Marija Kostova
Marija Kostova | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the Syaran Republic | |
| In office 1 August, 1964 – 22 March, 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Jakov Theophanous |
| Succeeded by | Radul Apostolov Vasev |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 15 July, 1960 – 1 August, 1964 | |
| Senator of Makedon | |
| In office 1 August 1946 – 15 July 1960 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 October, 1906 Zovahr, Makedon |
| Died | 7 May 1973 Zovahr, Makedon |
| Nationality | Syaran |
| Domestic partner | Zlatan Moskov (died 1937) |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Zovahr School of Law |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Republic of Syara |
| Branch/service | Syaran Army Auxiliary Corps |
| Years of service | 1936-1938 |
| Rank | Auxiliary Captain |
| Battles/wars | Siduri War |
Marija Kostova (Born Marijya Moskov, 11 October, 1909 - 7 May, 1973) was a Syaran politician who served as President of Syara from 1964 to 1970. She was the only woman to serve as President of the Republic of Syara, and the only woman to lead modern Syara until the election of Anita Beleska in 2020.
Born to a Makedonian father and a Scitarian mother, Kostova had a lower middle-class upbringing, which she herself described as dull and monotonous. An avid reader, she managed to secure a scholarship to the Zovahr School of Law in 1927, earning a Master's in Legal Studies. While there she met her future husband Zlatan Kostova, marrying him in 1931. The two had a son, Alekso, in 1933. Following the outbreak of the Siduri War in 1934, Zlatan was conscripted into the Syaran Army Air Corps and was later killed in action on the Tennaiite Front. Marija herself was drafted into the Syaran Army Auxiliary Corps to help organize medical supplies for the Army of the Syaran Republic; she was promoted to Auxiliary Sergeant just before the wars end. During the Broken Years she struggled to find work, taking various odd jobs before eventually securing a position at the Makedonian Realm Court as a public defender. Her son Alekso died in 1943 after a battle with typhoid, something that Kostova said she never fully recovered from.
Despite the loss she pressed on, earning a reputation in the Syaran legal circuit that allowed her to successfully run for Senator in 1946, which she narrowly won. Kostova remained in the Senate from 1946 to 1960, chairing several committees and became well known throughout Syara. In 1959 she was asked by Jakov Theophanous to serve as his Minister of Education for his cabinet; she assumed the office in August 1960. As Minister she insisted upon several reforms to Syara's education system, and helped to establish several technical institutions in Hayreniky and Galania. After Theophanous decided not to run in 1964, Kostova entered the election, running on a platform of education and welfare reform. She won the 1964 election and assumed office in August, become the first (and only) woman to serve as President of Syara.
A self-described "Gylianophile", she sought to emulate the progress of the Golden Revolution made by the Darnan Cyras government. As President she authored and implemented several reforms to Syara's welfare system, instituted a stronger progressive income tax on the wealthy, and worked to increase access to tertiary education. Despite these measures she maintained her status as a liberal conservative, privatizing Syara's failing natural gas industry and issues subsidies to the mining sector. In international affairs she tried to rehabilitate Syara's international image by embarking on a pan-Siduri tour in 1968, becoming the first (and only) Syaran President to visit Ruvelka despite the tensions of the Granika Border War. She pushed for closer ties with the Common Sphere as a way to counterbalance the economic power and influence of the Eracuran states but stopped short of pursuing membership. Buoyed by her popular reforms among Syara's lower classes, she successfully ran for re-election in 1968. Despite her overtures with Ruvelka, she presided over the Seven Day War. Less than two years into her term she suffered a stroke, a symptom of her lifelong smoking habit, which led her to resign from the Presidency in early 1970 amid her declining health. She died on 7 May 1973 and was given a state funeral in Zovahr.
Despite her productive administration, Kostova was a controversial figure throughout her Presidency. Exceptionally blunt and possessing a very dry sense of humor, she often earned the ire of her colleagues and counterparts within the Republic's political scene because of her mannerisms. Domestically she often faced opposition from all sides of the spectrum; while she served as President during the rise of the Wardens and was a known to dislike Monarchies, she considered the Warden Way to be "nonsensical ramblings" and "short sighted nationalism", while considering the abolishment of the Royal Families to be a decision made by the Realms themselves, not the national government. She disliked being labeled by others, and on more than one occasion chided reporters for calling her a "social democrat" or "compassionate conservative". Her image has improved substantially in the decades following her death, with modern Syarans largely viewing her positively. Numerous schools, streets, and public places have been named after her.