Franklin Barvata
The Profound Estimable Franklin Barvata MP | |
|---|---|
 Barvata in November 2019 | |
| 24th and 26th Prime Minister of Great Morstaybishlia | |
| Assumed office 12 July 2022 | |
| Monarch | Lambertus VII |
| Preceded by | Riannar Karmer |
| In office 27 February 2019 – 23 September 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Johannes |
| Succeeded by | Riannar Karmer |
| Leader of the Progress Party | |
| Assumed office 12 July 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Riannar Karmer |
| In office 31 August 2017 – 23 September 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Arlin Rudiger |
| Succeeded by | Riannar Karmer |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| In office 1 December 1999 – 4 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Anders Lynton |
| Succeeded by | Garet Liespa |
| Shadow Minister of Health | |
| In office 4 May 2005 – 4 April 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Nicola Knose |
| Succeeded by | Immanuel Hoziama |
| Shadow Minister of Defence | |
| In office 14 September 2009 – 15 March 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Nicola Knose |
| Succeeded by | Immanuel Hoziama |
| Mayor of Cavenhelm | |
| In office 16 March 2011 – 2 April 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Berin Yusov |
| Succeeded by | Martin Gonderi |
| Member of Parliament for Cavenhelm | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Johnery Frawldes |
| Majority | 71,545 (75%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Franklin Victor Barvata 7 July 1968 Lambertupol, Kaltariezh, Great Morstaybishlia |
| Political party | Progress Party |
| Spouse | Sophia Bostin (m. 1995) |
| Residence | 1 Bursil Street |
| Alma mater | Lambertupol University, Lambertupol |
| Signature |  |
Franklin Victor Barvata (born 7th July 1968) is a Kaltariz politician who is currently serving as Prime Minister of Great Morstaybishlia and Leader of the Progress Party from July 2022. He previously held the position of Prime Minister between 2019 and 2021 and Progress leader between 2017 and 2021. He was Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1999 to 2005. Barvata has been MP for Cavenhelm since 1991. Ideologically, he identifies as progressive left.
Barvata grew up in Kaltariezh and was praised as an academic genius, completing his Post 16 Examination at the age of 14. He attended Lambertupol University at the age of 16. During University, Barvata had joined the Progress Party and volunteered as staff at party lectures, and by 18 he had tried for local council elections but was unsuccessful. When Barvata graduated from University with a Bachelor's in Politics and International Relations, he campaigned and was elected to the House of Representatives as MP for Cavenhelm in 1991; at the time he was the youngest person to ever be elected to the House at the age of 22. During the Rothgerus Administration Barvata served in the cabinet. From 2005 to 2012 he held two shadow cabinet positions. Barvata campaigned and won the 2011 Cavenhelm Mayoral Election and subsequently served one term alongside being a Member of Parliament until 2015 where he ushered in major redevelopment of the city's West Harbour Communities, introduced greener methods of transport and established the first vehicle-free zone in the city center.
During the Auroran-Pacific War Barvata became a prominent Progress politician with his foreign policy rhetoric. He became Leader of the Opposition on his election as Progress Party leader in August 2017, following the sudden death of his predecessor, Arlin Rudiger. Barvata scrutinised the incumbent Prime Minister Walter Johannes for his 2018-2019 military intervention in Rodenia after the prime minister had promised but was faltering on delivering the 5 Year Post-War Plans. In the 2019 General Election, Barvata was appointed prime minister and led the Progress Party to its first government in 14 years. He followed through with his election campaign and withdrew from Rodenia to focus on internal matters, but this led to Kirk Santon establishing himself as Supreme Archon and breaking the previous governments' agreement. In June 2020 Barvata condemned the UCA-NSTO Coalition but quickly responded as a mediator to Rodenia's invasion of Puntalia by sending the Home Fleet and hosting the 2020 PCT Sani Bursil Summit, which prevented war between the UCA-NSTO Coalition and Rodenia's allies of North Ethalria and Packilvania but dampened the fragile relationship between Great Morstaybishlia and Norgsveldet.
Following the July 2020 Kaltariezh attacks and the August 2020 Kaltariezh police attack, Barvata initiated a state of emergency which was declared across Great Morstaybishlia to help fight terrorism and civil unrest in eastern Kaltariezh, Barvata enacted Black Alert with a curfew of 21:00 within the conflicted provinces. In October 2020 Barvata came under heavy scrutiny from the Opposition after Progress passed the controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill which gave the cabinet plus executive military command more powers to act against groups or people that fall under an umbrella term of terrorism.
Barvata survived a deadly rocket launcher attack in August 2021, where many others were not as fortunate. He is currently recovering in Ewising, Joralesia. Due to his absence in politics, Riannar Karmer successfully rallied enough Progress MPs to contest his Progress leadership, where he was constitutionally and physically unable to run. Karmer succeeded him in September as Leader of Progress and prime minister. Barvata was heavily critical of Karmer during his tenure, later contesting his leadership when the Nicki Jenkins report was released, which later resulted in the conviction of Karmer as a sex offender. Barvata succeeded uncontested, and assumed leadership and thus prime ministership for a second time on 12 July 2022.
Early life
Born in Lambertupol in 1968, he is the son of father Walmrick Barvata, a physician, and Erna Barvata (née Phalyf), a regional manager for D&D. The couple divorced in 1996. Barvata has three siblings, Walmrick Jr., born in 1970, Gavin, born in 1971 and Colette, born in 1979.
The Barvata family legacy is traced back to the village of Amberiz in Dovia. One of Barvata's paternal great-grandfathers, Morvan Barvata, was born in 1900 from a Kaltariz-only speaking household, but was sent to an Staynish orphanage after his family were killed in the Great War. Barvata commonly visited his maternal grandfather Elver, who, after coming from a farming background, became a mechanic and died in 2007.
Barvata was raised in a Thaerist family, but he is agnostic today.
He was educated at Vinsten's Academy of Secondary Education. From a young age his teachers encouraged his advanced mathematics and science knowledge and he took his Post 16 Exams at the age of 14, scoring high in mathematics, science and business studies but failing his civil engineering course. He attended Lambertupol University two years later at the age of 16 and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor's in Politics and International Relations. During this time he was a member of the Progress Party and volunteered for lectures, fundraisers and events for the party.
Political career
Whilst he was in secondary education, Barvata grew an interest of politics, and during his time in university he ran for local town council elections for Aresmy, a tourist town at the mouth of the Ider River. Barvata was beaten to a seat by a matter of 103 voters, something he has never let down.
However, during the Meremaa Civil War and immediately after graduating from Lambertupol University, Barvata founded a localised anti-Delari committee which garnered a lot of support. He ran as a member of Progress in his local constituency, Cavenhelm, and beat the Democratic incumbent Johnery Frawldes in the 1991 General Election. Barvata was a relatively behaved back-bencher.
During the Auroran-Pacific War Barvata criticised Johannes for two major things; his "use of soldiers like cannon fodder", a very controversial comment that put Barvata in the spotlight of Morstaybishlian politics, and Johannes' handling of the fragmentation of the two Ethalrian nations which put their successor states into a period of recession. Soon thereafter in August 2017 he won the Progress Leader Election. Criticising Johannes on many accounts since the war, Barvata called a motion of no confidence in September 2017 but it failed to reach a majority of seats in the house. When the next election came around, Barvata campaigned across all four constituent countries and put more effort in his campaigning than both Walter Johannes and Paddy Lukamortz combined, later going on to win the 2019 Great Morstaybishlia General Election with Progress netting 910 seats.
Mayor of Cavenhelm
After 20 years of being a Progress MP, and 14 of those under Conservative administration where he commented "I have not seen yet one change!", Barvata indicated his intention to seek election as the Mayor of Cavenhelm. On 16 July 2011, Barvata won the election on a second round vote with 55% of the votes, compared to 45% for his Conservative opponent Nico Belaisi. As Mayor he ushered in major redevelopment of the city's West Harbour Communities, introduced greener methods of transport and established the first vehicle-free zone in the city center.
Party Leader
Prime Minister of Great Morstaybishlia
Barvata's first hurdle in office came with Kyrloth. Their annexation of Izria saw the Embask oil rigs off the coast of the Undirnor and Slodhir Islands unlawfully and illegally signed away by King Tegura IV to Sinter Tass, which sparked controversy and outrage. Barvata failed to negotiate with Tass and the later sent a blockade of corvettes to the oil rigs. Norgsveltian Prime Minister Sverdrup hosted a meeting between Tass, Barvata and Kuthern leaders. In the meanwhile one of the oil rigs was blown up on order of Artun Sotarikos and sunk the destroyer MBS Dovia. The incident was known as the Lion of Taren Incident, and in the Osfjord Summit Barvata pressured Sinter Tass's government to pay a sum of 20 billion Kiribs (5% of their GDP) for the oil rigs and in compensation. Barvata later sacked Secretary of State for Foreign and Oversea Territory Affairs Janietta Rubis from the cabinet for her poor handling of the situation, replacing her with Ron Wehrasbi.
In May Barvata flew to Albaburg and signed an agreement with Supreme Archon Kirk Santon to politically isolate Alyunthia in an attempt to demonise the matriarchal ideology that governed the nation. Barvata insinuated that the MBE would remain neutral, unlike Rodenia, who had declared hostilities.
Attempting to resolve the differences between Great Morstaybishlia, Meremaa and Norgsveldet left behind from the Meremaa Civil War, Barvata arranged a summit between himself, Johanna Sverdrup and Njord II in Riberoe, the capital of Dalmaghar. The leaders signed the Riberoe Pact; a non-aggression treaty and delimitation of the Sjøguds Sea, effectively ending a 26 year dispute over the Exclusive Economic Zone of Lanis Island, where Norgsveldet and Great Morstaybishlia have claims on.
Barvata asserted the MBE's position in the 2020 Puntalian Crisis. Barvata reassured the world that the MBE would mediate the conflict between the UCA-NSTO coalition and Rodenia after the latter invaded and occupied Puntalia. Barvata received harsh criticism for his direct involvement from political opponents and world leaders.
Barvata passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill, but faced huge scrutiny over its controversy.