Juan Rodriguez
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 | 3 |
| 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 16.2 percent, 56.3% to 40.1% 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 34.3 percent, attaining 65.5% 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 30.3% margin, earning 63.4% 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.
As Prime Minister
Juan Rodriguez was sworn in as Indian Empire's 12th Prime Minister on August 3rd, 2015, at just 32 years old, the Youngest Prime Minister in Empirian History. He attained the position by winning the 2015 Social Democratic Party Leadership Election to replace the retiring Kamma Villadsen. Upon taking office, Rodriguez worked on securing a bill with Education Minister Hedvig Ibsen to guarantee comprehensive classes on LGBTQ history and denominations. In 2016, Rodriguez assisted in passing a law that increased the minimum wage to 12 krone an hour and increased the ability of unions to negotiate wages with employers. In 2017, Rodriguez was re-elected to his seat by 32.2%. His Party, the Social Democrats, lost 21 seats in Parliament, but retained a 220-167 parliamentary majority, and Rodriguez was sworn in for another term that would continue until the next election in August 2021.
Controversy
Rodriguez has clashed on several instances with American President Donald Trump, calling him "incredibly rude" when negotiating trade with Indian Empire in 2018. Donald Trump is considered to be broadly unpopular in Indian Empire, even though the nation largely relies on the United States and NATO for defense. This is a widely controversial matter within Empirian Politics.
COVID-19 Response
Rodriguez's response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, assisted by Health Minister Ella Mouritsen and Education Minister Hedvig Ibsen, was widely considered controversial amongst the foreign community after the nation established a full lockdown in March 2020 and fully restricted travel into Indian Empire. However, the response has been widely acclaimed as effective, with Indian Empire down to 0 coronavirus cases by June and causing the lockdown to be lifted. This has caused a boost for Rodriguez's party in the 2021 election, which, if they won, would mark the first time an Empirian Party has won four consecutive elections.
Political Positions
Rodriguez is traditionally considered to be "very liberal". Rodriguez strongly supports action to combat climate change and believes that it is caused by human activity. He is also a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights, supporting full protections and medical coverage for members of the LGBTQ community and supporting legislation prohibiting discrimination based on LGBTQ status. Rodriguez is a strong supporter of high speed rail and desires to build a national rail network to improve travel times across Indian Empire. This is a key element of the party's 2021 election platform. Rodriguez opposes the use of coal and nuclear power, citing the dangers of Nuclear Power and the Fukishima incident in Japan in 2011.
Personal Life
Rodriguez has a younger sister, Ana (b. 1983). Rodriguez is Bisexual. He is married to Irene Sancho, an educator, and has been since 2006. They have two sons, Pablo (b. 2008) and Ramon (b. 2014) and one daughter, Irene (b. 2010). The family maintains a residence in a large condo in Saltune, Indian Empire. However, the family lives in Povlsen while parliament is in session.
Electoral History
2005 Parliamentary Election
| Empirian House of Commons, Saltune Coastal Seat, 2005 Election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Social Democratic | 37,163 | 56.3% |
| Xavier Nores | Centrist | 26,469 | 40.1% |
| Paloma Campos | Socialist | 1,452 | 2.2% |
| Lunah Christian | Nativist | 594 | 0.9% |
| Alvaro Gutierrez | Independent | 330 | 0.5% |
2009 Parliamentary Election
| Empirian House of Commons, Saltune Coastal Seat, 2009 Election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Social Democratic | 45,985 | 65.5% |
| Raul Pousa | Centrist | 21,904 | 31.2% |
| Paloma Campos | Socialist | 1,474 | 2.1% |
| Jorn Krog | Conservative | 842 | 1.2% |
2013 Parliamentary Election
| Empirian House of Commons, Saltune Coastal Seat, 2013 Election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Social Democratic | 43,271 | 63.4% |
| Selena Galan | Centrist | 22,591 | 33.1% |
| Lilly Steffenson | Socialist | 1,560 | 2.3% |
| Lucian Lopez | Independent | 819 | 1.2% |
2015 Social Democratic Party Leadership Election
| Social Democratic Party Leadership Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Nordostkyst | 6,095,661 | 55.4% |
| Diego Fischer Jr. | Povlsen | 3,333,908 | 30.3% |
| Egon Kirk | Therkelsen | 1,573,408 | 14.3% |
2017 Parliamentary Election
| Empirian House of Commons Elections, 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Social Democratic | Saltune Coastal | 12,759,060 | 51.2% | 220 |
| Julius Mikkelsen | Centrist | Pallesen Central | 11,670,479 | 46.7% | 167 |
| Naja Ravn | Socialist | Ravn (contesting) | 349,865 | 1.4% | 0 |
| Bertram Schmidt | Conservative | Borreby (contesting) | 174,932 | 0.7% | 0 |
| Empirian House of Commons, Saltune Coastal Seat, 2017 Election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Social Democratic | 45,841 | 65.3% |
| Inhue Pousa | Centrist | 23,236 | 33.1% |
| Carina Alvarado | Socialist | 1,123 | 1.6% |
2020 Social Democratic Party Leadership Election
| Social Democratic Party Leadership Election, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Rodriguez | Nordostkyst | 8,374,701 | 85.8% |
| Solvej Beck | Nordoen | 1,386,033 | 14.2% |