Juan Rodriguez
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Prime Minister Juan Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
 Official Portrait, 2020. | |
| Prime Minister of Indian Empire | |
| Assumed office August 3rd, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Kamma Villadsen |
| Speaker of the Empirian House of Commons | |
| Assumed office August 3rd, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Kamma Villadsen |
| Leader of the Social Democrats | |
| Assumed office August 3rd, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Kamma Villadsen |
| Representative for Saltune Coastal | |
| Assumed office August 1st, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Ramon Martinez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Juan Pablo Rodriguez 14 May 1983 Saltune, Indian Empire |
| Nationality | Empirian |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Spouse | Irene Sancho (m. 2006) |
| Children |
|
| Residence(s) | Saltune, Indian Empire |
| Alma mater | University of Saltune (Political Science) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Prime Minister |
Juan Rodriguez (born 14 May 1983) is an Empirian Politician who has been the Prime Minister of Indian Empire since August 2015. He is the first Hispanic Empirian to become Prime Minister since Lucien Navarro in 1995 and has been leader of the Social Democrats since 2015. He is the youngest Prime Minister in Empirian History.
Rodriguez became an Analyst for House of Commons representative Ramon Martinez after graduating college in 2003, he ran for the Saltune Coastal parliamentary seat upon Martinez's retirement in 2005, and has remained in politics ever since. He did not hold any cabinet position upon the Social Democrats gained majority in 2009. In 2015, he ran for Leader of the Party to replace Kamma Villadsen. Initially considered a longshot, he gained traction after Agricultural Minister Egon Kirk made several controversial remarks at a party leadership debate. Rodriguez won the election with 55% of the vote, and was re-elected as Party leader with 83% of the vote in 2020.
In his first election, the 2017 Empirian Parliamentary Elections, the Social Democrats lost a total of 21 seats but retained a 220-167 majority in the House of Commons, being sworn in for a full four year term as Prime Minister.
Early Life
Juan Rodriguez was born in 1983 in Saltune, Nordøstkyst, Indian Empire, the oldest of two children, to Domingo Rodriguez and Vanessa Palau. He had one younger sister, Ana (b. 1986). The family lived in Saltune. Growing up, Juan was a rather average child, maintaining average grades throughout school. As a child, Juan participated in Football through his primary and secondary school days.
Rodriguez graduated from high school in 1999 with a 3.2 GPA. He then attended the University of Saltune, persuing a degree in Political Science. Here, he met his eventual wife, Irene Sancho, who he married in 2006. Upon graduating in 2003, Rodriguez got a job as a political analyst for Representative Ramon Martinez.
Political Career
Rodriguez first ran for the Saltune Coastal Parliamentary seat in 2005, after the retirement of Ramon Martinez. He handily won the primary election over three other opponents with 67% of the vote, then won the general election by 15 percent, 57.5% to 42.5% in an election that saw the Centrist Party retain a narrow three seat majority in parliament. Rodriguez quickly became known as a consistent and active voice in parliament, with his long speech in opposition to the corporate bailouts of 2008 going viral nationwide.
Rodriguez was re-elected in 2009 with a greatly increased margin of 34 percent, attaining 72% of the vote. As the Social Democrats took the majority in parliament in 2009, the largest majority in Empirian History, Rodriguez was a co-sponsor of a bill began by Representative Hjalte Mørch and sponsored by Prime Minister Kamma Villadsen. During the floor debate, Rodriguez came out as Bisexual and discussed the difficulties of being LGBTQ, and then pivoted to the bill and how it would secure protections for "people like him". This speech received heavily positive reception and the bill was passed along largely partisan lines, 267-119. Rodriguez wrote and passed a bill sponsored with Ella Mouritsen in 2012 that would cause the National Health Service to cover LGBTQ mental health care and surgeries. In 2013, Rodriguez was re-elected with a reduced 29% margin, earning 69.5% of the vote.
Run for Prime Minister
In 2015, Rodriguez ran for Leader of the Social Democrats, after incumbent prime minister Kamma Villadsen announced she would be stepping down and not running for re-election as party leader. His main opponent was Agricultural Minister Egon Kirk of Spjald. Additionally, the race was also entered by Diego Fischer Jr., the son of former Prime Minister Diego Fischer. These members split the vote, and Kirk's controversial remarks at the first leadership debate did not help his position in the race. Ultimately, Rodriguez, a massive underdog, attained 55% of the vote to Fischer's 30% and Kirk's 15%, becoming the 12th Prime Minister of Indian Empire. He became the nation's first LGBTQ prime minister, Youngest prime minister in Empirian History, and became the first Prime Minister from Saltune.