Damien Vendorme
Damien Vendorme | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Assembly Delegate | |
| Assumed office January 6, 2010 Serving with Isabelle Jacquin | |
| Preceded by | Isabelle Jacquin |
| Constituency | Therese Province |
| Assembly of Commons Representative | |
| In office January 6, 2004 – September 31, 2010 | |
| Parliamentary group | Laeralian People's Party |
| Mayor of Jinyu | |
| In office May 1, 1998 – August 30, 2004 | |
| Deputy | Antoine Cottin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 11, 1963 Jinyu, Therese, Laeral |
| Nationality | Laeralian |
| Political party | Laeralian People's Party |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Spouse | Jia-ling Vendorme |
| Children | Maeva Vendorme, Quentin Vendorme |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | University of Laeralsford |
| Occupation | Attorney, Politician |
Damien Vendorme (born October 11th, 1963) is a Laeralian politician and currently a Delegate in the General Assembly and Laeralian People's Party candidate for President of Laeral. Vendorme currently represents Therese province as the senior Delegate, following his service as Representative to the Assembly of Commons, Mayor of Jinyu, and other positions.
Early Life and Education
Born to Arrivee (white Laeralian) parents in the city of Jinyu in 1963, Damien Vendorme attended a series of Catholic schools for his education, where he excelled at debate. Vendorme was accepted to the prestigious University of Laeralsford, where he was educated as an attorney. As captain of the debate team, Vendorme led the University of Laeralsford to victory in the Laeralian Debating Championships of 1986.
Early Career
After graduating from college, Vendorme gained a position at the Therese-based legal firm Wu & Qiu, where he had interned during college. Vendorme focused on government/political law, working as a legal consultant for several right-wing political campaigns. Achieving a leading position in the firm, he was hired as a prosecution attorney in the nepotism case Citizens for Cleaner Governance v. Municipality of Jinyu, where he won the case, forcing the Municipality of Jinyu to discard numerous public contracts which had been signed with corporations run by relatives of the incumbent mayor. In 1989, Vendorme was appointed as Chief Prosecutor for Jinyu Municipality. As Chief Prosecutor, Vendorme was noted for his increase in the Municipality's conviction rate and for his support for retaining capital punishment, which was abolished nationwide in 1997.
Chief Prosecutor for Therese Province
In 1992, Vendorme was appointed as Chief Prosecutor for Therese province, responsible for conducting the province's legal affairs. Vendorme gained an unusually high national profile, culminating in the 1997 case Fontaine v. Therese. This case, which was appealed all the way to the National High Court, regarded a Therese province law allowing businesses to reject employees due to homosexual status. Despite spirited opposition by civil liberties and LGBT activism groups, Vendorme won the case in a narrow decision. Following the case, Vendorme spent time on the national conservative speaking circuit, appearing before distinguished right-wing groups such as the Laeralian Heritage Union.
Mayor of Jinyu
In 1997, newly elected Progressive First Minister Florian Durand replaced Vendorme. Undeterred, Vendorme turned his sights to the upcoming election for Mayor of Jinyu Municipality. He won narrowly, campaigning on a platform of preventing crime in the city. As Mayor, he appointed a new police commissioner and expanded the municipal police complement.
National Assembly
Vendorme was elected to the Assembly of Commons in 2004, where he quickly became known for his confrontational style, which often put him at odds with party leadership. For instance, Vendorme brought the wife of a slain police officer onto the Commons floor during a 2007 debate on a crime bill. Although Vendorme's name was put into consideration for the position of Housing and Urban Affairs Minister during the 2006-2010 period of People's Party governance, party leaders denied him this position. In 2010, amid attempts by party leadership to remove Vendorme from the LPP list for the Assembly of Commons, Vendorme announced his decision to run for the General Assembly. In 2010, Vendorme was elected to the General Assembly from Therese. There, Vendorme was described as having an abrasive personality, becoming known as 'the most hated man in the General Assembly'. He was reelected in 2016.
Presidential Campaign
Vendorme launched his bid for the People's Party nomination for the presidency in 2017, where he was initially considered a dark horse candidate. Vendorme ultimately won the nomination, and went on to win the most votes of any candidate in the first round of the presidential election but lacking a plurality (28% of votes). He was defeated in the second round by Liu Mei-han, with 46% of the nationwide vote.
Personal Life
Vendorme married Hou Jia-ling, a television news host, in 1991. They have two adult children, Maeva and Quentin.