between the nations which began in the late 12th century. In 1178, the union of Crowns between the Kingdom of Algrand and the Kingdom of Trovjord marked the beginning of the series of unions, now called the Years of Union. The Union involved the marriage between Queen Silvia of Algrand and King Edmund of Trovjord. The unified kingdom was given the name of the United Kingdoms of Algrand and Trovjord, commonly referred to as 'the Two Crowns'. Five years later, in 1183, their eldest son, Edvaard Christensen, ascended to the two throne and in 1184 married Crown Princess Kathrine of Staulland. Upon the Crown Princess's ascension to her throne in Staulland in 1192, the two Kingdoms began the process of unification and in 1200 the two nations were joined together in a political union forming the United Kingdoms of Algrand, Trovjord and Staulland. In 1201, the name of the now unified nation was changed to Corelia and so the Kingdom of Corelia was born. In 1221, King Wilhelm I of Corelia was named as the heir to the Kingdom of Baulvang by their Queen, Queen Cassandra II. In 1225, Queen Cassandra II died and Wilhelm I became King of Baulvang. Following in the footsteps of his successors, Wilhelm began the process of unifying his two Kingdoms into one and in 1227 the process was complete. Rokberg and Alderland, the remaining realms feared being conquered by Corelia and so in 1230, King Gustaf of Rokberg and King Halvard of Alderland had their heirs marry one another, thus ensuring a union between Rokberg and Alderland. The two Kings also made it possible so that upon one of their death's, the other would abdicate and the two nations would unify. So, in 1236, upon the death of King Gustaf, King Halvard abdicated and their children, Clarissa and Sebastien, became the joint Monarchs of Alderland and Rokberg. However, the two died at sea in 1239 on their way to one of their castles located on an island off the coast of Rokberg. Clarissa and Sebastien died with no children and so an ascension crisis ensued for a year, after which the King's Council of Rokberg and Alderland named King Wilhelm II of Corelia, the son of Wilhelm I, King of Rokberg and Alderland. In 1241, Rockberg and Alderland were adopted into Corelia and a Constitutional Convention was held in which a new constitution was formed and the new nation of Vinalea. After a series of wars as well as marital unions, all remaining realms fell under the banner of Vinalea and another Constitutional Convention was held in which yet another constitution was formed resulting in the formation of the Kingdom of Geordinia.

Politics and Government

Politics in Geordinia operates under a framework laid out in the Constitution of Geordinia. First written in 1241 and later ammended in 1283, 1331 and 1892, it establishes a sovereign state in the form of a Constitutional Monarchy with a federal system and representative parliamentary system. The Monarch is the Head of State with a Statsminister being the Head of Government. The Monarch is officially the head of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Government but various officials, set out in the Constitution, act in his or her place. The Monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and their person is sacrosanct. Hereditary monarch King Aleksandr IV has been head of state since 19 December 2015.

Government

The Executive Government, commonly referred to as simply 'HM Government' is led by a Statsminister, a member of the House of Representatives, who is appointed by the Monarch. Whilst the Monarch retains the right to appoint any Congressman or woman, in practice, however, the Monarch appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition in the House of Representatives. The Executive Government, led by the Statsminister in the name of the Monarch, consists of the Statsminister and Cabinet Secretaries. Cabinet Secretaries, formally Secretaries of State, are nominated by the Statsminister and confirmed by the Monarch. No nominee has ever been rejected and the process is now considered to be just a formality. The Cabinet is responsible for proposing bills and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and domestic policies of Geordinia.

The Geordinian legislature is called the Storting. It is the legislature of the Kingdom of Geordinia, passing Acts that apply in Geordinia and the Crown dependencies and overseas territories. The Storting is also responsible for adopting the nation's budgets, approving the nation's accounts, appointing and exercising control of the Government, and taking part in international co-operation. Bills may be initiated by the Government or by members of the lower house of the Storting, the House of Representatives. All bills passed must be presented before the Council of State to receive Royal Assent within thirty days in order to become law. The Storting consists of an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives are called Congressmen/women and must be over the age of 25. Members of the Senate are called Senators and are appointed by the Monarch. Senators only need to be over the age of 18 and serve for life. They must also be a peer of the realm and so must have a noble title, however, in cases where an individual is nominated and doesn't have a peerage, the Sovereign will grant them one. They are appointed by the Monarch upon the advice of an independent commission and serve for life. Only upon the death of a Senator can another be appointed as their is a limit of 100 members. All members of the Senate are required to be independents in terms of political party.

For elections to the House of Representatives, Geordinia is divided into 450 constituencies, each electing a single member to the House of Representatives (Congressman or Congresswoman) by simple plurality. General elections are called by the monarch when the Statsminister so advises. After the Constitutional Ammendment in 1892, the elections are called by the Monarch every five years to occur on October 2nd. However, if a Government fails to defeat a vote of no confidence, the Government is dissolved and if no clear replacement can be found for the office of Statsminister, a fresh general election is called. The Statsminister retains their right to advise the Monarch about when to call an election, but this advise may only be given if the Statsminister wishes to call an early election, not if they wish to extend a session of the Storting.

Since the 2005 electoral reforms, Geordinia rarely has coalition governments due to there being only two major political parties; the Conservative Party and the Social Democratic Party. As a result, almost always one political party has a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and can therefore form a Government. Some minor political parties do have a small number of seats in the House. The last time there was a coalition government was in 2002 and it terminated due to the merging of the parties in the coalition. The current Statsminister is Harald Stordahl who is serving his second term as Prime Minister after his party, the Conservatives, won a majority in the 2012 General Election and went on to win re-election in 2017. He was the last Statsminister to serve King Filip II and the first of King Aleksandr IV.

Judicial System

The Kingdom of Geordinia uses a civil law system where laws are created and amended in the Storting and the system regulated through the Courts of justice of Geordinia. It consists of the Supreme Court of 10 permanent judges and a Lord Chief Justice, appellate courts, city and district courts, and the Privy Council. The judiciary is independent of executive and legislative branches. While the Statsminister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by the Storting Judiciary Committee and then by the entire Storting, and formally confirmed by the Monarch in the Council of State. Judges nominated to other courts are formally appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Statsminister, without Storting confirmation. The Privy Council is the highest appealate court for all cases from overseas territories and crown dependencies but it rarely exercises this function as an overwhelming majority of cases decided on in the Supreme Court are not appealed.

The Courts' constitutional mission is to regulate the Geordinian judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and as such implement the legislation adopted by the Storting. In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.

Foreign Relations

Nation	Relationship	Embassy	Trade Status
Grafenland	Good	Yes	10% reduction on tariffs
Visargia	Very good	Yes	25% reduction in tariffs