Prime Minister of North Vyvland
Template:Infobox former political post The Prime Minister (Vyvlander: Ynfministeer) was the head of government of North Vyvland throughout its existence from 1935 to 1983. The office was held by twelve individuals; all were male, and all but one represented either the Christian Democratic Party or the Socialist Party, the country's two dominant political forces. The office-holder was formally appointed by the reigning King, although in practise, he always appointed the party leader or candidate with a controlling majority in the National Diet, of which the Prime Minister had to be a member.
History
The first elections for the office were held in 1937 upon the end of the term of the incumbent Prime Minister of pre-partition Vyvland, Mafjas Tupper. These elections were won with an overwhelming majority by Bewald vun Grunir of the Christian Democrats, who served the new, shorter four-year term. The Radical Party-Socialist Party coalition was resoundingly defeated due to its perceived guilt for starting the Vyvlander Civil War; they won only 179 seats compared to the Christian Democrats' 300. The terms of vun Grunir and his successor, Morten Haarden, were characterised by an increased militarisation of the country, especially on the new frontier with South Vyvland, and the repealing of many of the more socially liberal laws passed during the previous decade. Relations with Nevanmaa were particularly strengthened during these years.
The Christian Democrats' hegemony could only be challenged by the public uproar over South Vyvland's genocide of the Swedish population in 1945, from which Haarden's government received significant condemnation for not accepting refugees into the North. However, Socialist Kresdov-Bernurd Ekt did not win a majority in the 1945 election, instead requiring support from the liberal Radical People's Party. His inability to control his more right-wing coalition partners led to his defeat in an internal party vote of no confidence in 1948. His successor, Frig Brayeer, proved to be much more popular with voters, unexpectedly winning the 1948 general election. His short term saw a period of tax and welfare reform that cemented the Socialists' popularity and place as the country's main left-of-centre party for years to come. Brayeer's untimely death in 1951 led to the 1951 'silent election', in which the Christian Democrats did not campaign against the Socialists out of respect for Brayeer, ensuring two more years of Socialist government under Johan Daler; these were the first years when the Socialist Party governed on its own, having secured a majority of 92 in the National Diet.
A stagnating economy led to the election of Payl Klosders just two years later, who encouraged market-led reforms through various pioneering economic policies to reduce government spending and boost growth simultaneously. His term in office saw incredibly high growth, although this had begun to slow by the end of his time in office. In addition to market-led economic policy, Klosders' secondary goal was to preserve traditional Vyvlander culture against the growing waves of popular culture and music emerging in 1950s Vyvland. Klosders privatised many of the country's assets, with almost all transport and energy in private hands by the end of his term. While this had been going well up to 1960, his opponents mobilised against his proposed privatisation of Synprov, the North Vyvlander national healthcare system. His displeasure with trade unions also flared up in his second term, and sowed the seeds for later conflicts between his party and unions.
Thus, by the 1961 election, the Socialist Party was able to capitalise on dissatisfaction and some weak, more radical right-wing policies and come into government in a coalition with the Radical People's Party under Enrig Jeger. However, Jeger, who was on the liberal wing of the party, did not get along well with trade unionist tendencies in the party, and thus faile dto drum up the support required for his 1965 campaign, which was won by radical traditionalist Christian Democrat Rasmys Blymborg, who further increased military spending as well as emphasising religion in his policy and laws, much to the anger of the younger generation and urban workers. His actions prompted the Stanmer Riots in Lyksdal, causing the overthrow of his government after a particularly brutal response to the protests.
Socialist Gunfre Smef-Hoyg was able to easily win the ensuing election, going on to reform regional governments to give greater autonomy, and enacting a series of nationalisations of many areas privatised by Klosders, in addition to expanding the welfare system. Smef-Hoyg's term saw the most significant reforms to the office of Prime Minister and the political system of North Vyvland in general; following public outrage at the monarchy's support for the brutal quashing of the riots in Lyksdal, Smef-Hoyg promised to legally bar the monarch from all political intervention, making the Prime Minister unequivocally the national leader. However, the King, Welelm IV, vetoed such legislation, causing a legislative deadlock. During this period, the popularity of the Vyvlander monarchy plummeted.
List of Prime Ministers
Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of Office | Political Party | Election | Cabinet | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | Duration | ||||||
Mafjas Tupper (1875–1942) |
25 February 1935 | 27 October 1937 | 2 years, 244 days | Radical Party | – | Tupper R-S | ||
Bewald vun Grunir (1871–1949) |
27 October 1937 | 31 October 1940 | 4 years, 64 days | Christian Democratic Party | 1937 | vun Grunir I DC | ||
31 October 1940 | 30 December 1941 | 1940 | vun Grunir II DC | |||||
Morten Haarden (1887–1977) |
30 December 1941 | 29 October 1942 | 3 years, 126 days | Christian Democratic Party | – | Haarden I DC | ||
29 October 1942 | 5 May 1945 | 1942 | Haarden II DC | |||||
Kresdov-Bernurd Ekt (1880–1969) |
5 May 1945 | 12 May 1948 | 3 years, 7 days | Socialist Party | 1945 | Ekt S-RVP | ||
Frig Brayeer (1901–1951) |
12 May 1948 | 7 August 1948 | 3 years, 83 days | Socialist Party | – | Brayeer I S-RVP | ||
7 August 1948 | 3 August 1951 | 1948 | Brayeer II S-PfW | |||||
Johan Daler (1886–1969) |
3 August 1951 | 25 October 1951 | 2 years, 83 days | Socialist Party | – | Daler I S | ||
25 October 1951 | 29 October 1953 | 1951 | Daler II S | |||||
Payl Klosders (1892–1987) |
29 October 1953 | 31 October 1957 | 7 years, 222 days | Christian Democratic Party | 1953 | Klosders I DC-RVP | ||
31 October 1957 | 8 June 1961 | 1957 | Klosders II DC | |||||
Enrig Jeger (1919–1988) |
8 June 1961 | 31 October 1965 | 4 years, 145 days | Socialist Party | 1961 | Jeger S-RVP | ||
Rasmys Blymborg (1909–1972) |
31 October 1965 | 22 June 1968 | 2 years, 235 days | Christian Democratic Party | 1965 | Blymborg DC | ||
Gunfre Smef-Hoyg (1920–2008) |
22 June 1968 | 30 October 1972 | 8 years, 129 days | Socialist Party | 1968 | Smef-Hoyg I S | ||
30 October 1972 | 29 October 1976 | 1972 | Smef-Hoyg II S | |||||
Jeusev Ovdeeng (1917–2002) |
29 October 1976 | 1 November 1980 | 4 years, 3 days | Christian Democratic Party | 1976 | Ovdeeng DC | ||
Abram Zymeker | Abram Zymeker (1929– ) |
1 November 1980 | 23 June 1983 | 2 years, 234 days | Socialist Party | 1980 | Zymeker I S |