Gary Biyende

The Right Honourable Gary Biyende
Prime Minister of Scalizagasti
In office 6 February 2008 – 22 August 2016
President	Harry Mipholis Paul Kruig
Preceded by	Samson Rock
Succeeded by	Sarah Millard
Deputy Prime Minister
In office 7 May 2005 – 6 February 2008
Prime Minister	Samson Rock
Preceded by	Samson Rock
Succeeded by	Samson Rock
Minister of Culture and Sports
In office 7 May 2005 – 22 August 2016
Prime Minister	Samson Rock Himself
Preceded by	Bob White
Succeeded by	Laura Hannasuya
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 7 May 2005 – 6 February 2008
Prime Minister	Samson Rock
Leader of the New Scalizagasti Party
In office 11 February 2005 – 16 September 2018
Preceded by	Party created
Succeeded by	Les Erlosto
Member of Parliament
In office 12 October 2003 – 22 August 2020
Constituency	Jurein North
Personal details
Born	(1956-04-29) 29 April 1956
Political party	National Party of Scalizagasti (Before 2000) Liberal-Conservative Alliance (2000-2004) New Scalizagasti Party (2004-present)
Children	2

Gary Biyende (born 29 April 1956) is a Scalizagastian politician who served as Prime Minister of Scalizagasti from 6 February 2008 to 22 August 2016. He was the founder of the New Scalizagasti Party which he lead for over a decade, from 2005 to 2018. He was first elected as an Alliance MP for Jurein North in 2003, winning re-election five times until he chose not to run again in the 2020 Scalizagastian federal election. After the 2005 election he formed a coalition government with Alliance leader Samson Rock before forcing an early election in 2008 to take advantage of a surge of support for the NSP.

Entrance into Parliament

Formation of the New Scalizagasti Party

On 11 February 2005, Biyende led a caucus revolt of 49 Alliance MPs after the RRP-LCA government voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Mostly supporters of the old National Party, the group created a new party to espouse right-wing and social conservative values which they believed to be abandoned under Rock's leadership. Their New Scalizagasti Party quickly established a three-point manifesto calling for respect towards traditional Scalizagastian values, a reduction in the income tax, and investments into the military. They would later be joined by eight MPs from the Patriotic Defense Movement, for a total of 57 MPs without yet contesting an election. Although the party would suddenly become the fourth-largest in Parliament, the grand coalition still commanded a hefty 43 seat majority, meaning the NSP had little actual influence.

In its early days, the NSP suffered from low support and Biyende had little name recognition among the general public. This was compounded by their 2005 manifesto, which some analysts described as "painfully vague while remaining irrelevant to ordinary people." This would quickly change after a snap election was called in April. Because the LCA was leading the RRP in polls, Rock pulled out of the grand coalition and called a vote of no confidence in the now-minority government. Although Social Democratic Party of ScalizagastiSDP leader Max Sormann said his party would support the government, Prime Minister Russel Balfour did not want to rely on a party seen as corrupt, calling a snap election one week before the no-confidence vote would occur. Rock's gamble would backfire, as Biyende seized the opportunity to engage with the public during media events and debates, raising his national profile. As a result of Biyende's skillful campaigning, the NSP would place third with 15% of the vote, forever entering the notice of Scalizagastian voters.