Bernurd Venes
The Most Righteous Bernurd Venes | |
|---|---|
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| President of Vyvland | |
| In office 3 June 2002 – 5 June 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Lurs Anterbiden |
| Succeeded by | Sofia Beket |
| Security Minister of Vyvland | |
| In office 30 April 1998 – 3 June 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Alecaanjre Ypsdal |
| Succeeded by | Tomas Braanuld |
| Member of Parliament for Nevel | |
| In office 10 June 1984 – 3 June 2002 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 250px December 8, 1957 Lorence, Plains |
| Died | 250px |
| Resting place | 250px |
| Nationality | South Vyvlander (1957-1983) Vyvlander (1983-) |
| Political party | National (1981-2002) Independent (2002-) |
| Spouse | Ludwega Haalskester |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | College Royal, Jesel |
Bernurd Venes (pronounced /'be̞ɾ.nɐɾd 've̞ː.nəz/) is a former President of Vyvland, whose term lasted from 2002 to 2006. A traditionalist Southerner, he held office as an independent with support from the Conservative Party and the National Party. Prior to this, he was a member of the Vyvlander Parliament for Nevel province, and from 1998 to 2002 was was the Security Minister in Rikard Fegaad's first and second cabinets.
Early life
Venes was born to two politically moderate civil servants in Lorence, then in South Vyvland, in 1957, shortly after the rise of Erman Sanker to power. He attended Jesel's prestigious College Royal from 1975, studying for a PhD in chemistry. Initially, Venes had few political leanings, but he first became interested when his brother became a victim of the 1981 Lorence attacks, causing him to be permanently disabled. Within a week, Venes had joined up to the ailing Nationalist Movement, then the governing party in the South, and in the summer he finished his university studies a year early to come back to Lorence and campaign. Due to his presence in the capital city, Venes was able to rise relativley quickly in the two years during which he was in the party.
Political career
After Vyvlander reunification, Venes was thus selected as the new National Party (then the New Nationalist Party) for representation in the province of Nevel, a relatively safe seat for the party. Despite his long time holding the seat and influence within his party, Venes was unable to gain any cabinet position, as the party did not form part of any government until after the 1998 general election. Under Rikard Fegaad's 1998-2002 government, Venes was appointed as Security Minister, and was thus responsible for overseeing the armed forces and the VSK. During his time as minister, Venes increased military spending and investment, bringing the total number of armed forces personnel to 88,000 troops, its highest post-reunification level. However, he also described this period as marking a shift in his attitudes towards the small but then-increasing moderate wing of his party, which has since become relatively dominant following the accession of Willem Winkelman to the party's leadership.
Venes was then made the official National Party candidate for the 2002 presidential election, although he was unlikely to advance to the second round due to a long-term drop in the Nationals' support, with the incumbent Conservative President Lurs Anterbiden being viewed as the frontrunner. However, Venes's chances improved markedly with the emergence of the Pantyhose scandal just months before the election, discrediting Anterbiden's candidacy. As the candidate selection deadline had already passed, however, the Conservatives were unable to submit another candidate. Thus, they pledged to endorse Venes for the presidency, provided that he resigned from the National Party and continued his campaign as an independent. Venes held talks with his party, who were generally supportive, about the matter, and promptly resigned from his party.
Venes as President
Venes went on to win the election, beating Liberal candidate Emiliys Boz in the second round. His period in office was relatively successful, partly due to a sympathetic Liberal-Conservative coalition for most of his time in office. During the period, Venes was particularly passionate about Vyvlander integration between the former North and South, having introduced reforms and campaigned for the reopening of various transport links between the two, including the µ180 million project to re-link the historically isolated and relatively poor cities of Byzvild, which he had represented as an MP, and Sebris via a rail tunnel. In supporting these kinds of policies, Venes began to align himself more closely with the Conservatives than with his old party.
Venes's chances of winning the 2006 presidential election, despite his personal popularity, were slimmer. This was due to a massive drop in support for the Conservatives caused by an internal shake-up which lost a significant proportion of their seats in the previous year's parliamentary election and thus made Venes considerably less attractive to voters. This combined with the appointing of a strong moderate Socialist, Sofia Beket, as the left-wing coalition's candidate, in addition to disorganisation on the right. Venes therefore failed by a considerable margin to win the second round, and even seemed unlikely to advance past the first round after a particularly strong showing by independent candidate Pamela Oegelkeper, who also stood on the centre-right. Since then, Venes has retired from politics and published a series of books documenting the final years of South Vyvland.