William Ashton

William Ashton
22nd President of Valentir and Carhaix
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 December 2020
Prime Minister	Gaultier Babineaux
Preceded by	Helene Pauline
Member of the Valentirian Parliament for Harborough—Middleton
In office 4 November 2014 – 1 December 2019
Preceded by	Yves-François Blanchet
Succeeded by	Lionel Gray
Leader of the National Liberal Party
In office 13 July 2015 – 7 September 2017
Deputy	Ashleigh Khanna
Preceded by	Gaëtan Lassalle
Succeeded by	Ashleigh Khanna
Governor of Westcliff
In office 12 February 2008 – 12 February 2014
Deputy	Emelia Mayer
Preceded by	Brendan H. Lodge
Succeeded by	Emelia Mayer
Leader of the National Liberal Party of Westcliff
In office 3 May 2007 – 12 February 2014
Deputy	Emelia Mayer
Preceded by	Brendan H. Lodge
Succeeded by	Emelia Mayer
Member of the Westcliff Legislative Assembly for Harborough—Amber Park
In office 26 March 2005 – 12 February 2014
Preceded by	TBD
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	William Michael Ashton 15 July 1971 (age 48) Amaranthine, Westcliff, Valentir
Nationality	Carhaixian
Political party	National Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Alessia Sorrentino (m. 1993)
Children	4
Residence(s)	Fairfax Estate, Valeins
Profession	Entrepreneur Politician Professor
Education	University of Harborough (BA) Middleton University (MIA)
Parents	Warwick Lionel Ashton (father) Serafina Mazzi (mother)
Relatives	Emelia Mayer (cousin)
Networth	Vƒ 654.8 million (As of 3 March 2021)

William Michael Ashton (born 15 July 1971) is a Valentirian entrepreneur, politician and professor who is currently serving as the 22nd President of Valentir and Carhaix since 5 December 2020. He previously was the leader of the National Liberal Party from 2015-2017. Prior to entering Federal politics he served as the Governor of Westcliff from 2008-2014. Ashton also served in Parliament as MP for Harborough—Middleton from 2014-2019 and as MLP for Harborough—Amber Park from 2005-2014. Ashton is the third-youngest president in Valentirian history and is the son of former Prime Minister Warwick Lionel Ashton, who served from 1964-1967 and 1969-1981.

Ashton was born in Amaranthine, Westcliff. He studied history at the University of Harborough. After graduating in 1993, he worked as an assistant professor at the University of Amaranthine. In 1995 he enrolled at Middleton University, where he studied political science and economics and later completed a master's degree in international relations in 1999. After graduating he began his career as a professor at Middleton. He would also co-found Gardner Aviation with colleague Sylvain Legrand in 2000. He served as COO under the leadership of Legrand until 2005. The company began as an aerospace manufacturer and has expanded to encompass space transportation services and renewable energy development. He resigned to run in the 2005 Harborough—Amber Park by-election as a candidate for the National Liberal Party of Westcliff, flipping the seat and representing the party's first win in the Harborough area.

Ashton submitted himself as a candidate in the 2007 National Liberal Party of Westcliff leadership election, narrowly defeating runner-up Ashleigh Khanna on the third ballot with 51.3% of points allocated. He led his party to victory during the 2008 legislative elections, delivering the National Liberals their first majority in a provincial legislature. He received national attention throughout his tenure for his landmark reforms, including the Electoral Redistricting and Reform Act of 2009, Propositions to the People Act (commonly referred to as PPA) and Decriminalization of Cannabis Act. In February 2014 Ashton resigned as Governor of Westcliff, leader of the Westcliff NLP and as a representative for Harborough—Amber Park in order to run and fill the vacancy of the federal seat of Harborough—Middleton. He would win the 2015 National Liberal Party leadership election a year later, becoming the leader of the federal branch of the party. In 2019 Ashton resigned as an MP and filed to run in the 2020 Valentirian presidential election, where he would go on to win the second round with 65.4% of the popular vote, the largest margin won by a candidate since President Augustin Vaillant in 1968.