Juan Rodriguez

Prime Minister Juan Rodriguez
Official Portrait, 2020.
Prime Minister of Indian Empire
Incumbent
Assumed office August 3rd, 2015
Preceded by	Kamma Villadsen
Speaker of the Empirian House of Commons
Incumbent
Assumed office August 3rd, 2015
Preceded by	Kamma Villadsen
Leader of the Social Democrats
Incumbent
Assumed office August 3rd, 2015
Preceded by	Kamma Villadsen
Representative for Saltune Coastal
Incumbent
Assumed office August 1st, 2005
Preceded by	Ramon Martinez
Personal details
Born	Juan Pablo Rodriguez (1983-05-14) 14 May 1983 Saltune, Indian Empire
Nationality	Empirian
Political party	Social Democrats
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Spouse	Irene Sancho (m. 2006)
Children	Pablo Rodriguez (b. 2008) Irene Rodriguez (b. 2010) Ramon Rodriguez (b. 2014)
Residence(s)	Saltune, Indian Empire
Alma mater	University of Saltune (Political Science)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Prime Minister

Juan Rodriguez (born 14 May 1983) is an Empirian Politician who has been the Prime Minister of Indian Empire since August 2015. He is the first Hispanic Empirian to become Prime Minister since Lucien Navarro in 1995 and has been leader of the Social Democrats since 2015. He is the youngest Prime Minister in Empirian History.

Rodriguez became an Analyst for House of Commons representative Ramon Martinez after graduating college in 2003, he ran for the Saltune Coastal parliamentary seat upon Martinez's retirement in 2005, and has remained in politics ever since. He did not hold any cabinet position upon the Social Democrats gained majority in 2009. In 2015, he ran for Leader of the Party to replace Kamma Villadsen. Initially considered a longshot, he gained traction after Agricultural Minister Egon Kirk made several controversial remarks at a party leadership debate. Rodriguez won the election with 55% of the vote, and was re-elected as Party leader with 83% of the vote in 2020.

In his first election, the 2017 Empirian Parliamentary Elections, the Social Democrats lost a total of 21 seats but retained a 220-167 majority in the House of Commons, being sworn in for a full four year term as Prime Minister.

Early Life

Juan Rodriguez was born in 1983 in Saltune, Nordøstkyst, Indian Empire, the oldest of two children, to Domingo Rodriguez and Vanessa Palau. He had one younger sister, Ana (b. 1986). The family lived in Saltune. Growing up, Juan was a rather average child, maintaining average grades throughout school. As a child, Juan participated in Football through his primary and secondary school days.

Rodriguez graduated from high school in 1999 with a 3.2 GPA. He then attended the University of Saltune, persuing a degree in Political Science. Here, he met his eventual wife, Irene Sancho, who he married in 2006. Upon graduating in 2003, Rodriguez got a job as a political analyst for Representative Ramon Martinez.

Political Career

Rodriguez first ran for the Saltune Coastal Parliamentary seat in 2005, after the retirement of Ramon Martinez. He handily won the primary election over three other opponents with 67% of the vote, then won the general election by 15 percent, 57.5% to 42.5% in an election that saw the Centrist Party retain a narrow three seat majority in parliament. Rodriguez quickly became known as a consistent and active voice in parliament, with his long speech in opposition to the corporate bailouts of 2008 going viral nationwide.

Rodriguez was re-elected in 2009 with a greatly increased margin of 34 percent, attaining 72% of the vote. As the Social Democrats took the majority in parliament in 2009, the largest majority in Empirian History, Rodriguez was a co-sponsor of a bill began by Representative Hjalte Mørch and sponsored by Prime Minister Kamma Villadsen. During the floor debate, Rodriguez came out as Bisexual and discussed the difficulties of being LGBTQ, and then pivoted to the bill and how it would secure protections for "people like him". This speech received heavily positive reception and the bill was passed along largely partisan lines, 267-119. Rodriguez wrote and passed a bill sponsored with Ella Mouritsen in 2012 that would cause the National Health Service to cover LGBTQ mental health care and surgeries. In 2013, Rodriguez was re-elected with a reduced 29% margin, earning 69.5% of the vote.

Run for Prime Minister

In 2015, Rodriguez ran for Leader of the Social Democrats, after incumbent prime minister Kamma Villadsen announced she would be stepping down and not running for re-election as party leader. His main opponent was Agricultural Minister Egon Kirk of Spjald. Additionally, the race was also entered by Diego Fischer Jr., the son of former Prime Minister Diego Fischer. These members split the vote, and Kirk's controversial remarks at the first leadership debate did not help his position in the race. Ultimately, Rodriguez, a massive underdog, attained 55% of the vote to Fischer's 30% and Kirk's 15%, becoming the 12th Prime Minister of Indian Empire. He became the nation's first LGBTQ prime minister, Youngest prime minister in Empirian History, and became the first Prime Minister from Saltune.

As Prime Minister

Juan Rodriguez was sworn in as Indian Empire's 12th Prime Minister on August 3rd, 2015, at just 32 years old, the Youngest Prime Minister in Empirian History. He attained the position by winning the 2015 Social Democratic Party Leadership Election to replace the retiring Kamma Villadsen. Upon taking office, Rodriguez worked on securing a bill with Education Minister Hedvig Ibsen to guarantee comprehensive classes on LGBTQ history and denominations. In 2016, Rodriguez assisted in passing a law that increased the minimum wage to 12 krone an hour and increased the ability of unions to negotiate wages with employers. In 2017, Rodriguez was re-elected to his seat by 30%. His Party, the Social Democrats, lost 21 seats in Parliament, but retained a 220-167 parliamentary majority, and Rodriguez was sworn in for another term that would continue until the next election in August 2021.

Controversy

Rodriguez has clashed on several instances with American President Donald Trump, calling him "incredibly rude" when negotiating trade with Indian Empire in 2018. Donald Trump is considered to be broadly unpopular in Indian Empire, even though the nation largely relies on the United States and NATO for defense. This is a widely controversial matter within Empirian Politics.

COVID-19 Response

Rodriguez's response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, assisted by Health Minister Ella Mouritsen and Education Minister Hedvig Ibsen, was widely considered controversial amongst the foreign community after the nation established a full lockdown in March 2020 and fully restricted travel into Indian Empire. However, the response has been widely acclaimed as effective, with Indian Empire down to 0 coronavirus cases by June and causing the lockdown to be lifted. This has caused a boost for Rodriguez's party in the 2021 election, which, if they won, would mark the first time an Empirian Party has won four consecutive elections.

Political Positions

Rodriguez is traditionally considered to be "very liberal". Rodriguez strongly supports action to combat climate change and believes that it is caused by human activity. He is also a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights, supporting full protections and medical coverage for members of the LGBTQ community and supporting legislation prohibiting discrimination based on LGBTQ status. Rodriguez is a strong supporter of high speed rail and desires to build a national rail network to improve travel times across Indian Empire. This is a key element of the party's 2021 election platform. Rodriguez opposes the use of coal and nuclear power, citing the dangers of Nuclear Power and the Fukishima incident in Japan in 2011.