Gina Campanelli

Gina Campanelli
Chair of the Economic Commission of the Common Sphere
In office 1959–1983
Personal details
Born	16 May 1923 Megelan
Died	27 December 2015(2015-12-27) (aged 92) Megelan
Nationality	Megelanese Cacertian (Alscia)
Occupation	Economist

Gina Campanelli (16 May 1923 – 27 December 2015) was a Megelanese economist and civil servant. She served as the Chair of the Economic Commission of the Common Sphere from 1959 to 1983. She had a crucial role in the development of the Common Sphere, especially in economic matters, and is considered one of its architects.

Early life

Gina Campanelli was born on 16 May 1923 in Megelan. When she was young, her family moved to Alscia to escape the Warlord Era. Her parents were activists in the Free Megelanese community, and members of the PdL.

She attended school in Alscia, and relocated to Cacerta after its dissolution. She attended university in Vichenza, and graduated in 1948 with a Ph.D in economics. She then returned to Megelan to participate in its reconstruction after the Warlord Era. She joined the civil service and worked as an analyst at the Ministry of Finance and Budget.

Career

After Megelan joined the Common Sphere in 1957, Gina was selected by the Consulate to be Megelan's member on the Economic Commission. Her background and personality made her a strong candidate for the post, and she was easily confirmed. When the first Common Sphere Commissions took office in 1959, she was chosen as Chair of the Economic Commission, a post she would hold for the next 23 years.

She was an advocate of state-driven macroeconomic planning, active fiscal policy, welfare states, a stable financial system, and balanced trade. These stances were compatible with the broad economic model of CS members, gaining approval from states as diverse as the anarchist-leaning Gylias and Megelan, the economically statist Akashi and Cacerta, and the New Kingdom-era Delkora. She strongly supported the adoption of the Hermes Programme to improve mutual trade and policy coordination, and was a key architect of the Common Monetary System.

She strongly supported creating an international currency management regime in the CS based on equality of treatment and elimination of trade imbalances. However, she was realistic about the difficulties of gaining CS-wide approval for this, and instead pushed as much as possible towards these goals within the existing CS framework. She based the Common Monetary System on the principle of fixed exchange rate and sovereign monetary policy, and succeeded in getting states' approval to divert shared trade and budget surpluses to the Common Fund.

She regarded CS membership as based on convergence of economic policies and goals. She supported Ruvelka's associate status, but was unenthusiastic about further expansion, writing in 1977, "I doubt further new members would help the Common Sphere — the danger is that too many of us would harm it." She preferred a smaller CS where all members were on the same page than a larger one where disagreements would undermine the CS Method.

Gina, photographed by her daughter

Throughout her tenure, Gina was one of the most high-profile CS Commissioners. To the public in most member states, she was essentially the face of the CS. She gained a reputation as a talented administrator and coalition-builder, able to work with member states' governments regardless of political differences to strengthen the CS model. She formed close relations with finance ministers Ayane Satō (Akashi), Harald Henriksen (Delkora) and Aliska Géza (Gylias), creating a tetrarchy of the most influential figures in CS economic policy.

A charismatic figure, Gina relied on public communications to strengthen the CS. She frequently wrote articles on economics, gave lectures and interviews, and appeared in the media and discussion panels as a commentator on economic affairs. In public, she was known for her distinctive wardrobe — a white dress and mushroom hat —, elegant personality, and multilingualism. Often known simply as "Madame Gina", her patrician demeanour made her an excellent hostess at CS summits, and contributed significantly to inter-governmental cooperation within the CS.

Her working habits gained equal fame. She settled on a small island off the coast of Shimachi, Akashi, which was nicknamed "Jinkanshima" (Miranian: ヂンカン島) in her honour. She worked from a large shoin and helped maintained several gardens and outbuildings on the island, making it a popular location for CS summits. In contrast to the traditional architecture, her study was equipped with telephones, faxes, printers, and other modern equipment. She regularly called heads of government and ministers to discuss policy and consult with them on ideas before officially proposing them.

She was well-informed of developments in CS member states, and followed the news by reading newspapers and listening to the radio. She did not allow the installation of a television set on Jinkanshima.

She easily obtained mandate renewals every three years, and her popularity was such that she gained unanimous approval from all 8 member states in 1968, 1971, and 1974. Her last mandate renewal in 1980 was supported by only 5 out of 8 members. Foreseeing an erosion of support, she retired in 1983 at the end of her mandate.

Later life and death

Gina largely retired from public life after leaving the CS. She remained on Jinkanshima, attending CS summits as an elder stateswoman. The Ran Tsukuda government granted her the right to live on the island, later renamed "Kyōshima" (共島, "Common Island"), without paying rent, in honour of her work as Chair of the Economic Commission.

She was nominated for several honours and decorations, but declined most of them. She continued to sporadically write economic papers and articles, and occasionally gave interviews. She visited the CS' member states, and at times took part in diplomatic missions and tours.

She condemned the neoliberal conspiracy in 1990, and advocated the harshest penalties allowed by law against its perpetrators.

In later years, she increasingly divided her time between Akashi and Megelan, and served one term as delegate to the Credenza, elected by her hometown.

She died on 27 December 2015 of natural causes in Megelan.

Private life

Gina was fluent in Italian, French, English, and Miranian, and conversant in German. She was strongly Miranophile, and her pastimes included chadō and kadō. She was fond of wandering the gardens of Jinkanshima, and helped maintain and arrange them.

She was familiar with the main religions of the CS members — including Megelanese witchcraft, Concordianism, Sofianism, Kisekidō, and Vallyar — and would use different cultural idioms depending on who she was talking with. However, her own religious beliefs are unclear. She practiced various rituals, including from witchcraft, Kisekidō, and Sofianism, but was not known to have expressed any religious sentiments. One biographer describes her as "essentially apathetic towards religious belief".

She was involved in several romantic relationships throughout her life, but never married. She adopted a daughter, Fiorella, in 1950. Nicknamed "Fio", she became Gina's "tireless assistant" throughout her CS tenure, and was known as a qualified pilot and mechanic, who would fly Gina to and from Jinkanshima. She published an acclaimed biography of her mother in 1993.