Serg Vorbarra
| Serg Vorbarra | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of Barrayar | |||||
 Emperor Serg in his Imperial Service uniform as Emperor. | |||||
| Reign | 8th, 3rd month, 3001 - Present | ||||
| Ascension to Camp Stool | 8th, 3rd month, 3001 | ||||
| Predecessor | Gregor Vorbarra | ||||
| Crown Prince | Gregor Vorbarra | ||||
| Born | 25th, 5th month, 2933 (aged 71) Vorbarr Sultana, Barrayar | ||||
| Empress | Ekaterin Vorreedi | ||||
| Issue | Crown Prince Gregor Vorbarra Princess Ekaterin Vorbarra Princess Laisa Vorbarra Princess Marion Vorbarra Prince Aral Vorbarra | ||||
| |||||
| Royal house | Vorbarra | ||||
| Father | Gregor Vorbarra | ||||
| Mother | Laisa Toscane | ||||
| Count of Vorbarra District | |
|---|---|
Incumbent Serg Vorbarra since 8th, 3rd month, 3001 | |
| Style | Your Grace |
| Residence | Imperial Residence |
| Term length | Life tenure |
| Inaugural holder | Varadar Tau, 1st Count Vorbarra |
His Excellence Serg Vorbarra | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of the Empire of Barrayar | |
| In office 2970–2976 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Gregor Vorbarra |
| Deputy | Dmitri Gynedvev |
Emperor Serg (Serg Jon Ezar Xav Vorbarra) is, and has been since his accession in 3001, the incumbent Emperor of Barrayar. He is the first Emperor of Barrayar with Komarran blood in his veins.
Serg was born in Vorbarr Sultana to the Emperor and Empress of Barrayar, and was the elder of their five childern. He was educated privately at home and then in the Preparatory School and at the Imperial Military Academy. He began to undertake public duties in 2953, serving in the Space Forces. In 2977, he married Lady Eloise Vorpatril, with whom he has five children: Gregor, Ekaterin, Laisa, Marion and Aral. Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of his children and grandchildren and his coronation in 3001.
Serg's private interests encompass a range of humanist and social issues: he founded The Prince's Trust in 2966 (now the HM's Private Trust) and since his times as Crown Prince he has been patron of numerous charitable and arts organisations. He has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings and personally sponsored the establishment of several settlements based on organic architecture theories.
Early life
Serg was born at Imperial Residence on 25/05/2933, the first child of Emperor Gregor and Empress Laisa. The Crown Prince's godparents were: the Count Vorkosigan; the Lord Vorkosigan; Lord Ivan Vorpatril; the Countess Vorkosigan; the Countess Vorrutyer; Mrs. Koudelka and Mrs. Galeni. As the first son of the Sovereign, Serg was accorded the titles of a Barrayaran Crown Prince and the style Royal Highness.
As the sovereign's eldest son, he automatically took the titles Lord of Vorbarr Sultana, Lord of Whelshish, Kynaz of the Hills, in addition to being the Crown Prince. As it is customary for royal offspring, a governess, Ekaterin Growinskji, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight.
Serg first attended Hill Court School in Vorbarr Sultana; Serg then attended his father's former school, Blackfork Imperial Preparatory School in Vorbarra District until the age of 17.
Military service
Following Imperial tradition, Serg served in the Imperial Service. In 2950, Crown Prince Serg was admitted at the Imperial Military Academy at the age of 17, with a starting score of 94/100. Three years later he was commissioned Ensign, as weapons officer aboard the battleship HMS Prince Serg (named after his paternal Grandfather, Crown Prince Serg, officially heroically died over Escobar), which was assigned to a long range diplomatic cruise, finished only in the late 2955. The diplomatic cruise allowed the Crown Prince to develop the basic diplomatic skills, as well as make friends with Ensign Dredd, the future Chief of Imperial Security, at the time in charge of Service Security on board.
In 2955 Serg was assigned to the Lazkowski Base (also known as Camp Permafrost) as Security Officer in order to show his non-preferential treatment. This assignment lasted until 2958. Following the Emperor's Birthday and the Imperial Military Review, he embarked again on a space career, serving on the destroyer HMS Serifosa (2958–2959) and the cruisers HMS General Vorreedi (2959–2960) and HMS Opal (2961). At the age of 29, he embarked again for a long tour on the HMS Prince Xav, in an anti-piracy cruise; in 2964, he took command of the intra-system patrol ship HMS Bonsanklar. In 2967 he received the promotion to Captain (Naval).
In the late 2967 the first heart attack occurred to Emperor Gregor, who shortly after decided to start to train his 34 years-old first-born, Crown Prince Serg Vorbarra, to rule an Empire, allowing him to openly intervene in planetary politics and policies. Serg therefore was recalled from active duty and was appointed Adviser to Imperial Person.
In 2976 Crown Prince Captain (Naval) Serg Vorbarra was readmitted to the active military service, and was assigned to the battleship HMS Admiral Kanzian, as Chief of Staff in an escort cruise. During the mission he encountered again then-Major Lucas Dredd, in charge for general security duties among the fleet. The two officers were able, working in conjunction with the ImpSec fleet officer, to foil a dangerous mutiny in the cradle, under the astonished Marilacan eyes.
When the fleet returned to Barrayar, in the late 2778, congratulations were unanimous, and the consideration of the two officers increased greatly: Major Dredd was directly promoted to Colonel and transferred to ImpSec, and Captain Vorbarra was assigned to General Staff duties. Following the assignment to the General Staff, his career was as rapid as an Imperial Family member is generally expected: he was promoted to Commodore in 2780, to Rear Admiral in 2984 and to Vice Admiral in 2987.
Political career
As Emperor Gregor decided to prepare the succession, Serg was recalled from active duty and was appointed Adviser to Imperial Person. This appointment gave him the possiblity to oversee government affairs without having the necessity to decide (although his opinons were increasingly taken in consideration).
As political tensions arose, Crown Prince Serg stepped in politics; between 2968 and 2970 he was appointed in several overseeing roles, up to Deputy Minister of Interiors. The shock caused to the middle class and bourgeois by the republican rebellion allowed Crown Prince Serg Vorbarra, appointed in 2970 as Prime Minister, to lead a political restoration between the late 2960s and early 2970s, reducing the financial power of the oligarchy of both planets, providing a limited empowerment of women but shrinking the welfare state to traditional families.
Between 2973 and 2975 the centres of social studies established twenty-five years before were closed and the Betan professors repatriated, despite of the staunch opposition by the Progressive Counts, led by Count Miles Vorkosigan: the Betan professors were followed by a relatively small flow of indigenous progressives. The Progressive Party of the Council of Counts had to digest this measure because of the threat posed by the rapid spread of subversive ideals among the people, which were thwarted by an organized propaganda and by a more spread censorship.
In 2976, at the age of 43, Crown Prince resigned as Prime Minister; Emperor Gregor, his father, did not appoint a new Prime Minister and held up the government directly.
Marriage
The Crown Prince in 2976 met and in 2977 married Lady Eloise Vorpatril, heir to a Komarran business dynasty and to a cadet branch of the House Vorpatril, related to Lord Ivan Vorpatril, Emperor Gregor's first cousin. The marriages, although blessed by true love, were determined in order to unite the faction less favourable to the new policies of the Monarch, choosing in that families of medium importance, to remain in a High Vor sphere, choosing in families connected with the Counts, and to open to oligarchs, choosing families related with them.
Although Serg first met Lady Eloise Vorpatril in early 2976 he did not consider her romantically until the end of the year. Soon, according to the Imperial Biographer, Jonathan Pembleby, "without any apparent surge in feeling, he began to think seriously of her as a potential bride", and she accompanied Serg on visits to Vorparadjis Castle.
Meanwhile, the couple's continued courtship attracted intense press and paparazzi attention. When Emperor Gregor told him that the media speculation would injure Eloise's reputation if Serg did not come to a decision about marrying her soon, and realizing that she was a suitable bride, Serg took his father's advice as a warning to proceed without further delay. Crown Prince Serg proposed to Lady Eloise in last days of autumn 2977 and they married in Imperial Residence on Midwinter. The couple made their homes at Smithsonian Palace until 2990s, when they and their retinue moved in the Imperial Residence.
Prince Gregor Vorbarra (now Crown Prince Gregor Vorbarra) was born on 04/20/2978 and was immediately nicknamed "Little Gregor". Also due to concerns for parents' age, younger children followed in a short lapse: Princesses Ekaterin and Laisa Vorbarra were born on 05/11/2979, while Prince Aral and Princess Marion were born on 04/01/2981.
Reign
On 03/07/3001, Emperor Gregor passed away and Emperor Serg ascended to the throne the next day. Serg ascended the throne at the stroke of midnight. The next morning, after sitting on the Camp Stool, he was formally enthroned in a low-key ceremony. Following his formal ascension to the Camp Stool, he continued his policies, pushing for the administrative reorganization and centralization; his personal collaborators were already in place at the time of Emperor Gregor's death, and therefore he hadn't to make a major reshuffle.
Generally speaking, Emperor Serg Vorbarra has a more authoritarian conception of the father of his own Imperial prerogatives. In internal politics, Serg Vorbarra does not interfere, at least in appearance, with other political powers, but exercises strict supervision over all areas of power, in particular the Armed Forces and foreign policy.
Personality and traits
Emperor Serg is a strong man who passionately believes in order and Barrayaran destiny rules with a firm hand, though he is not a tyrant. He is generally regarded as a relatively benevolent ruler. Emperor Serg is also known to be merciful. However, there is a darker side; to maintain his authority he regularly plays other political figures against each other, and is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve the power. He also mercilessy executes traitors to the Empire.
Emperor Serg is a practical, realistic, factual, man. Proudly down-to-earth, he prefers familiarity and routine. He prides himself to be organized, reliable, self-controlled, orderly, disciplined, with strong sense of duty, but also critical, confident, skeptical, and stubborn. Official self-descriptions depict Serg Vorbarra as a serene, calm, stable, composed, tranquil, poised, and unfazed man, with few intense emotions. Some critics view him as unfriendly and uncooperative.