Leri Monyn
Leri Monyn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Public Administration and Reform of Gylias | |
| In office 1 February 1990 – 1 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Mathilde Vieira Kaori Kawashima Toni Vallas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 May 1950 Peisir, Free Territories |
| Political party | Freedom and Solidarity Party |
Leri Monyn (born 5 May 1950) is a Gylian politician. She was Gylias' public administration minister in the Mathilde Vieira government, Kaori Kawashima government, and Toni Vallas government. The longest-serving cabinet member in Gylian history (tied with Sakura Kusatsu), she carried out wide-ranging reform and modernisation of the Gylian public service, making her the most influential minister in the field since Julie Legrand.
Early life
Leri was born on 5 May 1950 in Peisir, then in the Free Territories. Her parents were merchants, and in her words, raised her from an early age to "always be sober, responsible, and dapper."
She attended the University of Peisir, graduating with a master's degree in political science in 1972.
Beginnings in politics
Leri developed an interest in politics in adolescence, and joined the Freedom and Solidarity Party while in university. Shortly after graduating, she stood in the 1972 municipal election, and won a seat on the Peisir City Council. She was re-elected in 1974.
She was a candidate in the 1976 federal election, and won election to the Chamber of Deputies for an Arsad circonscription. She would be re-elected in 1980 and 1985.
She was largely a low-key deputy, not serving on any committees. During the Liberal Union's struggles in the wretched decade, she firmly opposed any attempt to align with the Centre Group and National Bloc, arguing that its "rightful place" was in a coalition with the Progressive Alliance.
During the Filomena Pinheiro government, she built a good relationship with Mathilde Vieira, the LU's first formal leader. Mathilde jokingly claimed credit for kickstarting Leri's career: "No one took notice of this remarkable woman before me, and I saw a great potential in her. I knew she'd be an excellent cabinet member."
Minister of Public Administration and Reform
Leri was appointed Minister of Public Administration and Reform in the Mathilde Vieira government, taking office on 1 February 1990. The post was seen as a successor to the Ministry of the Public Sector, last held by Julie Legrand in the Darnan Cyras government, but abolished by the Aén Ďanez government.
An unknown quality on her appointment to the cabinet, she quickly established herself as an outstanding and influential minister in her field, earning praise from Julie herself as a champion of public service.
Leri helped carry out transformative reforms and modernisation of the public sector, building on the previous government's "New Course". Fitting her party's priorities, she advanced policies that strengthened participatory budgeting and open government. She introduced the Public Charter in 1991, a complete overhaul of administrative agencies' standards that raised quality and introduced clear targets for quality, accountability, and efficiency. One of its best-known features was a dedicated hotline to answer public enquiries, later complemented by a dedicated email address.
The Republic commented that "Leri's fingerprints appeared on almost all of the government's major bills", including the Law on Privacy Protection of 1993, Law on Night Sky Protection of 1995, the establishment of an integrated sustainable development framework for managing resources, and the creation of the Social Partnership Program.
Leri's greatest achievement was the enthusiastic championing of e-government, and it was said she played a greater role in popularising the internet in Gylias than science and technology minister Toroşa Nare. She mandated the once-only principle for official use of ICT, pushed for connecting all schools to the internet and providing all Gylians with broadband and wideband internet access, and helped introduce electronic health records.
She reformed the public budgeting process, introducing the rule that all expenditures would automatically increase based on population growth, and created the national electronic tax filing system, which simplified tax compliance through dedicated software that presents taxpayers with pre-filled returns that they simply need to adjust based on the year's situation.
She was retained in the Kaori Kawashima government and Toni Vallas government, together with Sakura Kusatsu, making the two the longest-serving cabinet members in Gylian history.
Public image
To her colleagues' surprise, the unassuming Leri became one of the cabinet's most popular figures. She was seen as a style icon for her Kaede Nakano skirt suits, and even her thick-rimmed glasses and hairstyle became popular among women, launching a national trend. Gylias Review reported on the hairstyle's popularity and the large number of Gylian women who went to hair salons with pictures of Leri and asked hairdressers for the same look.
Aged 40 upon taking office, Leri had a unique appeal among the public. Columnist Keie Nanei wrote that she was embraced as "the platonic ideal of a savvy older woman", representing several admirable qualities: "calmness in the face of adversity, careful study of the matter before taking a decision, and the serene self-confidence of one who lets their record talk for them." She attracted unprecedented online popularity, and several fan communities appeared that portrayed her as an unlikely sex symbol, producing images of her as a MILF and associating her with the Miranian phrase "ara ara".
Leri was bemused by her internet following, but acknowledged it and sometimes subtly played into her portrayal. She once famously delivered a speech on working parents that deliberately used the phrase "mother I'd like to follow", and colleagues noted she developed a habit of chuckling with her hand over her mouth and playfully exclaiming, "Oh my".
While in office, she regularly hosted Carmen Dell'Orefice at her home, and consulted her for advice on "growing old elegantly".
Retirement
Leri retired from both government and Parliament at the 2020 federal election.
Private life
Leri is married with three children. She is mainly a practitioner of Concordianism.