Martyn Mederel
Ashoonaghastag Sir Martyn Mederel SK, GM, AC, AHH | |
|---|---|
_(Zeno_Fotografie).jpg) Mederel in 1904 | |
| 1st Prime Minister of Ainhar | |
| In office March 1, 1900 – 26 November, 1915 | |
| Monarch | Halward Illiam I |
| Succeeded by | Aslac Homlyn |
| Constituency | Cianbally Town |
| Member of the Cuirpthean Parliament for Abhasoir | |
| In office January 17, 1888 – 30 December, 1894 | |
| Monarch | Murchadh III |
| Preceded by | Custal MacCrawe |
| Succeeded by | John MacNellen |
| Leader of the Free Ainharic State | |
| In office October 18, 1895 – March 1, 1900 | |
| Succeeded by | Himself as Prime Minister |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martyn Henry Mederel July 15, 1867 Cianbaile, Eallsabh, Cuirpthe |
| Died | February 4, 1948 (aged 80) Cianbally, Ainhar |
| Political party | Tradition and Heritage Party |
| Spouse | Dorothy Mederel |
| Children | 5 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ainhar |
| Branch/service | Free Ainharic State Army |
| Years of service | 1895–1900 |
| Rank | Leader |
Ashoonaghastag Sir Martyn Mederel SK, GC, AM, AHH (15 July 1867 – 4 February 1948; aged 80) was an Ainharic guerrilla fighter, soldier, nationalist, politician, independence activist and philosopher who served as Ainhar's first Prime Minister between 1900 and 1915, the leader of the Free Ainharic State - an Ainharic independent militia branch of the Cuirpthean Army fighting against Newreyan occupation in the Great War - between 1895 and 1900, and a member of the Cuirpthean Parliament for Abhasoir between 1888 and 1894. One of the founding fathers of the modern Ainharic state, and its longest serving leader as of 2019, he is regarded as one of the most influential and pivotal figures in Ainharic history - being posthumously awarded the Asmund's Cross medal for gallantry and posthumously inducted into the Ainhar Hall of Heroes upon its inaugural session in 1963, earning the title of Ashoonaghastag.
Born into a rich family and the Cuirpthean aristocracy in Cianbaile, now Cianbally, in 1867, Mederel attended many schools that tend to the rich and powerful of Cuirpthe in Cianbally, but found himself unable to settle in with the upper-class children who he deemed as "uptight leeches with no societal worth" in his 1910 autobiography. He ended up attending a public school from the age of 12 onwards and would find himself much more suited to the normal lifestyle of the Cuirpthean middle-class., despite the dismay of his parents - who grew more distant to Mederel as time went on. He attended Cianbally University starting in 1885 after spending much of his adolescence in the company of the less fortunate Cuirpthean citizenry. The time spent there would give him a better understanding of the opinions of the Ainharic minority in Cuirpthe, and in 1888 was elected to the Cuirpthean Parliament in Abhasoir, representing a broadly culturally conservative party but keeping his Ainharic secessionist views secret.
His tenure in Parliament was not marked by many significant happenings, and his service was, by comparison, quite average for the time. When rumours emerged to the Cuirpthean higher-class that Mederel was secretly an Ainharic secessionist, he was removed from Parliament on order of the current monarch Murchaidh III and forced to withdraw from public society. When the Great War broke out in 1895, Mederel used his popularity in Ainhar to form the Free Ainharic State - an underground resistance movement to both Cuirpthean and Newreyan occupation, while never officially declaring independence, the militia acted independent of both Cuirpthe and Newrey until the Newreyan Occupation of Ainhar and subsequent massacres, when the militia fought with Cuirpthe in an underground resistance against Newreyan occupation. Mederel was a sniper in the underground forces, and recalled in his 1910 autobiography that he had killed "at least 50 Newreyans" and that "he would kill 50 more [in a] heartbeat". When Cuirpthe surrendered in 1899, the Milennial Peace that ended the Great War in 1900 granted Ainhar its independence, with Halward Illiam I inviting Mederel to form a parliament in 1900. Forming the Tradition and Heritage Party, a socially conservative, Ainharic nationalist and economically leftist party, in 1900, Mederel was elected to five straight leadership terms, before announcing he would not be running in the 1915 election. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by many social reforms in Ainhar, including the controversial left-wing economic policies that benefited those at the bottom of the social hierarchy coming so soon after a right-wing Cuirpthe had ceased rule over Ainhar. His policies made him extremely popular with the lower classes but even more unpopular with the former aristocracy of Cuirpthe, many of whom he deported back to the country throughout his reign. Mederel and Alriikan revivalist leader Oskar Aikio were good friends and shared many similar policies, with both borrowing tenets from and inspiring beliefs in each other. Ainhar and Alriika established the Ainharic-Alriikan Cultural Exchange (AACE or ACE for short) in 1909 to promote cultural exchanges between the two nations due to their historical affiliations with each other. Mederel visited Alriika many times during his tenure and owned a log cabin in Sangashámman. When Mederel announced he was stepping down from politics in 1915, he visited Alriika for a tour of the nation, during which he was hailed by many Alriikans in the streets in a way that he writes "made [him] feel like one of their own". Mederel and his associated beliefs are commonly referred to in the modern day as "Mederelism", a term coined by Hytekojuznik political scientist Tenis Terauds in his 1933 West Asuran Almanac.
Mederel lived a generally quiet life in Cianbally after his retirement, and had five children with his wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908, aged 41. He delivered many speeches as a public political influencer throughout the 1920s and 30s but remained unaffiliated to any party post-resignation. He removed himself from public life in 1946 when his health began declining, after which it was revealed he had been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart disease often leading to cardiac arrest. Despite his condition, Mederel passed away peacefully in his sleep at his Cianbally home in 1948, aged 80. A figure largely regarded as an extremely positive one in modern Ainharic society, his rule of the country is still revered to this day and continues to inspire politicians in the country. An iconic symbol of Ainharic independence and nationalism, he is referenced on various important features of the country, including the five argin note, which was changed to include a portrait of Mederel behind St. James' Cathedral and Cranfell Cathedral in 1989.