Farhen Brooks
Farhen Brooks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 14th President of Vulkaria | |
| In office July 1st, 2012 – December 16th, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Usari |
| Succeeded by | Lennert Sams Hutten |
| 6th Secretary-General of the C.C.A. | |
| In office April 5th, 1992 – January 1st, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Kjersten van der Haagen |
| Succeeded by | Torbjørn Christensen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Farhen Gins-Alckmin Brooks 8 September 1945 Vulkar, Vulkaria |
| Citizenship | Vulkarian |
| Nationality | Vulkarian |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Education | University of Amstelveen Vulkaria University |
Farhen Brooks (born September 8th, 1945) is a Vulkarian politician and diplomat, who served as the 14th President of Vulkaria from 2012-2022. Before his Presidency, he served in multiple cabinet positions in the Vulkarian government, and also served as the 6th Secretary-General of the Coalition of Crown Albatross from 1992-1996, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002-2006, and the Minister of Trade and Economic Development from 2007-2012. Brooks is usually described by political analysts and supporters as a pro-business centrist, closely associated with the political and financial establishment. Brooks is considered one of the most popular Vulkarian politicians, having been elected to three terms as president and declining to run for a fourth in 2022.
Selected in early 1992 by President Gerod Kenili as the Vulkarian ambassador to the CCA in the wake of the First War in Vulkaria, Brooks was elected to replace Secretary-General Kjersten van der Haagen after she died in a plane crash early into her term. As Secretary-General, Brooks helped navigate the CCA through many ideological and geopolitical changes, notably in the opening stages of the UCSS's eventual collapse. His efforts also focused on humanitarian aid, both for his home nation in post-war recovery, and in international natural disaster relief. After his tenure as Secretary-General, he returned to a traditional ambassador role which, as the Second War in Vulkaria broke out, placed him back in the international spotlight. President Pokia Dirries selected Brooks as Foreign Minister in 2002, and he was instrumental in the writing of the Neboroskiev Accords which ended the fighting.
After the second war, Brooks took on a more domestically fiscal approach to politics and became Minister of Trade and Economic Development under President Benjamin Usari. In November 2011, President Usari's decision to end Vulkaria's membership in EUEEN sparked violent protests in major cities, and Usari was forced out of office by Parliament. Brooks was subsequently chosen as an interim president, and was later elected in a nationwide referendum. Brooks' presidency was largely marked by a series of domestic policies meant to boost Vulkaria's profile, including expansions to the Vulkarian Pass, tax rehauls, and social reforms. A low-level insurgency by fractured LFM networks which began in 2017 culminated in Vulkarian-led, Zamastanian and EUEEN-backed airstrikes and ground campaigns after the 10/18 attacks in Tofino, which largely quelled the situation.