Dario Lorenzin
Dario Lorenzin | |
|---|---|
 Dario Lorenzin | |
| 47th President of Marirana Disputed | |
| Assumed office 17th June 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Matteo Andino Enzo Alfano |
| Preceded by | Giorgio Macciocchi |
| Chairman of the National Salvation Committee | |
| In office 17th June 2013 – 8th October 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position dissolved |
| Minister of Defence | |
| President | Giorgio Macciocchi |
| Preceded by | tba |
| Succeeded by | tba |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1960 Aquinas, Vittico, Marirana |
| Political party | CDR |
| Spouse | Grysell Cabello |
| Children | Mario Bella |
| Alma mater | San Marco Military Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Marirana |
| Branch/service | Army (1985-present) |
| Rank | Major general |
| Battles/wars | Mariranan Civil War |
Major general Dario Lorenzin (born 23rd December, 1960) is a Mariranan military officer and strongman politician who has served as president of Marirana from 2013 to the present day.
A career soldier and high-ranking officer, Lorenzin was appointed as Minister of Defence with authority over the Mariranan military in December 2012 after the cabinet resigned en masse following the resignation of president Alfonso Hatoyama. Picked by interim president Giorgio Macciocchi due to his supposed apolitical views he soon emerged as a opponent of the proposed democratisation measures Macciocchi's national unity government proposed. As a result Lorenzin was a key figure in the 2013 Mariranan coup d'état that deposed Macciocchi with Lorenzin forming a provisional military cabinet, the National Salvation Committee. This act triggered further protests and reprisals that led to a defection of a large section of the military and the start of the Mariranan Civil War.
Since the start of the Mariranan Civil War Lorenzin has been considered to be leading a military dictatorship. Supported by the international community in 2015 Lorenzin held a presidential election widely considered fraudulent; he was recorded as gaining 96% of the vote and his Democratic Republican Concentration party gaining all seats in the legislature. During the civil war Lorenzin has been accused of several war crimes and ethnic cleansing; however he has rejected these claims and accused his opponents of supporting communism and regime change.
Early and academic life
Lorenzin was born in 1960 in the city of Aquinas as the second son to a middle-class family, with his father's family having emigrated to Marirana from Werania in the 1860's whilst his mother was of Etrurian descent. His father Emiliano was a general whilst his mother was a nurse. He attended a Catholic private school from the ages of 12 to 18 before being accepted into the San Marco Military Academy from 1980. He graduated as a lieutenant in 1985 rank 45th out of 200. He briefly studied in military academies in Nuxica and Estmere.
In 1990 Lorenzin married a Grysell Cabello, who was a Nuxican citizen. Following their marriage in 1995 Lorenzin had his first child, Mario and in 2001 his second Bella.
Military career
Lorenzin earned his first commission in 1990 serving in the mechanised infantry, specialising in tank warfare. In 2003 he was appointed as deputy commanding general in the 1st Armoured Division and in 2005 was its command general. He became the overall commanding officer of the Ritaldi region in 2010. He became the adjunct officer to deputy Chief of Staff Paolo Panzeri in 2011 after being recommended for the position by President Alfonso Hatoyama. As a result Lorenzin was promoted to the position of colonel general.
Minister of Defence
In October 2012 Marirana was rocked by mass protests following President Hatoyama's decision to propose his son, Maurizio Hatoyama, as his successor as president. As victory of the ruling Popular Republican Movement was always assured in Marirana such a decision sparked opposition both in civil society and the military over concerns of personal dictatorship by the Hatoyama family. The protests soon morphed into a broad popular movement against the government's authoritarianism, cultural marginalisation of native groups and their economic policies blamed for high unemployment and poverty. As a result Hatoyama, his cabinet and several military generals resigned from their posts with prime minister Giorgio Macciocchi becoming interim president.
With much of the high command of the military considered to be discredited Macciocchi appointed Lorenzin as Minister of Defence, perceiving him to be both apolitical and a much needed break from the older officers associated with the ruling clique. He was promoted by president Macciocchi to a major general.
Lorenzin following his appointment stated that the army stood as a "bulwark of democracy against agitators who seek to impose dictatorship over Marirana" and that it served the people over "vested political interests and revolutionary agitators". His statements were seen by critics of the democratisation process as clarifying that the military would act against leftist attempts to overthrow the state; conversely supporters of the interim government saw them as a confirmation that the military was not beholden to the old guard of the PRN who called for a suppression of the protests.
2013 coup d'état
In June 2013 protests escalated after Macciocchi announced that elections would be postponed to 2015, considered a backdoor attempt to maintain the regime. Members of the opposition serving in the interim government resigned from their posts condemning Macciocchi for maintaining an un-elected and unrepresentative government. As a result of the intensified protests on the 11 June the military handed the interim government an ultimatum to either come to a national consensus or face "serious consequences". After two days the military seized key government buildings (the government offices, the legislature, the presidential palace and the national broadcasting headquarters) after a cyberattack had shut down government websites. Macciochhi was placed under house arrest.
In an address the next day on the 14 June Lorenzin addressed the nation. Stating that the military had set up a new provisional government, the National Salvation Committee, Lorenzin stated that he was not only taking the presidency but also ordered a series of new measures intended to restore order including -
- controls over the media
- imposition of internet censorship
- declared a curfew nationwide
- banned gatherings of five or more persons
- the arrest of anti-coup activists for rhetoric that the authorities considered to go beyond the right of free speech