Pamela Oegelkeper
The Righteous Pamela Oegelkeper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Vyvland | |
| Assumed office 18 June 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Ujson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pamela Freda Oegelkeper 18 May 1954 Vef, Kros, Vyvland |
| Nationality | Vyvlander |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Kurl Bender 6 March 1979 |
| Children | Dijrek Geels |
| Alma mater | Strossen School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Pamela Oegelkeper (pronounced /pamələ ʉːg(ə)lkeːpeɾ/) is the seventh and current President of Vyvland, having held the position since 2014. Prior to becoming president, she was a prominent lawyer and activist after the disintegration of South Vyvland, and also stood in the 2006 presidential election. Oegelkeper gained the presidency after beating Robert Ujson following allegations of his prostitute use.
Career as a lawyer
Oegelkeper was born in Vef, then in South Vyvland, in 1954 to Dijrek, a bus driver, and Vreja, an accountant. Good performance in education was followed by entry into law via Strossen School of Law in nearby Strossen, where she has lived ever since. From here, she entered into practice at Kaspur & Malfus, a Strossen-based law firm. Oegelkeper was nominated as the youngest of the lawyers for the prosecution in the trials of employees of the Nazonalwakt, the former police force of South Vyvland. Through this, Oegelkeper gained prominence in the legal profession, which led to her starting her own law firm, Oegelkeper Leye, in 1988.
Her firm dealt with many of Vyvland's most high-profile trials of the 1990s, leading to its growth and expansion. However, Oegelkeper described this period as one of "the most stressful in her life", owing to her near-constant media attention and relative inexperience in her job. In 2003, she retired from active business as a lawyer, instead managing the firm, with. Since then, she has devoted many of her efforts to campaigning against infringements of rights such as freedom of speech and press freedom. Late in 2005, Oegelkeper announced her intention to stand in the following year's presidential election, coming a close third behind Bernurd Venes after a particularly strong campaign.
Presidency
She announced her intention to stand again eight years later in the 2014 presidential election, having won the support of the Conservative Party and Capitalist-Libertarian Party. Oegelkeper came a relatively distant second in the first round against incumbent Robert Ujson of the Liberal Party. However, just a day before the election, tabloid newspaper Tiy Baners published a story about Ujson's use of a prostitute while at a summit in Hartly, Ainin, which he vehemently denied. The story was widely publicised. Consequently, Oegelkeper went on to win the second round of the election by a considerable margin - 58% compared to Ujson's 42%.
Political views
Oegelkeper describes her political views as liberal and centre-right, emphasising civil liberties and opposition to excessive state intervention, both in the economy, and moreover in personal freedoms. She has declined to state any political party affiliation in the past, although described the formation of the Capitalist-Libertarian Party in 2005 as promising, saying that it "fills a hole in the political spectrum".