Erman Sanker

His Honour, Erman Sanker Master President of the Nationalist Republic of Vyvland (1954-80)
Master President of South Vyvland
In office 18 December 1954 – 17 October 1980
Preceded by	Jeusev Jueves
Succeeded by	Ans Eloim
Chairman of the Nationalist Movement
In office 18 December 1954 – 5 April 1958
Preceded by	Jeusev Jueves
Succeeded by	abolished
Chairman of the Nationalist Party
In office 5 April 1958 – 17 October 1980
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	Ans Eloim
Personal details
Born	(1909-09-08)September 8, 1909 Degohs, Brudon, Kingdom of Vyvland
Died	October 17, 1980(1980-10-17) (aged 71) Lorence, Plains, South Vyvland
Nationality	Vyvland
Political party	Nationalist Movement (1929-1958) Nationalist Party (1958-1980)
Spouse	Matelda Sanker (1956-1980)
Children	Teresa Sanker (1957-) Niklas Sanker (1959-) Ros Sanker (1961-1977) Werner Sanker (1965-)
Alma mater	College Royal, Jesel
Nickname(s)	Sanko Fi Tiyf-Zedesde (The Second-Worst)
Military service
Branch/service	Army of the NR of Vyvland
Years of service	1933-1939
Rank	Major Kolonel

Erman Sanker (pronounced /'eːɾmən 'zaŋkəɾ/) served as the Master President of South Vyvland from the mid-1950s to 1980, when he was assassinated. He gained power due to a coup d'etat against predecessor Admiral Jeusev Jueves instilled by the Luziycan Central Intelligence Agency in 1954, and in 1957 held elections, which he rigged, and drafted a new constitution. He was assassinated in Prensted during a 1980 rally and replaced by Ans Eloim, which began the process leading to Vyvlander reunification in 1983.

Early life

Sanker was born in the city of Degohs in Brudon province, then in Vyvland, in 1909. His parents were small business owners in the isolated town, owning a small textile workshop. As such, Erman was able to live relatively comfortably-off for much of his childhood, and attended school fully. Although he was, according to himself 'not overly bright', Sanker was able to gain a place at the College Royal in Jesel, a premier learning institution. During his third year at the college, Sanker joined the growing Nationalist Movement, and quickly became very taken by the party, becoming President of the College Nationalist Movement within six months of joining. In March 1932 after unrest in Lyksdal, Sanker became one of the leaders of the local uprising against the government, and soon had become a commander of the Jesel Vrineswakt (Jesel Freedom Force), which helped to take the city of Jesel, then the third-largest in Vyvland, for the Nationalists by April 1933. When the Freedom Force officially joined the South Vyvlander Army, Sanker became automatically promoted to a Major, a relatively high-ranking officer position, depsite his lack of formal experience. Sanker stayed in the Southern army until 1939, although by then he had also become involved in politics as an advisor to dictator Jeusev Jueves.

Career

Sanker had been a relatively high-ranking official in the Nationalist Movement, then the ruling party of South Vyvland, under Master President Jueves. He held the position of Besonjreavideer (Special Advisor) to Jueves during his time in office. During this time, Sanker had become respected by the West Luziycan government, having secretly met up with many government officials from 1950 onwards. As such, when Jueves's attitude towards West Luziyca, which was generally bad, escalated, the West Luziycan government pledged their support if Sanker and like-minded nationalists imposed a coup.

In December 1954, the Central Intelligence Agency backed him and managed to succeed in a coup overthrowing Jeuves, before declaring him Master President on the 18th and executing Jueves two days later. Almost immediately, he began drafting a constitution, putting it to referendum in 1957 and was ratified by a 60% approval of adult males. He also took part in dialogues with North Vyvlander Prime Minister Payl Klosders over loosening border restrictions and establishing detente between the two states. In 1958, after he was elected in rigged elections as Master President, he declared the implementation of a policy, "lelsdadnes", which unlike the traditional view, while marked by promoting the national spirit and homeliness, also incentivized economic growth. Despite the large growth during his lifetime, setbacks under Jueves and instability meant that the Southern economy was still far behind the Northern economy in 1980.

The location of Sanker's shooting. Sanker was standing above the war memorial, while the gunman was in the left upper window on the roof of the building on the right.

On the 17th October 1980, Sanker was making a speech in Prensted before upcoming elections, themed around national security and defence from ideological threats. Although he was heavily guarded, at 1:42 a man with a high-calibre gun was able to shoot at him from an upper window of a shop fronting onto the Hogplaac, the square in which Sanker was speaking. Sanker was shot on the left side of his head, and the bullet became lodged in his brain, leading to complications. Sanker was pronounced dead at 4:46pm.

Personal life

Sanker married Nationalist Movement worker Matelda Swoinsdoin in 1956. Together, they had four children; Teresa in 1957, Niklas in 1959, Ros in 1961 and Werner in 1965. Sources close to Sanker describe how much love he had for his family, and how he endeavoured to spend time with his children. Ros died in 1977 at age 16 after doctors were unable to diagnose or treat her severe mental and physical disabilities, and the onset of pneumonia led to fast-acting near-untreatable complications. After this, Sanker ordered that all special needs schools in South Vyvland be converted to Rossgolen (Ros-Schools) in her honour. Previously, these had been opened sporadically across the country, with the first opening in 1965. A few Rossgolen remain in existance today, although many have reverted back to other names.

Legacy

Sanker's death caused a period of political instability and vacuum of power in which no leader was able to. Although Sanker had officially named Ans Eloim as his successor, others in the party had more support than him. In addition, the death provoked riots around the country, and resistance political organisations became more prominent. Acts of violence and terrorism, most notably the 1981 Lorence attacks, vastly increased in frequency. By early 1983, a provisional government had been formed, which was able to negotiate reunification with North Vyvland in June of that year.

Sanker, although generally agreed to be better than his predecessor Jueves, is widely disliked in Vyvland. Until 1996, reunified Vyvland had laws against "the glorification of Sanker and/or his ideology" and doing such is still widely frowned upon in Vyvland. However, in Luziyca, Sanker is viewed in a more positive light. Declassified documents released in early 2014 by the CIA offered the first documentation on the coup which installed Sanker, in addition to revealing multiple details, including that the murder of Ianek Vrumeer, Jueves's second-in-command, was orchestrated by the CIA.

Awards and honours

Foreign

• Luziyca - Commander of the Order of Liberty