Shano Tuvria

His Excellency Sir Shano Tuvria
Tuvria's official portrait as Prime Minister, 2017
League of Novaris Secretary-General
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 Jun 2023
Deputy	Æthelwine Heardsunu & Bobs Peare
Preceded by	Thomas Lind
International Forum Secretary-General
In office 18 Feb 2021 – 15 Aug 2021
Deputy	Remy Jacquet
Preceded by	Joanna Hirov
Succeeded by	Remy Jacquet
Prime Minister of Tavaris
In office 31 January 2017 – 18 Feb 2021
Preceded by	Aniríl Dravana Niktat
Succeeded by	Žarís Nevran Alandar
Leader of the Opposition
In office 13 April 2012 – 30 January 2017
Preceded by	Nari Nevran Alandar
Succeeded by	Movra Vodroni Alištar
Minister of External Affairs
In office 16 May 2007 – 12 May 2011
Preceded by	Rendi Nakona Gonu
Succeeded by	Moraša Zolar Ventakri
Delegate of Line Šonai to the Diet
In office 17 May 1994 – 18 Feb 2021
Preceded by	Akandra Šonai Vatra
Succeeded by	Devra Šonai Nadevra
Personal details
Born	19 February 1961 Ratani, Tavaris
Political party	Democratic National Party
Residence	300 Zaram Avenue Nuvrenon, Tavaris
Alma mater	Tavaris Central University, Ratani, Tavaris

Sir Shano Tuvria, RAK, ΣT (b. 19 February 1961—Present; name sometimes given as "Šano Šonai Tuvria" or "Shano Tõvria") is the Secretary-General of the League of Novaris and formerly served as Secretary-General of the International Forum, from February 18th, 2021 until August 15th, 2021. He was the first orc to serve in both positions. Prior to his service internationally, Tuvria was the Prime Minister of Tavaris from 2017-2021.

As Prime Minister of Tavaris, Tuvria oversaw a normalization of relations with the Federation of Bana and also negotiated an agreement with Vistaraland for the purchase of nuclear warheads and to jointly develop new weapon designs in the future. This was in addition to the nascent Tavari nuclear program, begun in 2012, which he revealed to the public along with the Vistari agreement in 2021. The agreement was highly polarizing across the Tavari political spectrum, and led to the failure of his governing coalition and snap elections in February 2021. While his party won with a vastly increased number of seats, allowing it to attain a majority alone, Tuvria announced 8 days after his re-election that he would be resigning from Parliament and accepting the job of Secretary-General of the International Forum. He was succeeded by his Deputy Prime Minister, the politically popular Žarís Nevran Alandar.

Tuvria served as Secretary-General for a full six-month term in that office and presided over the General Council as it passed such legislation as a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a declaration of apartheid as a crime against sapient-kind, and acts establishing the Global Health and Solidarity Organization, the International Cultural Heritage Organization, and the Global Development Bank and Trade Organization. Due to a diagnosis of stomach cancer, he declined to run for a second term.

On January 17th, 2022, it was reported by Tuvria's then-wife, Linda, that he had passed away from complications due to stomach cancer. Unbeknownst to all but Linda Šonai Tuvria and four accomplices, Tuvria was not dead, and had in fact been smuggled out of the country and into the Danvreas, with his body replaced by a double. Linda had bribed her husband's supervising physician to place him in a medically induced coma and to declare him dead, out of an apparent desire to prevent him from returning to his political career, the stress of which she blamed for his cancer. In fact, Tuvria's cancer was in remission. Tuvria spent some eight months in the Danvreas, in captivity and then on the run trying to escape. He was apprehended on August 25th, 2022, by Banian border patrol officials after trying to swim the Miku River into Bana, and returned to Tavaris.

Since returning, Tuvria initially remained largely out of the public eye. He is currently residing at the Prime Minister's Official Residence as a guest of Žarís Nevran Alandar, and has been seen regularly attending monthly services and other community events at the nearby Akronist Temple of the Sacred Mandate, where he had occasionally attended services while serving as Prime Minister. He reportedly briefly resumed part-time work as a Σanivat tažnažan, his first career before first running for office, but announced his candidacy for Secretary-General of the League of Novaris on June 14th, 2023. In his announcement, Tuvria said that he had considered permanently retiring, but determined that he was unhappy "just sitting around" and that he felt "very strongly that, knowing now just how precious life is, I should use my life to serve."

Knighthood

On July 10th, 2022, while Tavari officials were still under the impression that Tuvria was deceased, he was "posthumously" made a Knight of the Amethyst Order (Tavari: Revondran Azocažan Koσobicavi), the country's highest honor. Knights of the Amethyst Order, established by Queen Anadra I in 1371, were originally the country's most elite warriors, entrusted with the defense of the King, but the honor gradually shifted over time to a ceremonial one celebrating achievements by both soldiers and civilians for deeds on and off the battlefield. Knights are entitled to use the title Sir in Staynish (Tavari: Avda) and the postnominals "RAK." Since the 1793 Abolition of the Chiefs, Knights of the Amethyst Order are the only individuals in Tavaris who can be awarded individual crests from the Herald of the Silver Court. Tuvria's posthumous knighthood, awarded by Emperor Otan IV of the Tavari upon the nomination of Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar, honored Tuvria for his "staid and steady, diplomatic leadership" that "ushered in a new era of international engagement in Tavari history," citing the normalization of relations with the Federation of Bana achieved under his tenure as Prime Minister and his achievement of being the first Tavari citizen to be elected head of the "world's leading international organization," the International Forum. When it became known that Tuvria was still alive, the Silver Court announced that it was "unclear" whether a posthumous award was valid for an individual who later turned out to be alive, and so on June 6th, 2023—the one-year anniversary of the Tavari Union, an international festival called Union Day—his knighthood was "re-issued." Shano Tuvria is thus the only person in Tavari history to be awarded a knighthood twice.

For his crest, Tuvria selected the colors green and gold—the same as his alma mater, Tavaris Central University—and the emblem of two crossed macaw feathers, one of which being tipped with a pen nib, making it a σanivat's quill. The macaw is the Tavari national animal, and its feathers are heraldic symbols reserved for former Prime Ministers or members of the royal family. Additionally, the symbol of the σanivat's quill is strictly regulated under Tavari law, and only certified σanivati are permitted to represent themselves with the symbol in any context whatsoever. Tuvria's crest thus represents his status as the only Tavari Prime Minister whose private career prior to entering politics was being a σanivat tažnažan. (A handful of other Prime Ministers have also held σanivat certifications, but all these were practicing attorneys-at-law who attained the certification secondarily and who did not regularly practice σanivat law.)

As Prime Minister

As Prime Minister, Tuvria prioritized bilateral trade agreements with other countries, and during his time in office launched new agreements with Aivintis and Durakia. In military affairs, Tuvria increased the level of military support Tavaris gives to the Union of Commonwealth Alliances, sending Tavari troops to Rodenia and Alksearia to participate in UCA-led military operations. He also authorized the Tavari military to participate in the occupation of Correva under the auspices of the League of Novaris. After the coup in Ni-Rao in 2020, he declared that Tavari troops would enter the country to support the government of the Empress and the Grand Vizier, declaring it the "legitimately elected and legitimately serving" government of the country, over the Communist Raonite People's Democratic Republic in the South.

Under Tuvria, a significant thaw in relations occurred between Tavaris and the Federation of Bana. The two countries agreed to "normalize" relations, meaning opening embassies and naming official ambassadors, in 2020 after some two years of talks started by Šonai Tuvria. The Federation of Bana also joined the ANG, including - like Tavaris - membership in the Alliance Free Travel Area. The thaw in relations proved to be divisive among the public. The largest political demonstration in Tavaris of the 21st century, a rally in front of the Banian embassy that saw tens of thousands declare their anger about the thaw, significantly hampered Tuvria's hopes to bring the Federation of Bana diplomatically closer. The announcement in 2021 of the Tavari nuclear program further damaged the détente, and formal talks with the Federation of Bana have since ceased.

He led the party to victory in the elections of 2021, which were largely seen as a referendum on the Tavari nuclear program. In his speech to supporters on election night, he said that he would continue to advocate for Tavaris to "step up and be a global leader now and forever." However, only 8 days after his election, Tuvria announced that he was resigning to take the then-open position of International Forum Secretary-General. While opposition parties roundly criticized him for leaving so quickly after having been re-elected Prime Minister, early opinion polling indicates that both Tuvria and Žarís Nevran Alandar, his replacement, have increased in popularity since the election.

Tuvria announced in July of 2020 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and that he could not run for re-election as Secretary-General. His deputy, Remy Jacques of Alksearia, was elected to succeed him in August 2021.

Spelling of Name

Tuvria had gone by a number of different ways to spell his name over the course of his life. These include "Šano Šonai Tuvria" and "Shano Tuvria" most prominently, but he has also used Shano Shonai Tuvria, Šano Tuvria, and Shano Tõvria in occasional contexts. Additionally, the current Tavari orthographical standard (as of 2021) would call for his name to be spelled "Šano Tõvria." Indeed, it was changing spelling standards, set by a Tavari government body known as the Council of the Tavari Language, that were the main cause for his changes in name. The Council announced new spelling standards twice over the course of his lifetime, including the 1987 change of "Sh" to the single letter "Š" and the 2021 change of the letter "u" to "õ," a letter borrowed from the Rodokan language used to transcribe the same vowel sound.

While Tavari law entirely exempts names from changes in Tavari spelling, meaning that no individual is required to change their name to reflect that a letter has been changed in Tavari spelling, Tuvria said that he chose to do it anyway "because it felt like the right thing to do." His most recent change was in 2021, during his term as International Forum Secretary-General, when he changed from "Šano Šonai Tuvria," the name he had used as Prime Minister of Tavaris, to "Shano Tuvria," a spelling he had used earlier in his life. In an interview with the Nuvrenon Sunday Magazine, Tuvria remarked that "it can be rather hard for non-Tavari speakers to get a good handle on how Tavari names work" and said that he changed his name as Secretary-General primarily because people kept spelling the previous name incorrectly. "It got to be a bit annoying, so I decided to just go with something simpler."

Famously, Tuvria's name was misspelled in a diplomatic cable from Packilvania to the International Forum after that body rejected Packilvania's application for membership. The letter, notably reading only "There will be no peace on this planet," was addressed to "Shano Tuvrai," which Tuvria remarked he had "never gotten before."