Lurs Anterbiden
The Most Righteous Laarens 'Lurs' Anterbiden | |
|---|---|
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| President of Vyvland | |
| In office 30 April 1998 – 3 June 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Erik Menjreng |
| Succeeded by | Bernurd Venes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 250px May 27, 1950 Berrycroft, Unolia |
| Died | 250px |
| Resting place | 250px |
| Nationality | Vyvlander |
| Political party | Christian Democratic and Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Katrina Nebwyld (1980-2002) Precedence Obiodoje (2004-) |
| Children | Anna, Gunfre, Roland |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Sarumian University |
| Profession | Journalist |
Laarens "Lurs" Anterbiden (pronounced /ˈläː.ɾents lɐɾʂ ˈan.teɾˌbi.d(ə)n/) was the President of Vyvland from 1998 to 2002, and is currently a journalist and political activist. He also maintained a career as a newspaper editor, for major national publication de Kronikel, for nine years, in addition to the Vludeer Post for two. During his time in the presidency, he reformed the office of President, strengthened relations with Geadland and Nevanmaa through the establishment of the Northern Sea Defence Organisation, and played a diplomatic role in the Unolian Civil War. Anterbiden maintained consistently high approval ratings until a sex scandal in 2002 forced him to be deselected from running for a second term.
Early life
Anterbiden was born in Unolia to two North Vyvlander diplomats stationed there. However, both of his parents came from Syf Wyveld, a small village in western Seerm. He described his early childhood as "unsettled and constantly changing" due to his parents' careers. However, after the Anterbidens' second child, Esmelda, was born with serious autism when Lurs was nine, the family settled in the town of Semons, from which his parents commuted to Vlud. Lurs progressed through school into the Sarumian University in Vlud, where he studied English, graduating in 1971.
Pre-presidency
Anterbiden soon entered a career in journalism, working for the Vludeer Post for twelve years, during which time he became the editor. In 1983, shortly after Vyvlander reunification, Anterbiden gained a position at de Kronikel, then the third most-circulated newspaper in Vyvland. Having quickly progressed through the ranks of the paper, Anterbiden was appointed as its editor in 1988; a position in which he stayed for eight years, retiring in 1996. After retiring from the Post, Anterbiden continued to write a column in the paper, which he often used to criticise the government and policies of Erik Menjreng and Mafjas Skenterby.
Anterbiden had been a longstanding member of the Christian Democratic and Conservative Party, and before that, the North Vyvlander Christian Democrats. However, his membership had never been a particularly active or political one; while he frequently attended party conferences, he neither stood for a seat nor took part in any campaigning efforts. During the widely disapproved presidency of Erik Menjreng in 1997, Anterbiden announced in his de Kronikel column that he would seek to contest the Conservative nomination for the presidency. As the presidential election was called early due to the dissolution of the government, the candidate selection process was hurried in early 1998. Anterbiden's personal campaign was relatively weak until he gained the backing of Prime Ministerial candidate Rikard Fegaad, who was influential within the party.
This thus meant that Anterbiden was selected as the official Conservative candidate for the election, the first round of which was to be held on 23rd April. In the run-up to the election, Anterbiden often trailed in the polls; this was blamed on the unpopularity of his predecessor, who was also Conservative. Anterbiden and Socialist Party candidate Sabine Hulvhartsen both progressed through to the second round of voting on the 30th. Anterbiden won the second round on with 52% of the valid votes cast.
On the evening news on the day of the election, VNB political editor Tomas Sabengen declared vehement support for Anterbiden, which is both contrary to the public broadcaster's rules and contrary to the law on election day, which stipulates that news outlets must give "balanced, moderated and impartial" coverage of the election while polls are open. The declaration prompted calls for a recall election after Anterbiden had won, although this was not enacted upon. Sabengen was fired shortly after the incident.
Presidency
Anterbiden, with ally and friend Fegaad as Prime Minister and a strong majority in Parliament, was able to push through the changes to the Presidency and office of Prime Minister under which the pair had campaigned. Although the system whereby both needed approval for a law to be passed functioned well under the generally cooperative Enrig Dalder, his successor Menjreng was far more abrasive towards the leftwing coalition in power at the time. The changes passed by the government in the autumn of 1998 resulted in the office of Presidency no longer holding veto power over new laws passed, and the office mostly reduced to a ceremonial one; the bill specifically stated that the office of President was legally subordinate to that of the Prime Minister. Thus, Anterbiden's time in office became more settled than his predecessor, and he was generally able to maintain support from a wide range of the population.
One of Anterbiden's main responsibilities as President was dealing with the ongoing Unolian Civil War, in which he explicitly expressed support for the monarchist side. Feeling threatened by the potential of Jahistic rule in Vyvland's immediate vicinity, Anterbiden was influential in the creation of the Northern Sea Defence Organisation (NOSDO) in 2000, a military cooperation pact between Vyvland and neighbours Geadland and Nevanmaa. Although the alliance was not successful in defeating the Unolian rebels and has thus caused significant strains in relations between the two countries, NOSDO remains active to this day, with a greatly expanded membership following the accession of Ghant in 2002 and Vjaarland in 2004. Anterbiden was a strong proponent of Nevanmaa's controversial inclusion in the alliance in the face of significant Geadish opposition from people such as Fredrik Mauritsen, then-Foreign Minister, and Emilia Olbervald. In addition, almost all opposition parties in Vyvland came out against the proposals, in addition to rebellion from within his party among some MPs headed by prominent christian democratic moderate Amelie Overbruj. Especially after the loss of the Unolian Civil War, Anterbiden expressed regret for being so strongly in favour of Nevan entry, elaborating that "through my advocation of Nevanmaa, I've let a racist beast into a flock of tame and civilised lambs."
Scandal and post-presidency
Having received very high approval ratings during his time in office, Anterbiden had been uncontestedly nominated as the Conservative presidential candidate in the 2002 presidential election. However, during an official visit to Kofeiya, Anterbiden was caught up in a sex scandal which came to be known as the Pantyhose scandal. The scandal involved Anterbiden's alleged use of Precedence Obiodoje, a Kofeiyan prostitute, during his trip, who had later flown back to Vyvland and met with Anterbiden on three separate occasions. In the same press conference in which Anterbiden described the allegations as true, he announced that he would no longer be standing for the presidency. Instead, the Conservatives switched their support to independent candidate Bernurd Venes, who was already running with the support of the National Party. Venes later went on to win.
Since leaving office, Anterbiden has continued a career as a political speaker and occasional activist. He married Obiodoje, who had permanently moved to Vyvland, in her Kofeiyan hometown in 2004. Anterbiden planned to stand for election once again in 2006, but left the campaign three weeks before the election due to poor showings in the polls and a lack of support from influential politicians. He has also returned to writing a number of columns for major domestic and international newspapers since leaving office.
