Werner Sudermann

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Werner Sudermann
Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley by William Lawrence.jpg
Sudermann photographed in 1892
1st President of Vonzumier
In office
9 November 1868 – 13 September 1890
ChancellorDietrich von Werden (1872–1890)
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byDietrich von Werden
Commander-in-Chief of the Vonzumier National Army
In office
18 November 1867 – 25 October 1872
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born
Werner Andreas Oliver Sudermann

(1825-05-11)11 May 1825
Lisshel, Vierz Vonzumier
Died1 December 1896(1896-12-01) (aged 71)
Tippelow, Vonzumier
Political partyIndependent
Military service
Allegiance Vierz Empire
 Vonzumier
Branch/serviceImperial Vierz Army (1845–1867)
Vonzumier National Army (1867–1872)
Years of service1845–1872
RankGeneraloberst
CommandsEastern Vonzumier Colonial Regiment
Vonzumier National Army
Battles/warsVonzumierian War of Independence

Werner Andreas Oliver Sudermann (11 May 1825 – 1 December 1896) was a Vonzumierian statesman and military officer who served as the first President of Vonzumier from 1868 to 1890. Sudermann also served as the commander-in-chief of the Vonzumier National Army, which battled Vierz forces during the Vonzumierian War of Independence to secure the country's sovereignty.

Born in 1825 in Lisshel in Vierz colonial Vonzumier, Sudermann's family came from upper-middle class merchant origins. He joined the Imperial Vierz Army in 1845 and underwent officer training, later rising to become leader of the Eastern Vonzumier Colonial Regiment. A classical liberal, Sudermann sympathized with growing anti-imperial sentiment in the colony. In 1867, he was ordered by Vierz emperor Victor I to suppress anti-imperial unrest; he refused, instead resigning his military post. He evaded arrest and was appointed commander-in-chief of the Vonzumier National Army after the colony's unilateral declaration of independence in November 1867. He was elected president of Vonzumier in 1868, and presided over the military and political affairs of Vonzumier's war of independence until their victory in 1871.

As president, Sudermann pursued policies of small government; he ended slavery, introduced a semi-presidential system, reduced the size of the bureaucracy and military, and maintained neutrality in foreign affairs. His term was largely marked by steady but slow economic growth and positive relations with Western Patyrian states, while relations with Vierzland remained cold. He often clashed with his chancellor, Dietrich von Werden, a political icon of the revolution who desired a more conservative policy path. Sudermann finished his fourth five-year term in 1890 amid ailing health and declining popularity and was succeeded by Von Werden. He retired to Tippelow, where he wrote memoirs about his military campaigns until his death in 1896. Sudermann was posthumously awarded the title of "Father of the Nation" in 1900. He remains the longest-serving Vonzumierian president and is universally considered by historians, foreign dignitaries, and the public to be the greatest leader in the country's history.