Pierre Voloix
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His Excellency Pierre Voloix | |
|---|---|
 Pierre Voloix, 1949 | |
| 2nd President of the United Provinces | |
| In office 4 May, 1949 – 3 April, 1955 | |
| Prime Minister | Evandro La Barca Raymond Rivière Narciso Mastrogiacomo |
| Preceded by | Lionel Hegan |
| Succeeded by | position abolished |
| 1st Prime Minister of the United Provinces | |
| In office 4 May, 1945 – 3 May, 1949 | |
| President | Lionel Hegan |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Raymond Rivière |
| Mandate Governor of Sainte-Chloé | |
| In office 3 July, 1935 – 4 May, 1945 | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pierre Damien Voloix 21 February 1893 Sessonis, Viceroyalty of the New Aurean |
| Died | 14 April 1955 (aged 62) Port de la Sainte, Sainte-Chloé |
| Nationality | Gaullican (1893-1935) United Provinces (1945-1955) |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Marie Voloix (m. 1915–1924) |
| Children | 1 |
| Profession | Planter, Industrialist |
Pierre Voloix (Born Pierre Damien Voloix, 21 February 1893 – 14 April 1955) was a Chloéois planter, industrialist, and politician who served as 1st Prime Minister from 1945 to 1949 and 2nd President of the United Provinces from 1949 to 1955, as well as the civilian governor of the District of Sainte-Chloé under the Community of Nations mandated Arucian Federation from 1935 to 1945. For nearly two decades, he was a dominant player in Chloéois politics, although his rule of the island was seen as authoritarian and corrupt, and was an instrumental supporter of the project of the United Provinces until its collapse in 1955.
Born into a planter family, he used his family wealth to enter into industrial ventures, building new sugar refineries while also taking control of the railway networks to them. After the Great War, he was appointed as the civilian governor of the Sainte-Chloé district due to his business connexions with Grand Alliance leaders, working together with military forces from Satavia on behalf of Estmere. As the Satavian forces began to take less overall role in the government, Voloix would assume more and more power over the island in the name of "democratisation". Voloix fought with the Catholic Church in Sainte-Chloé because of its influence on society; however, he lacked the force to effectively take measures in seizing land without causing an uprising. He later founded the Democratic Party, a nominally social and market liberal party which in effect was a political machine.
Voloix was a supporter of the idea of the United Provinces, which he believed would allow for greater economic development and integration of the Western Arucian. He was appointed as the first Prime Minister under President Lionel Hegan, and worked to ensure that the Democratic Party had a stranglehold on Chloéois politics. After Hegan retired after his first term, Voloix ran and was elected as President in 1949, although he eventually lost his government majority to the opposition Catholic Labour Party in 1953. With a government hostile to him and demanding either reform or independence, he attempted to stop both. His attempt to block the independence movement caused a constitutional crisis which eventually saw his power humiliated and the bulk of the United Provinces breaking away to form their own countries. He remained as President of the rump state, now limited to Bonaventura, and eventually was forced to resign, bringing the United Provinces to an end. He was subsequently arrested by Chloéois authorities on charges of corruption, although he committed suicide before he could be brought to trial.
Voloix's reputation is largely negative in Sainte-Chloé, perhaps in part due to the dominance of the PCT in post-independence politics. He is remembered negatively for perceived draconian measures, promotion of laïcité, corruption, poor personal life, and causing the constitutional crisis of 1953. Some, however, view him more positively, seeing his as an important figure who brought about much needed reforms but was unable to complete them effectively. Some cite his desire to preserve the United Provinces as an argument either in favour of or against the concept of Arucian unity.
Early Life and Career
Voloix was born in Sessonis on February 21st, 1893, to Emmanuel Voloix and Charlotte Voloix. The Voloix family had been a wealthy mixed-race plantation-owning family in Pays du Sucre, but had lost most of their land in the reforms following the Capois Rebellion in 1865. Voloix's grandfather, also named Pierre, had been a planter who had supported the rebels and as such had been punished. Now the family's wealth had severely dimished, but they were still landowners of moderate means. Voloix was the only son, and had two older sisters- Veronique (born 1887) and Anne (born 1891). At the time he was born, Sainte-Chloé was the principal island of the Viceroyalty of the New Aurean, and was growing and beginning to industrialise.
When Voloix was 6 years old, his father and his sister Anne died due to an illness. These deaths greatly affected him, and also forced a lot of pressure on his mother, who now had to manage the family plantation in the aftermath. Following his father's wishes, he was sent to a boarding school for other Planter's children, a private institution for the wealthy. His mother used more of the family funds to pay for his education, even as the family finances began to struggle. Voloix struggled with his education, but formed connexions with his classmates, and quickly became ingratiated to most of them. What he lack in studies he made up for with effort, and he was well liked by his community. In addition to being quite gregarious, he usually led the social groups he was in, even if he was not the wealthiest; his charisma and leadership was the glue that held a group together.
Making it through his education, he planned on graduating and attending University. However, just on the eve of graduation from College, he received terrible news. His mother was deathly ill, but wished him to stay and finish his education rather than returning. Despite wanting to return home, he stayed the final days to finish his studies and graduate, praying desperately that his mother's health would improve. He rushed home to his mother, only to find out that she had passed hours before he had arrived. This event crushed him, and he said that this day was the day he stopped believing in God and the day he started hating the Solarian Catholic Church. Believing that religion could offer nothing and that human happiness could be achieved through human power, he was determined to forge his own path as a self-made man.
Industrialist
Governor of Sainte-Chloé
Promoting the United Provinces
Prime Minister
President
Constitutional Crisis of 1953
Final Months
Arrest and Death
Personal Life
Voloix's personal life was wracked with problems and turmoils. He lost his father at a young age, forcing him to take on the responsibility of running the family affairs. His relationship with his mother was troubled but stable, and he mostly was left to himself.
Pierre married Marie (Matron) Voloix in 1915. The marriage was not a happy one, as Voloix frequently engaged in extramarital affairs. The poor state of the marriage led to Marie developing depression. The birth of the couple's first child in 1921 began to change things; the couple had a son named Reginald. Reginald's death due to an illness in 1923 only made the previous problems worse. In 1924, Marie committed suicide, leaving Pierre the only remaining member of the family left. He would never remarry.