Mikaere III

Mikaere III was the Rangitanga-o-te-Moana (monarch of the Oan Isles from 1904 to 1936. Also known as Mikaere the Reformer, he was responsible for the democratisation of the Oan Isles and continued the modernisation of the Oan Isles. He succeeded his father Rangitake the Great in 1904 and led the Oan Isles through the Great War.

Democratic reforms

Mikaere III was described as an astute political actor in that he could detect the changing political fortunes of monarchies such as that of the Oan Isles. He stated that he believed that a time was coming in which absolute and semi-absolute monarchy would no longer be a viable way of running increasingly complex modern nations. For this reason, he asked the Council of Elders to draft a report and advise him on the formation of a new constitution. The Council of Elders consisted of prominent people in society on whom the monarch relied for advice.

The Council of Elders conducted a fact finding mission and compared political systems across the world. They recommended a formal written law that constrained the power of the monarchy and placed executive power in the hands of qualified civil servants and legislative power in the hands of the monarch and a council appointed by him while leaving judicial power to qualified judges. These recommendations were heavily supported by Lord Azriel Makemutu who stood to benefit. However as the Great War ensued other political factors became relevant.

Firstly, ideologies from foreign nations about liberal democracy and egalitarianism caused agitation among the youth and intellectual classes. The increased publication of literature critical of the monarchy and the socio-economic structure of the Oan Isles as well as frequent riots by young people especially university students led Mikaere III to believe that more radical steps were necessary.

Mikaere III issued a land reform decree which forced nobles to sell off their estates to tenant farmers at a cost subsidized by the state. Although the nobles were deeply embittered by these Reforms, Mikaere III gave the Council of Chiefs the power to approve legislation. To allay the concerns of the youth and intellectuals and to discourage their criticism of the monarchy, Mikaere III established the Council of the People as an advisory and deliberative body. These reforms were eventually consolidated into the Constitution of the Oan Isles in a similar vein to the Great Charter of Liberties of Great Morstaybishlia that King Thadeus II had been forced to sign at the end of the Great War.

Lord Azriel Makemutu played an active role in the formation of these reforms and desired to elevate his position. Thus, he advised that the Council of Ministers (which was a sub-committee of the Council of Elder that historically provided the monarch with technical and day-to-day support) take up more of the workload and be given more freedom to make decisions. Thus, the monarch placed various areas of the government under the control of the Ministers of the Crown who comprised that Council. He insisted that the newly formed office of the Prime Minister to which Lord Azriel Makemutu was predictably appointed report to him the state of the nation weekly. This laid the foundations of the democratisation of the Oan Isles.