Andreas Støvring
Andreas Støvring | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Delkora | |
| Assumed office 3 March 2014 | |
| Monarch | Haldor VII |
| Chancellor | Adric Azengaard |
| Preceded by | Frans Kjær |
| Leader of National Labor | |
| Assumed office 15 June 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Rolf Steffensen |
| Member of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 1 March 2010 | |
| Constituency | Greater Tybenhoth |
| Mayor of Tybenhoth | |
| In office 1 July 2005 – 1 March 2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andreas Hans Støvring 27 November 1967 Gælingen, Vassengård, Kingdom of Delkora |
| Nationality | Delkoran |
| Political party | National Labor |
| Spouse(s) | Rikke Støvring (m. 1993–Present) |
| Alma mater | University of Norenstal (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Trade unionist Politician |
Andreas Hans Støvring (born 27 November 1967) is a Delkoran politician who currently serves as the minister of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Delkora. Prior to entering the Federal Parliament, he served as president of the Builders and Allied Trades Union from 1999 to 2003, then as mayor of Tybenhoth from 2005 to 2010. He is a member of National Labor.
Early life and education
Støvring was born on 27 November 1967 in Gælingen, a small town in western Vassengård. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Tybenhoth, where his mother worked as a secretary, while his father worked a welder at the Tybenhoth Shipyard.
Both of his parents had become unemployed during the depression of the 1950's and were only been able to find work through the Federal Public Works Commission created by the New Kingdom program. Støvring has reflected that his knowledge of this growing up had a major influence on his political views.
He got involved with National Labor at an early age, becoming an active member of Young Labor while in secondary school and volunteering for the party in the 1980 state elections and the 1983 federal election. In 1982, he became a contributor for New Generation, Young Labor's newsletter.
After completing his secondary education in 1983, Støvring enrolled in trade school and began studying to become an electrician. He completed his apprenticeship in 1986 and became licensed that year.
Trade unionist
Støvring was active in the Tybenhoth chapter of the Builders and Allied Trades Union. He was known to be outspoken at meetings and was often critical of the chapter's president, whom he accused of having a "cozy relationship" with the local business community. In 1989, he was elected a steward and quickly developed a reputation as an aggressive advocate for his co-workers.
In 1991, he helped organize protests against the government of Ulrik Andersen in Tybenhoth after the neoliberal conspiracy came to light.
He ran for president of the his union chapter in 1995, winning by a large margin. In this role, he was known for his promotion of militant strike actions which often brought him into conflict with the union's conservative national leadership. Nonetheless, he had strong backing among his chapter's rank and file.
In 1999, he successfully challenged the incumbent national president of the union, beating him in a surprise upset. As president, he was required to relocated to Norenstal, but preferred to spend most of his time in different chapter offices around the country; he was highly critical of what he called "ivory tower trade union leaders."
He enrolled at the University of Norenstal later that year as a part-time student, going on to complete a degree in economics in 2004.
As national president, Støvring led the union through two major nationwide strikes, one in 2001 over a prevailing wage dispute in Norvia, and the other in 2003 over unsafe working conditions throughout the country. Both strikes resulted in significant concessions for the union, and the resulting media attention helped increase his national profile.
Mayor of Tybenhoth
At the conclusion of his term in 2003, Støvring opted not to run for re-election, wishing to return to Tybenhoth. At the urging of several colleagues, he mounted a successful campaign for mayor in 2005.
As mayor, he set out to curb rampant real estate speculation in the city by passing a law banning big landlords from owning property in the city and expropriating their properties for conversion into public housing. His administration likewise helped facilitate the formation of tenants unions, succeeding in making Tybenhoth the first Delkoran city to have 100% of its renters covered by such unions. Enforcement of the state building code was strengthened during his tenure, and was used to bring fines against negligent landlords.
Støvring led initiatives to convert vacant commercial and industrial properties into cultural spaces and community gardens, in addition to introducing a plan to make the city's downtown more walkable. He succeeded in expanding the city's bus service and secured funding for expanded solar energy development.
His administration responded to swelling class sizes in Tybenhoth's schools by hiring more teachers, constructing three new primary schools, and giving school staff an across the board pay raise. In 2006, Tybenhoth became the first city in Delkora to pass a law banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
Støvring was re-elected in 2008 by a comfortable margin.
Throughout his tenure, he rejected several proposals from major companies seeking tax incentives to locate their corporate offices in the city, and in 2009 introduced a law banning the city from giving publicly-funded incentives to companies that were deemed harmful to the public or that offered low wages.
Federal legislator
Halfway into his second term, Støvring was seen as a rising star within National Labor, leading to speculation that he was considering mounting a leadership challenge against Rolf Steffensen. This was further fueled by his announcement in 2010 that he intended to stand as a candidate for the Federal Parliament in the election that year.
As an MP, Støvring served on the Committee on State and Municipal Government and the Committee on Public Industries. Early on, he established himself as an outspoken critic of Steffensen and other high-ranking moderates, accusing them of being "spineless" and "bourgeois".
In 2012, he broke with party leadership in voting against the National Security Act of 2012. With Steffensen becoming increasingly unpopular as a result of his stance on this and other issues, Støvring launched a leadership challenge against him in 2013, winning in a three-way contest.
In the lead up to the 2014 federal election, he took part in coalition talks with the Liberals and Greens that resulted in Delkora's first federal traffic light coalition after the three parties secured a majority. Støvring was subsequently appointed minister of foreign affairs.