Alexander Pompilius

The Most Admirable Alexander Pompilius CI
Consul of the Latin Empire
In office 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021 Serving with Constantine XX Claudius
Monarch	Diana I Anicia Jacobus VI Claudius Constantine XX Claudius
Preceded by	TBD Theodosius Rasinius
Succeeded by	Florian Claudius Valentia Verrucosa
In office 1 January 2016 – 15 November 2016 Serving with Jacobus VI Claudius
Monarch	Diana I Anicia Jacobus VI Claudius Constantine XX Claudius
Preceded by	Constantine XX Claudius Theodorus Stilcho
Succeeded by	Constantine XX Claudius
Praeses Senatus
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 January 2016
Monarch	Diana I Anicia Jacobus VI Claudius Constantine XX Claudius
Deputy	Antonia Trania
Preceded by	Maria Tarpeia
Senatorial Leader of the Optimates
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 March 2014
Preceded by	Theodosius Fulvio
Primicerius for Foreign Affairs
In office 6 April 2004 – 12 December 2006
Monarch	Jacobus VI Claudius
Consul	Justin Seius
Preceded by	Constantine Gualterus
Succeeded by	Jordan Clementus
Subpraetor for Energy
In office 3 August 1997 – 12 March 1998
Monarch	Diana I Anicia Jacobus VI Claudius
Preceded by	Adrian Digitius
Succeeded by	Flavia Ennia
Senator of Latium
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 September 1988
Personal details
Born	Alexander Pompilius Cicero Felix (1958-11-02) 2 November 1958 Arba, Latium
Political party	Optimates
Other political affiliations	Omnes (until 2003)
Spouse	Sophia Tullia (m. 1986)
Children	1
Alma mater	Imperial College, Ascanium (PPE) College of Legal Studies, Castellum (LD)
Profession	Lawyer

Alexander Pompilius (Alexander Pompilius Cicero Felix; born 2 November 1958) is a Latin politician currently serving as Praeses Senatus. He was first joined the Latin Senate in 1988, and has been the leader of the Optimates Senate faction since 2016. He previously served as Foreign Primicerius.

Pompilius was raised in the rural community of Arba in the province of Samarobriva. His father was an apple farmer, though the family lived in near poverty throughout Alexander's childhood. He first attended primary school at the age of ten after the death of his father. He went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Imperial College at the University of Ascanium graduating in 1982 with honors. He was described as a very astute, bright and one of most capable students, by many of his professors. He went onto complete a year long post-graduate law degree at the College of Legal Studies at the University of Castellum Iohannes XIII, becoming a clerk for the Senate Judicial Appellate Committee following his graduation.

He first ran for Senate in 1985, though would fail to win a seat. In 1986, he became a special advisor to Omnes leader Jordan Duronius. He held the position until 1988 when he was added to the party list to fill a vacancy for Omnes. He earned his first position in the magisterial role as Praetor for Energy, serving under Praetor Jordana Lucceia, a post he held until the 1997 and his appointment to the vacant Primicerius for Business and Energy. Pompilius was appointed Foreign Praetor from 2004 to 2006.

Pompilius was nominated for Praeses Senatus in 2015 following the senatorial election, and was subsequently appointed to the role in January 2016 following the 2015 senatorial election. He served as consul in 2016 and 2021.

Early Life and Education

Pompilius was born in the small rural village of Arba, Samarobriva to parents Michael and Christina. Little is known of his family, other than his father was a farmer and Alexander grew up in poverty. Pompilius has stated that his family name was selected by his father, who prior to the Social War had not utilized a surname. In a 2014 interview, Pompilius said that his father had selected "Pompilius" for the former lords of the area because it was the only family name he knew. He has stated that his mother is of Hellenic descent, and his father is assumed to be of Latin descent.

According to interviews, Pompilius did not attend formal school until age 10. Prior to enrolling in school his mother taught him to read. He is said to have excelled in the classroom once he began attending following the death of his father in 1969. He was accepted into St. Paul Preparatory Secondary School in 1973, however he was forced to turn down schooling due to cost. School records show that he was later admitted to St. Paul's after receiving a scholarship from local nobleman Flavius Telesinus; he would graduate from St. Paul's in 1977. He graduated with A level grades.

He attended Imperial College at the University of Ascanium for university. During his time at Ascanium, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics and participated in countless student organizations, and was president of the school's student government. He was described as "one of the quickest and most able students" by his tutor Flavius Caepasi. He graduated from Ascanium in 1981, where he soon enrolled at University of Castellum Iohannes XIII College of Legal Studies without taking a gap year. He graduated from the College of Legal Studies in 1982. He served as a clerk and aid to the Senate Judicial Appellate Committee from 1984 until he resigned in August 1985 to run for Senate.

Early Political Career

During his schooling at Ascanium, Pompilius worked on as campaign manager for Thomas Fufidius's senatorial by-election campaign. Reportedly his grades suffered during this time period, and even faced reprimand from the school. Fufidius went on to win his seat. He first affiliated with Omnes as in 1984. After completing his law degree, Pompilius was recommended for a clerkship within the Curiate Assembly's Judicial Division, which allowed him to remain in Castellum for the next two years.

First elections

Pompilius made his first bid for elected office during the 1985 senatorial election, though failed to gain a position on the party list.

Pompilius was later urged by county political leaders to run for Samarobriva provincial council, though he refused. He was later appointed special advisor to newly elected Omnes leader and Senate Minority Leader, Jordan Duronius. Pompilius mainly advised Duronius on matters relating to party policy on healthcare and senatorial procedure. He worked in this capacity until the resignation of Omnes Senator Sebastianus Costinius in June 1988.

Pompilius was asked by Duronius to fill the vacant seat in 1988. Leaked internal party emails later demonstrated that Pompilius gaining the seat was due to his personal friendship with Duronius, and lobbying by his father-in-law Michael Tullius, who was a major faction supporter.

Senate Career

Pompilius' first term in the Senate was relatively quiet, though he occasionally sat in on cabinet meetings at the request of party leader Duronius. The 1990 election was the first in over 30 years that saw the Omnes win a majority. As an incoming Senator, Pompilius earned a seat on the Senatorial Rules Committee, as well as a surprise placement on the Appropriations Committee. Although he co-sponsored legislation during his first term, he did not directly propose any.

Pompilius was named Minister of State for Energy, working directly under Praetor for Business and Energy Jordana Lucceia following the 1995 election. He attended a number of cabinet meetings whenever the Energy Praetor was absent, which was often. He was said to have quickly gained the respect of future faction leader Justin Seius. Pompilius was appointed Praetor for Business and Energy in August 1997.

During his early tenure as a backbencher and later cabinet minister, Pompilius proposed and drafted many bills. Most notably the Education Responsibility and Reform Act of 1998 and a number of bills regarding energy reform and the move away from non-renewable fuel sources. The latter that has been met with skepticism among his fellow senators and required a bipartisan effort.

He remained in the senate as a backbencher from 200 until 2014. During this time he stated in a 2016 interview that "after I was removed from the spokesperson front bench...[and] relegated to the backbench, I wasn't quite sure my heart was in it anymore. It was for those reasons that I was unsure whether I would stand for re-election in 2015."

Senate Leadership

Foreign Praetor

In October 2004, the Optimates was hit with a number of high profile resignations and failed appointments, including the failure to gain Imperial approval for their original Foreign Praetor candidate, Anastasius Iccius. Pompilius was soon appointed to the office by Jacobus VI Claudius.

Pompilius speaking at the Omnes caucus convention after being appointed Foreign Praetor in 2015.

Pompilius was integral in passing the State and Provincial Investment Act pass through the Senate.

Praeses Senatus

First term

Pompilius was quick to act as praeses senatus, calling for an emergency vote for the repeal of the 2006 XXXX Reform Act on his first day in office. In what many pundits called controversial and disruptive, Pompilius ordered Senate police to escort all non-Senators out of the chambers, though some members of the opposition claimed that even they were escorted out of the chamber. Populares leader TBD attempted a filibuster of the vote and then attempted to lose quorum, both of which ultimately failed. "If Pompilius’s first moments as praeses are a glimpse of what’s to come, I fear for the future of the Latin people," TBD told members of the press in interviews and on social media following the vote. While the measure passed, imperial assent was not granted.

However controversial his first act was, many praised his attempts to make Latium more energy independent following his passage of the Energy Act (2020), which will see further investments into renewable energy, including but not limited to solar, wind and nuclear power. Pompilius' term has also seen a weakening of his predecessor's hard-line stance against certain social issues, though he has not said whether there would seek to repeal of any of the Morality Acts.

By the end of December 2017, Flavius Telesinus, a close associate and former mentor of Pompilius was arrested on charges of corruption and relation to organized crime including the Cucci crime family. Pompilius denied that a friendship existed, and that "Lord Telesinus was not as a mentor or friendship, but of one-time charity. The contact between the praeses senatus and Telesinus after this one-time charitable donation never went beyond the exchange of polite formalities on the rare occasion." Pompilius saw his favorability numbers dip below 50% for the first time since taking the office in 2016. A week later, Pompilius was accused of attempting to influence the Frumentarii investigation into Telesinus, with Housing and Local Government Praetor Andronicus Collius and Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice Gregorius Carisius taking the accusations public – both later resigned their ministries. Members of opposing senate factions have called for Pompilius to resign over the accusations, though he has since refused and has offered to undergo an ethics investigation.

Policies and views

Pompilius is often described as a one-nation conservative by those both within and outside of his party.

On occasion he is also described as a "liberal conservative," stemming from his statements that he did not agree with Omnes leadership after the resignation of Justin Seius in 1998, saying that "The faction took a hard turn to the far-left with [Sablones], [Saunio], and [Caeparius]'s leadership." Pompilius' standing in the party diminished in that period until the leadership of Farsuleius, which he says were it "not for the continual changes in policy" and relatively unstable leadership prior to, "Farsuleius would have taken the Senate." Since his first cabinet appointment, Pompilius has been noted for his pragmatism with an unnamed senator stating that "[he's] not a deeply ideological person."

Social policies

Pompilius's views polices generally mirror those of the Optimates. He has stated he supports the current state policy that makes abortion illegal, similarly supporting the ban on same-sex marriage. He has said little in the way of his opinion on forced or arranged marriages, which remain common among certain classes in Latium.

Pompilius has differed from the faction on the recent faction lean in favor of privatizing the Imperial Health Service. He stated his own personal experience as the sole factor for his stance, claiming that prior to its passage, his family had no form of health insurance. "Had the [service] existed when I was a child, perhaps my father wouldn't have passed away when I was so young...and you don't really know how much you're going to need something of that significance until it affects a member of your own family" Pompilius said in an interview with Aeterna magazine in 2014. He has often voted against measures from his own party that have attempted to defund or privatize the healthcare system. Pompilius has likewise called attempts to defund or privatize the national health system "frivolous" and "foolhardy" due to the major support of the system by the emperor. While he supports the SMH, he has said that there are still ways to reform the system, most notably by "streamlining...and [making it] more cost effective."

For all his support of the nationalized healthcare, Pompilius has sought to reduce the level of welfare available, arguing for placing limits in their payments. He has proposed the introduction of tougher medical tests, while requiring drug testing for all potential participants, along with requiring those receiving welfare to join return to work programs. He has stated that it is a goal of his term to reduce the poverty level.

In education, Pompilius has vowed to ensure that there is a solution to debt crisis and proposed a nation-wide cap on post-secondary tuition costs. He does not support deprivatization of the national school system, stating that "what works in some communities in Adrianople may not work in Leonopolis" and "in areas where there are not functioning private [or boarding schools], the government has filled the gaps."

Foreign policy

Early in his term, Pompilius and his Optimates majority refused to comment on the creation of the Forum of Nations Human Rights Committee. After a brief outcry from more liberal members of his own party, the opposition and even business leaders, Pompilius eventually allowed for debate of the Human Rights Committee, but did not allow a vote to offer non-binding support for the resolution.

In interviews, he has stated an unwillingness to become involved in inserting Latium into humanitarian crises which "do not directly impact Latin interests or [] allies."

Pompilius holds no public opinion on the Yarden Accords between Sydalon and Yisrael, but has denounced the escalation between Sydalon and Yisrael since the 2023 Sydalene-Yisraeli political crisis.

Personal Life

Pompilus married Sophia Tullia in 1986. They first met in 1984 after being introduced by a mutual colleague, Philippa Chryselios, following a speech given by Pompilius at the City College of Alba chapter of the Omnes-aligned student group. At the time, Pompilius was a law student at Castellum's College of Legal studies, whereas Sophia was a first year undergraduate student at Castellum's City College of Alba. The two continued to see one another through 1984 and later during Pompilius' failed Senate bid in 1985. Alexander and Sophia would later marry in 1986 when Pompilius was working in the offices of Party leadership. Their wedding was held at Sophia's familial estate in Elusion. They did not have any children until later in Pompilius' Senate career, with the birth of their only child, Anna, coming in 1998.

Pompilius's official residence is 20 Via Julia in Castellum, though he maintains private residences in Elúsion, Anavio and Castellum.

See also

• List of praesides senatus