Geordinia

Kingdom of Geordinia Geordinia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Fra fjell til sjø" (from mountain to sea)
Anthem: God Save the King
Map of the States of Geordinia in Anteria
Capital	Portland
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	English, Geordinian
Demonym(s)	Geordinian
Government
• Monarch	Aleksandr IV
• Crown Princess	Victoria
• Statsminister	Harald Stordahl
• Senate President	Carla Ordene
• Lord Chief Justice	Earl of Gjerland
Constitutional Monarchy
• Unification	14th November 1241
Population
• Estimate	61,521,316
• 2017 census	61,419,215
HDI	0.914 very high
Currency	Krona (K)
Time zone	GMT (Geordinia Mean Time)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left

The Kingdom of Geordinia (jaw-din-ee-ya) commonly called Geordinia, is a Constitutional Monarchy located in Anteria. Geordinia shares a land border with Vaxicor to the South-West, The Step Forward to the South and the Soyedinennyye Russatrova Respubliki to the North. The Kingdom of Geordinia, comprising of a population of approximately 61.5 million, consists of 20 provinces and the capital territory which houses the capital, and largest city, Portland.

The Kingdom of Geordinia was founded in 1241 when the twenty provinces of modern day Geordinia, then numbering just 15 Kingdoms, joined together. The unification of the then fifteen kingdoms was a result of a series of unions between the nations which began in the late 12th century. In 1178, the union of Crowns between the Kingdom of Algrand and the Kingdom of Trovjord marked the beginning of the series of unions, now called the Years of Union. After this marital union, many more occured between the crowns of the fifteen kingdoms. On 14th November, 1241, the unified kingdoms passed a new constitution which established the Kingdom of Geordinia. Since its founding, the relationships between the now twenty provinces has evolved a great deal.

Geordinia is a Constitutional Monarchy with a federal system of government. The current Head of State is King Aleksandr IV. All of the provinces have an identical provincial government. Each province has a ceremonial office holder, called a Grand Duke, who performs ceremonial and official duties for the Monarch. The provinces also each have a unicameral parliament called the Riksdag which consists of directly elected members called Members of the Riksdag (MKs), and each have a small executive government led by a First Minister. The Federal (often referred to as the national) Government has a few unique differences. Both the Statsminister, the leader of the federal government, is appointed by the Monarch and leads the largest party in the House of Representatives; the lower house of the Storting. Similarly, the First Ministers are appointed the same way but by the Grand Duke rather than the Monarch. In 2012 there was a referendum to change the way the Statsminister is elected to a direct election, however, the referendum failed with 68% against the changes. The federal legislature, the Storting, is also bicameral, with the Upper House being the Senate. The Senate consists of 100 appointed peers of the realm who are appointed by the Monarch.

Geordinia is currently a member of the Anteria Capitalist League, which it joined in 2019 and, since 2020, the South Anterian Defense Alliance of which it is a founding member.

Etymology

The name Geordinia is derived from the historical name for the land that is now Geordinia. The land was, before 1241, named Jordinia which means land of earth and snow in the ancient language of Calayan, the native tongue of Geordinia. Over time, Geordinian and English became the main languages of the six countries that inhabited what is now Geordinia and so the name Jordinia slowly changed to Geordinia, due to the increased size of the english speaking population.

In 1241, when the six nations officialy unified under a new constitution to be a new nation, it was decided that the new nation would take the name of the land that it was situated on, and so the name Geordinia was used as the Calayan language was then considered to be ancient as it was no longer spoken or written.

The correct term for a citizen of Geordinia is a "Geordinian".

History

The Kingdom of Geordinia was founded in 1241 when the twenty provinces of modern day Geordinia, then just numbering 15 Kingdoms, duchies and principalities, joined together. The unification of the fifteen realms was a result of a series of unions between the nations which began in the late 12th century. In 1178, the union of Crowns between the Kingdom of Algrand and the Kingdom of Trovjord marked the beginning of the series of unions, now called the Years of Union. The Union involved the marriage between Queen Silvia of Algrand and King Edmund of Trovjord. The unified kingdom was given the name of the United Kingdoms of Algrand and Trovjord, commonly referred to as 'the Two Crowns'. Five years later, in 1183, their eldest son, Edvaard Christensen, ascended to the two throne and in 1184 married Crown Princess Kathrine of Staulland. Upon the Crown Princess's ascension to her throne in Staulland in 1192, the two Kingdoms began the process of unification and in 1200 the two nations were joined together in a political union forming the United Kingdoms of Algrand, Trovjord and Staulland. In 1201, the name of the now unified nation was changed to Corelia and so the Kingdom of Corelia was born. In 1221, King Wilhelm I of Corelia was named as the heir to the Kingdom of Baulvang by their Queen, Queen Cassandra II. In 1225, Queen Cassandra II died and Wilhelm I became King of Baulvang. Following in the footsteps of his successors, Wilhelm began the process of unifying his two Kingdoms into one and in 1227 the process was complete. Rokberg and Alderland, the remaining realms feared being conquered by Corelia and so in 1230, King Gustaf of Rokberg and King Halvard of Alderland had their heirs marry one another, thus ensuring a union between Rokberg and Alderland. The two Kings also made it possible so that upon one of their death's, the other would abdicate and the two nations would unify. So, in 1236, upon the death of King Gustaf, King Halvard abdicated and their children, Clarissa and Sebastien, became the joint Monarchs of Alderland and Rokberg. However, the two died at sea in 1239 on their way to one of their castles located on an island off the coast of Rokberg. Clarissa and Sebastien died with no children and so an ascension crisis ensued for a year, after which the King's Council of Rokberg and Alderland named King Wilhelm II of Corelia, the son of Wilhelm I, King of Rokberg and Alderland. In 1241, Rockberg and Alderland were adopted into Corelia and a Constitutional Convention was held in which a new constitution was formed and the new nation of Vinalea. After a series of wars as well as marital unions, all remaining realms fell under the banner of Vinalea and another Constitutional Convention was held in which yet another constitution was formed resulting in the formation of the Kingdom of Geordinia.

Politics and Government

King Aleksandr IV
Monarch

Harald Stordahl
Statsminister

Politics in Geordinia operates under a framework laid out in the Constitution of Geordinia. First written in 1241 and later ammended in 1283, 1331, 1892 and 1973, it establishes a sovereign state in the form of a Constitutional Monarchy with a federal system and representative parliamentary system. The Monarch is the Head of State with a Statsminister being the Head of Government. The Monarch is officially the head of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Government but various officials, set out in the Constitution, act in his or her place. The Monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and their person is sacrosanct. Hereditary monarch King Aleksandr IV has been head of state since 19 December 2015.

Political Divisions

Labelled map of the Provinces

Map showing which provincial executives are held by which party

The Kingdom of Geordinia is a federal kingdom made up of 20 provinces which each have their own government. The provinces each have their own legislature (Riksdag), executive and judicial branches of government but there are some differences. Each province has a ceremonial figurehead who represents the Monarch and they are called the Grand Duke. Grand Dukes are hereditary positions with trace routes back to the early nations that made up what is now Geordinia.

Provincial Executives

The executive provincial governments consist of a First Minister and their Cabinets. The First Minister is the leader of the largest party or coalition in the provincial Riksdag (legislature). The First Minister nominates individuals, to fill posts within their cabinet, to the Grand Duke. Elections for the First Minister are held every 3 years in April.

Although nationally there are only two major parties (Conservatives and SDP), at the provincial level smaller parties have more influence and voter support due to smaller districts allowing for smaller parties to get larger shares of the vote. As such, there are typically five major political parties at the provincial level: Conservative (blue), SDP (red), Liberal (orange), Greens (green) and Justice & Law (grey). The liberal party only campaigns in Trovjord, Staulland and Algrand and the Green Party only campaigns in North Alderland, South Alderland and Midland. The Justice and Law Party only campaigns Skyllaria and the Vjanaheim Islands but they currently do not control any of the executive or legislative governments there.

The provincial governments are tasked with:

• maintaining law and order in the province
• promoting trade intra and inter provincially
• enacting policies which affect the state that aren't otherwise under the jurisdiction of the federal government
• maintaining a provincial guard which can be used in times of emergency to ensure the security of the province

Provincial Legislatures

Legislatures in the provinces are called the Riksdag and are tasked with legislating for matters that have been specifically outlined for Riksdags to deal with compared to the federal Storting in the constitution. Riksdags may also legislate for anything not prescribed by federal law to be under the jurisdiction of the federal Storting or federal government.

Riksdag members are called Members of the Riksdag (MKs) and they elect from within their own a Speaker of the Riksdag who chairs over sessions of the Riksdag. Elections for the Riksdag are held every 3 years in April. Each term of the Riksdag is split into three sessions which each last a year and begin in May. The sessions of the Riksdag are opened by the Grand Duke or Duchess of the Province. In October each year, the First Minister of the Province will deliver a State of the Province address to the entire Riksdag to report on how the province is doing and their plans for the coming months.
Provincial Judiciaries

The Provincial Supreme Court is the third highest judicial body in the country, following the Privy Council and Federal Supreme Court. After this you have the City/District Courts and County Courts. The Provincial Supreme Court is made up of 8 Associate Justices and 1 Lord Chief Justice. The Justices are nominated by the First Minister, upon a vacancy, to the Grand Duke or Duchess who may either approve or reject the nomination. If a Grand Duke rejects the nomination, the First Minister may appeal this decision to the Provincial Riksdag. If the Riksdag supports the nomination, they then send a petition to the Sovereign to reverse the decision of the Grand Duke and so appoint the nominee to the Court. The Sovereign can reject the petition and support their Grand Duke's decision to reject a nominee. Since 1901, only three nominations have reached the Sovereign and in all three cases, the Sovereign sided with their Grand Duke.

Government

The State House, official workplace of the Statsminister and Cabinet.

The Executive Government, commonly referred to as simply 'HM Government' is led by a Statsminister, a member of the House of Representatives, who is appointed by the Monarch. Whilst the Monarch retains the right to appoint any Congressman or woman, in practice, however, the Monarch appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition in the House of Representatives. The Executive Government, led by the Statsminister in the name of the Monarch, consists of the Statsminister and Cabinet Secretaries. Cabinet Secretaries, formally Secretaries of State, are nominated by the Statsminister and confirmed by the Monarch. No nominee has ever been rejected and the process is now considered to be just a formality. The Cabinet is responsible for proposing bills and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and domestic policies of Geordinia.

The Geordinian legislature is called the Storting. It is the legislature of the Kingdom of Geordinia, passing Acts that apply in Geordinia and the Crown dependencies and overseas territories. The Storting is also responsible for adopting the nation's budgets, approving the nation's accounts, appointing and exercising control of the Government, and taking part in international co-operation. Bills may be initiated by the Government or by members of the lower house of the Storting, the House of Representatives. All bills passed must be presented before the Council of State to receive Royal Assent within thirty days in order to become law. The Storting consists of an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives are called Congressmen/women and must be over the age of 25. Members of the Senate are called Senators and are appointed by the Monarch. Senators only need to be over the age of 18 and serve for life. They must also be a peer of the realm and so must have a noble title, however, in cases where an individual is nominated and doesn't have a peerage, the Sovereign will grant them one. They are appointed by the Monarch upon the advice of an independent commission and serve for life. Only upon the death or retirement of a Senator can another be appointed as there is a limit of 100 members. All members of the Senate are required to be independents in terms of political party.

House of Representatives Chamber

For elections to the House of Representatives, Geordinia is divided into 450 constituencies, each electing a single member to the House of Representatives (Congressman or Congresswoman) by simple plurality. General elections are called by the monarch when the Statsminister so advises. After the Constitutional Ammendment in 1892, the elections are called by the Monarch every five years to occur on October 2nd. However, if a Government fails to defeat a vote of no confidence, the Government is dissolved and if no clear replacement can be found for the office of Statsminister, a fresh general election is called. The Statsminister retains their right to advise the Monarch about when to call an election, but this advise may only be given if the Statsminister wishes to call an early election, not if they wish to extend a session of the Storting.

Since the 2005 electoral reforms, Geordinia rarely has coalition governments due to there being only two major political parties; the Conservative Party and the Social Democratic Party. As a result, almost always one political party has a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and can therefore form a Government. Some minor political parties do have a small number of seats in the House. The last time there was a coalition government was in 2002 and it terminated due to the merging of the parties in the coalition. The current Statsminister is Harald Stordahl who is serving his second term as Prime Minister after his party, the Conservatives, won a majority in the 2012 General Election and went on to win re-election in 2017. He was the last Statsminister to serve King Filip II and the first of King Aleksandr IV.

In 1973, the Constitution was amended to ban communism throughout the realm and empire. The move came after neighbouring nations began to see increasing support for communism. In response, the Conservative Government appealed to Queen Frigga to issue an imperial edict to change the constitution and ban communism. Fearing a public revolt over the edict, the Queen instead called for a referendum. The referendum passed with 74% of the vote in favour of banning communism although there have been numerous reports of Communist sympathisers facing voter suppression. As a result, no political party or group can support the ideals of communism. The amendment saw the immediate disbanding of the Geordinian Communist Party which had 2 congressmen in the House of Representatives. Both refused to denounce communism and were sentenced to life imprisonment. There have been no major attempts to reverse the constitutional ban.

Judicial System

The Balder, Supreme Court Building

The Kingdom of Geordinia uses a civil law system where laws are created and amended in the Storting and the system regulated through the Courts of justice of Geordinia. It consists of the Supreme Court of 10 permanent judges and a Lord Chief Justice, Provincial Supreme Courts, city/district and county courts, and the Privy Council. The judiciary is independent of executive and legislative branches. While the Statsminister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by the Storting Judiciary Committee and then by the entire Storting, and formally confirmed by the Monarch in the Council of State. A similar process happens for Provincial Supreme Courts in which the First Minister of the province will nominate Provincial Supreme Court Justices for office. For Provincial Supreme Courts, the nominations are then either approved or rejected by the Governor of the Province. For City/District and County Courts, the Monarch appoints these judges on the advice of an independent Judicial Nomination Committee which is made up of the top lawyers and judges from across the country.

The Privy Council is the highest appellate court for all cases from overseas territories and crown dependencies but it rarely exercises this function as an overwhelming majority of cases decided on in the Supreme Court are not appealed.

Hierarchy of the Court System:

1. Privy Council
2. Federal Supreme Court a.k.a. "The Balder"
3. Provincial Supreme Courts
4. City / District Courts
5. County Courts

The Federal Supreme Court is often referred to as "The Balder" which is the official name of the building in which it is housed. The name of the Supreme Court building (The Balder) comes from Baldr, the norse God of Justice.

The Courts' constitutional mission is to regulate the Geordinian judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and as such implement the legislation adopted by the Storting. In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.

Military

The Geordinian Armed Forces, officially called "His Majesty's Armed Forces" is split into 3 branches:

1. Royal Army - contains the marine corps
2. Royal Navy - contains the Coast Guards
3. Royal Air Force

The commander in chief of the armed forces is the Monarch, King Aleksandr IV, however, executive authority of the aarmed forces is executed by the Statsminister and his appointed Secretary of State for Defence. The Statsminister, Secretary of State for Defence and Cabinet, make decisions on the use of the armed forces but the Monarch remains the supreme authority. Any decision made by the Statsminister can be overturned by the Monarch. Members of the Armed Forces swear an oath of allegiance to the Monarch, not the Constitution.

The Kingdom of Geordinia is a nuclear power which maintains over 250 nuclear warheads which can be delivered by sea, air and land via the nation's national defence system; The Aegis. In 1995, the government introduced the Nuclear Weapons Safeguards Act (1995) in response to heightening world tensions. The Nuclear Weapons Safeguards Act prohibts the Government from launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike and only permits retaliatory nuclear strikes. The Nuclear Weapons Safeguards Act also states that the Statsminister can only advise the Monarch to launch a nuclear strike, unlike other military action which the Statsminister can take via 'Royal Perogative'. The Monarch is the only individual who can authorise a nuclear strike.

On 1st February 2020, Geordinia, Toubaze and Foxomexra founded the South Anterian Defense Alliance. Unlike when Harald Stordahl took the country into the ACL in 2019, taking Geordinia into the SADA would require Storting approval. In late January, before the formal creation of the SADA, the Storting overwhelmingly voted in favour of joining the SADA with a bipartisan vote of approval. On 31st January 2019, HM King Aleksandr IV gave the Statsminister his royal assent to Geordinia's participation and founder status within the SADA.

Foreign Relations

Nation	Relationship	Embassies and Consulates	Trade Status
Grafenland	Good	Embassies in each others capitals	10% reduction on tariffs
Visargia	Very good	Embassies in each others capitals	25% reduction in tariffs
The Step Forward	Very good	Embassies in each others capitals and Consulates in each others 2nd largest cities	25% reduction in tariffs

Geordinia is currently a member of the Anteria Capitalist League, which it joined in 2019. Statsminister Harald Stordahl took Geordinia into the league after a unanimous vote in Cabinet. Due to the league not currently posing any requirements on Geordinia, the joining of Geordinia to the league was not taken to a vote in the Storting. This move was opposed by the opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, however public support was overwhelmingly in favour of joining the league.

Demographics

Largest Cities

City	Province	Image	Population	Status
Portland	Capital District			5,135,251	Capital city of the Kingdom of Geordinia
Coregan	Algrand		5,103,367	Capital city of the province of Algrand
Victoria	Staulland	File:Downtown Calgary 2016 - Kevin Cappis.jpg	4,786,247	Capital city of the province of Staulland
Trovjord	Trovjord		4,536,831	Capital city of the province of Trovjord.
Gryphon	Baulvang		4,201,167	Largest city in Baulvang
Maine	Alderland		3,371,753	Capital city of the province of Alderland
Fjarheim	Baulvang		2,516,752	Capital city of the province of Baulvang
Silverun	Rokberg		1,643,312	Capital city of the province of Rokberg