Vincent Barbet
Vincent Barbet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Gagium | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 1, 2018 | |
| Monarch | Arsène Rodier |
| Vice President | Olivia Dubost |
| Preceded by | Seth Chapman |
| Minister of Commerce | |
| In office August 15, 2007 – January 30, 2012 | |
| Monarch | Arsène Rodier |
| President | Conrad Grant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 9, 1966 Arkville, Etonso Commonealth |
| Political party | Confederal Party |
| Spouse | Leona Barbet |
| Parent(s) | Vengo and Jean Barbet |
| Alma mater | University of Farlon |
Vincent Barbet (born October 9, 1966) is the current President of the United Commonwealths of Gagium. Vincent was born to Vengo and Jean Barbet at Arkville Hospital in Arkville, Etonso Commonwealth. He attended local public school as a child, and began studying Economics at the University of Farlon after he graduated from high school. In 1989, Barbet graduated from the University with a Bachelor's Degree, and he took up a job as a Consultant for XXCOMPANYXX. After being appointed to the company's Board of Directors by shareholders in 1995, Barbet began a career in public speaking, which eventually led him into regional politics.
Controversy erupted in 1998 when Vincent Barbet ran for a Senator position in Etonso Commonwealth. After declining to reveal his funding sources, the commonwealth Labor Party revealed that his run was being backed by XXCOMPANYXX with copious amounts of money - Although this was legal (up until 2005), it cost him a lead in early polls for the race, and would lead to Barbet losing the election in the end. Barbet would be resign from his position on the Board of Directors by 2000, citing that he wanted to explore other areas of politics.
Barbet ran again for Senator from Etonso in 2004, and was able to narrowly win the position by a 3% lead over his opponents from the Labor and Liberal Parties - However, had they united under a single candidate, he would've easily been defeated. While serving in Gagium's Senate, Barbet didn't help author or sponsor any bills or resolutions, though he was an active voice in advocating for the continuation of essentially unrestricted serfdom in Etonso, making him very unpopular among the left. A year after the Confederal-backed Conrad Grant won the Presidency, Barbet was appointed as Minister of Commerce in 2007.
After the Labor Party candidate Seth Chapman won the Presidency in 2012, Barbet was not re-appointed to his position as Minister of Commerce. He decided to become a political commentator on several Gagiumish right-wing radio talk shows, writing a book about his (limited) experience in politics and his political beliefs in 2015. In 2016, Barbet began appearing on right-wing cable news networks as a correspondent and commentator, frequently criticizing President Chapman's agenda and regulatory positions. In a April 2016 interview, Vincent called Chapman a "pretender and fraud", sparking a short-lived argument on social media platform Tjilpen between him and Chapman, who usually tried to stay away from such arguments on the platform.
In the summer of 2017, Vincent Barbet announced his intentions to run for the Confederal Party nomination for President of Gagium. Facing the relatively-unknown investor Joseph Remmington, Barbet received 64% of the vote for the nomination. In the general election, Barbet would receive 42% of the vote, with Conrad Grant (running for re-election) winning 43% of the vote and the other votes going towards other candidates. Due to no candidate getting a majority, an election was held between Barbet and Grant exclusively. Several major public figures expressed shock when Barbet won narrowly against Grant, with 50.5% of the vote.
Since the election, Barbet has pledged to protect the traditions of Gagium, maintaining his position that the national government has no place in deciding the legality of serfdom. However, he has supported public referendums on the status of serfdom that would be held in every Commonwealth, March, and Free City. President Barbet approved of Gagium entering the Stratean War in 2020, and directed his military command to launch airstrikes and missile strikes against The COT Corporation.