Stevan Grimmeburger

Generalissimo Stevan Joseph Grimmeburger
File:Grimmeburger2.jpg
10th Despot of the FAS
In office July 1st, 2001 – January 2nd, 2017
Preceded by	Eddard Jaal (1991 - 2001)
Chancellor	Arnulf Wyllur (2001 - 2004)
Chancellor	Junn Andrsunn (2004 - 2009)
Chancellor	Anessa Maarks (2009 - 2015)
Chancellor	Sofya Rudulf (2015 - )
Personal details
Born	March 15th, 1964 (Aged 53) Bronnswyk, Staalmark, Allamunnic States
Citizenship	Allamunnic
Nationality	Allamunnic
Political party	Federalist
Domestic partner	Ellie Hendrsunn
Residence	Federal District of Roan
Alma mater	Federal Military Academy
Occupation	Head of State
Profession	Soldier
Nickname	"Old Wardog"
Military service
Allegiance	Allamunnic States
Branch/service	Federal Army
Years of service	1981 - 2001
Rank	Major General
Unit	15th Regular Brigade

Stevan Joseph Grimmeburger (born March 15th, 1964) is the current head of state of the Federation of Allamunnic States. Although Grimmeburger maintains an outward facade of nonpartisanship in his governance, his policies and political alliances align him with the Allamunnic Federalist Party.

Grimmeburger has served as head of state (using the title "Generalissimo", in contrast to "Despot" used by his predecessors) since July of 2001. During his tenure, he has overseen the liberalization of the Federation, with efforts to democratize the country being largely successful, including the drafting of the Century Constitution in 2009. Grimmeburger has also overseen renewed pushes for labor and consumer protections, while reinstating and reforming parts of the nation's welfare system.

He is also the longest-serving head of state of the Federation since Rikard Filius.

Appearance & Character

Grimmeburger possesses an unassuming, average appearance, with reasonably short dark hair streaked with gray, as well as a thick, dark beard (also streaked with gray). He is within the Allamunnic average, height-wise, at 176 cm, and is sturdily built at approximately 85 kilograms.

Perhaps his most-defining personality trait is his commitment to his nation. He has, in the past, stated that perhaps because he lacks a close blood family, he considers the Allamunnic nation as a whole to be his kin. Regardless of the reason, Grimmeburger has shown himself to be fiercely protective of the Federation.

Grimmeburger's upbringing as an orphan in a lower/working-class setting seems to have influenced some of his other views; Grimmeburger possesses class prejudices against inherited nobility and the ultra-rich in general. Similar views are not uncommon in similar settings in the Federation, particularly in Staalmark and the Bluwaald region.

He is also noted for having a dry, sarcastic sense of humor, and for speaking his mind fairly directly. This has, in the past, caused issues in diplomatic settings. It is something of a miracle that Grimmeburger rose as high as Major General in the Federal Army, considering this tendency, combined with a resentment towards taking orders made him prone to insubordination in varying degrees of severity. That said, it is worth note that he appears far more polite and friendly towards social inferiors.

Biography

Early Life

Stevan was born in Bronnswyk, Staalmark (a suburb of Haensley) to Erik and Sara Grimmeburger in 1964. His first few years were uneventful and pleasant, his parents effectively balancing their careers as an ironworker and nurse respectively with raising their son. However, in August of 1967, Erik and Sara were killed in a train derailment, caused by poor-quality parts on the train.

The orphaned Stevan was taken in at the Ingryd Barr Orphanage in Bronnswyk. He proved to be rather well-adjusted, despite the associated trauma of losing his parents early on, and he excelled in his schooling. A Hendrsunn-regime program to improve schooling for orphans (including placing particularly talented ones in better schools, as well) ended up benefiting Stevan enormously, and he was soon excelling in a well-funded public school.

Although Grimmeburger made friends at school during this time, he notably also served as a protector and mentor for younger residents of the orphanage. It became clear quickly that he had little tolerance for bullies, and he also developed issues with authority figures, taking umbrage at receiving orders or instructions without a clear rationale or reason.

Despite this, Grimmeburger also joined the Allamunnic Boy Scouts, and found himself advancing rapidly, acquiring a number of skills while learning to at least bite his tongue and not argue directly with authority figures.

By the time he graduated high school, Grimmeburger was displaying keen interest in history and politics, had made the rank of Regent's Scout (the terminal rank of BSAS), and had served an internship with the Bronnswyk city government. He had made a handful of close friendships, while also helping out around his orphanage home (having never been adopted), and had also taken up gridiron at his high school, playing fullback effectively. With several glowing letters of recommendation and an excellent academic record, Grimmeburger was able to be appointed to the Federal Military Academy in Vaddurhulm.

Higher Education

Grimmeburger's career at the Federal Military Academy was a successful one, as he continued to apply himself effectively to his studies, while balancing leadership roles within his cohort and continuing his gridiron career by playing fullback on the Academy's team. His personal talents appeared geared towards history and big-picture activities (personnel management and operational strategy), although he proved competent at most anything he was pushed to apply himself to. It became clear that Grimmeburger possessed an attitude that made him naturally-suited to being something of a jack-of-all-trades.

Of course, once again, his issues with authority figures and bullies emerged. Although there were figures he respected (including an instructor named Andrik Daanylsunn), Grimmeburger found himself clashing with at least one instructor known for unfair treatment of cadets who he felt had earned his wrath (not always fairly). Although this issue was cleared up with some minor disciplinary action after Grimmeburger's first year, it seemed the underlying issues had not been cleared up, simply that Cadet Grimmeburger had learned to hold his tongue somewhat better.

Notably, one Academy psychologist, a Dr. Wylas Margusunn, in the annual psychological review required for cadets, noted that while "Cadet Grimmeburger has only rarely been insubordinate, but it appears that his respect for authority is not what this academy would like." Margusunn later recounted that there were times that he suspected Grimmeburger might quietly be having a laugh at his expense, although there was no real evidence to conclusively suggest this.

Despite these personality flaws, Grimmeburger's performance academically and extracurricularly were enough to see him graduate in the top 10% of his class. This resulted in Grimmeburger's placement as a First Lieutenant with the 55th Mobile Infantry.

Military Career

Because of his rank at graduation, Grimmeburger was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Federal Army on May 2nd, 1985 at the age of 21, and assigned to the 55th Mobile Infantry battalion. In 1986, the 55th would find itself deployed in the Rumanika Basin, fighting against a communist insurgent group, the Red Brotherhood Proletarian Army, which had launched a series of bombings and attacks on police and government targets since 1985.

Over the course of three years, from 1986 through 1989, the 55th worked with the other four battalions in their regiment to conduct counter-insurgency operations in the area, fighting in numerous skirmishes and small clashes. Over this time, Grimmeburger showed good instincts in the field, as well as a good organizational mind. His role in field operations as well as local strategy and tactics led to his rapid promotion, and by 1989, Grimmeburger was up for promotion to Lt. Commander. His role in capturing Erik Donar, the head of the RBPA, essentially sealed his resume for promotion, and Grimmeburger was made Lt. Commander and CO of the 55th Battalion in October of 1992, and then Commander of his unit in 1995.

Grimmeburger soon added another feather in his cap between 1995 and 1998, when Commander Grimmeburger managed to operate his unit in close cooperation with Roman authorities to bust a human trafficking ring bringing sex slaves between countries. Taking point with other Federal agencies, the operation resulted in 386 arrests on both sides of the border, while freeing more than 1700 enslaved persons. Because of this success and on-going good performance, Grimmeburger was promoted to Major General in early 1998.

With that operation complete, and now a Major General, Grimmeburger was tasked with leading the fight against a resurgent RBPA in the Bluwaalds and the cities of Skraelingia. His efficient and relatively bloodless ferreting out of numerous hideouts and the capture of numerous insurgents, combined with his effective administration of several bases and formations, gained him a favored place in the Jaal regime's military by 2000.

Head of State

Assumption of Power

By 2001, tensions across the country were building, in large part due to corrupt, ineffective rule by the administration of Despot Edmund Jaal. Grimmeburger fell in with a conspiracy composed of much of the Federal Army's upper leadership (with the notable exception of the Field Marshal, who was a political appointee by Jaal). Grimmeburger had assumed one of the leading roles in the conspiracy, along with a fellow Major General, one Stannis Lynnun, as well as two senior Generals, Ruger Skmyt and Junn Durkheim, as well as a promising young Commander named Rodrik Wyllur and a Major named Erik Hoenzyrn.

In April of 2001, the conspirators struck, launching a coup that quickly removed Jaal from power, trying him for treason and executing him with the greatest swiftness allowed by due process. Initially, the conspirators attempted to run the country in a junta-like manner, but clashes between ideologically-opposed members of the Council led them to reach the conclusion that a single leader was necessary.

Grimmeburger was chosen by his fellows to take over as the new Despot. However, Grimmeburger eschewed the title in favor of the more military-sounding "Generalissimo." It is believed that Grimmeburger received the votes from his nominal superiors, Skmyt and Durkheim, and their followers because both believed Grimmeburger to be pliable and manipulable, while his friend and rival, Lynnun ran as a friendly opposition.

First Year

If that was the case, they were quickly proven wrong, as attempts by both to secure greater power for their like-minded followers (fascistic rightists in the case of Durkheim, Stalinistic communists in the case of Skmyt) were foiled by Grimmeburger using the army, support from the states, and a rapidly-strengthening police force. Where Durkheim fell into line after an initial power snatch attempt was foiled, Skmyt fled into the Bluwaalds, his followers dispersed, where they joined, reactivated, and took control of a revitalized RBPA. Skmyt remained at large until 2016, although the RBPA's ability to launch attacks has been greatly diminished.

With his power secured, Grimmeburger turned to democratizing a country that had largely fallen to corruption and autocracy over the preceding nine decades. Within a month after seeing off both attempted power grabs, Grimmeburger issued Executive Order 8-10-2001-1, granting full legislative powers and removing the impunity of the Executive's veto to the Federal legislature, allowing them to override a veto with a 2/3 super majority of votes.

Grimmeburger followed that up by removing other dictatorial powers held by the Executive, while formally recognizing another branch of government, creating a permanent, federal level judiciary with a series of orders over the next several months.

In an attempt at both liberalization and cutting off support from violent dissenters, Grimmeburger also removed older legislation outlawing certain fringe political parties, allowing Socialists, Communists, Anarchists, Separatists, and Fascists to form legal political parties for the first time.

Other Early Reforms

By late 2002, Grimmeburger's agenda had morphed. He was no longer content to simply let the Federation tread water under better management, and instead turned his attention to making significant reforms to Allamunnic government and civil culture, in order to lay the foundation for a more stable, representative government.

In December of 2002, Grimmeburger issued Executive Order 12-8-2002-3, which mandated that for the next fiscal year, all incomes would be a matter of public record. Although the measure was originally met with resistance, it was a measure Grimmeburger refused to yield on. Over time, it became an accepted practice in Allamunnic finance and government, and has helped to reduce the rate of tax evasion in the country. Grimmeburger also raised corporate and personal income taxes for those making more than AF$300,000 in an attempt to reduce the country's deficit necessitated by an attempted reconstruction of the nation's welfare system.

Personal Life

Grimmeburger's biological family were killed when he was very young. As a result, most of those that Grimmeburger considers to be family are either fellow orphans, or those friends he considers "true companions." The number of these people is fairly low, and Grimmeburger has mostly lived alone.

He has had relatively few romantic entanglements over the course of his life. The first was during his last year or two at the orphanage, when he and fellow resident Emma Wynturs became romantically involved. Their relationship ended when they both moved on from the orphanage, and Stevan went off to the Federal Military Academy. This would be the last major relationship he embarked on for some time, otherwise only having brief ones during the middle and late stages of his military career.

Since early 2016, Grimmeburger has been romantically linked to Ambassador Ellie Hendrsunn.