Lord Councillor of Eroea

Lord Councillor of Eroea of Template:Abolished
Imperial Government of Eroea Office of the Lord Councillor
Style	Lord (Informal) His Excellency (Formal and international)
Member of	House of Councillors Imperial Cabinet
Reports to	Lord Chamberlain (De jure) House of Councillors (De facto)
Residence	State Palace, Argost
Seat	Palace of Yuntvar
Nominator	None (de jure) House of Councillors (de facto)
Appointer	Monarch
Term length	At His Imperial Majesty's Pleasure
Precursor	Imperial Chancellor
First holder	Ingrid Rey
Final holder	Gerald Yalan
Abolished	1 February 4145
Deputy	Deputy Lord Councillor First Minister (Informal)

The Lord Councillor of Eroea, formally known as the The Most Loyal Office of the Lord Councillor and Chief Representative to the Sovereign, was the de facto head of government of Eroea from 3776 until 4145. The Lord Councillor was the most active member of the executive branch, acting as the principal executor of the imperial prerogative on behalf of the the Crown. The Lord Councillor was also the leader of the House of Councillors, the lower house of Parliament. The Lord Councillor was ultimately accountable to the Monarch, but in practice was accountable to Parliament and by extension, the general electorate. The Lord Councillor was not a democratically elected office and was considered a personal servant of the Monarch, not the House. The House merely nominates a person to the position whom the Sovereign almost always approves. As the House was elected by the people, the post of Lord Councillor was considered a indirect democratic office in practice.

The Cabinet was under the formal leadership of the Lord Councillor. It, along with the Imperial Council, are the principal advisory bodies to the Sovereign. The de jure head of government was the Lord Chamberlain, who was considered the Monarch's representative in Parliament. By convention, they are simply there for advise and consent, however, the influence of the position depends on a variety of factors such as the respective officeholders of each position and political sphere at the time. The Cabinet was made up of the senior ministers in the government, who lead the respective departments. Each of these departments was responsible for enforcing the legislative policy and executing the responsibilities designated to them by said legislation, this legislation was drafted by the House of Councillors, the lower chamber, and thus Cabinet are accountable to them and the Monarch. The Lord Councillor appoints and dismisses members of the Cabinet at will, through the principle of Emperor-in-council. The founding of the office was steeped in the Imperial Reformation Decree 3776 and was a continuation of the ancient office of the Imperial Chancellor. The creation of the post solidified Eroea's transition from a bureaucratic dictatorship to a quasi-democratic monarchy. The Monarch still holds absolute power but chooses to delegate said powers to various ministers. Before the office, the Imperial Chancellor was not accountable to any publicly elected body and thus the system was bureaucratic. Now, the post as head of government was usually delegated to the leader of a publicly elected body, the House. The post has morphed overtime, with power switching from the office to the Lord Chamberlain and vica versa. However, it has been established that the Lord Councillor was the supreme authority on executing the royal prerogative. The lesser nobility in Eroea, specifically the Lords Paramount, have little to no power on national affairs. They instead are confined to their own regions, in which themselves have their own regional legislatures and executive governments.

The position of Lord Councillor was abolished under the Great Reform Act, which was enacted during the tenure of Gerald Yalan in the aftermath of the Eukatosian Secession. The Act established the new position of State Chancellor, which strengthened the role of head of government. It also expanded the rights of colonies and territories around Eukatosia, while also permitting more widespread use of the Armed Forces in these colonies. The final Lord Councillor was Gerald Yalan, who went on to serve as the first State Chancellor.

Authority

The legal instrument that dictates the powers of the Lord Councillor was the Imperial Reformation Decree 3776, often called the 'unofficial constitution of Eroea'. While the Sovereign retains absolute right to rule, the Crown delegates its royal prerogative to the Lord Councillor and his subordinate ministers. All actions of the Lord Councillor are done on behalf of the Sovereign themselves. Unlike in constitutional monarchies where the Sovereign executes their royal prerogative on advise of ministers, the monarchy of Eroea does not. It executes its royal prerogative off its own accord, however, this was often done through a principle of delegation. Whereby, matters that do not relate to the ultimate state of the nation do not require the attention of the Monarch.

Before the Lord Councillor, the Imperial Chancellery existed as the executive and legislative organ of government. This was a broad term to describe the entire government of Eroea, which was under the control of a single person, the Imperial Chancellor. The Imperial Chancellor was delegated all royal prerogatives and they further delegates these powers to their subordinates. There was no popularly elected assembly and thus this form of governance was called 'bureaucratic absolute monarchy', where the Monarch does not take an active role in the daily governance procedures of the nation. This method of government grew increasingly unpopular as the population of Eroea grew and the world around it evolved. Thus, the final Imperial Chancellor, Ingrid Rey, transformed the political sphere of Eroea with the assistance of Gregor IV. Rey was appointed the Steward for Transitional Government and tasked with meeting the demands of the Imperial Reformation Decree, which was drafted by her, as Imperial Chancellor, and approved by Emperor Gregor. Rey would set a number of precedents for the office. In theory, the Lord Councillor was seen as executing the royal prerogative on behalf of the Monarch, who overtime and through various imperial statutes has devolved the power to rule to subordinate offices. By convention, the Monarch should not intervene in governmental affairs but the upholding of this convention depends on the sitting Monarch at the time. Justinian II was a prime example of a Monarch who directly involved themselves in government affairs. His son, Justinian III was rather indifferent to governmental decisions and instead opted for a more nominal role as an adviser than a ruler.

The power to dissolve parliament was afforded to the Monarch only, however, they almost always act on the advise of the Lord Councillor or when a motion of no confidence was successful. Governmental appropriations and funding are decided by the Department for the Treasury and Finance, who then pass them to the defunct office of the Grand Treasurers Council, of which the Monarch was the only active member. This was a ceremonial event that approves budgetary allocations. This has been a criticism of the system in Eroea as the House has no say on the budget for Eroea, such area of policy was exclusively assigned to the Cabinet. The power to exercise the judicial functions of the Monarch are not wholly vested in the office. The Lord Councillor does have the power to investigate and scrutinize, but not convict or try. Such power was delegated to the Imperial Council, and its subordinate body, the Council of the Chief Justiciar. The power to declare war and make peace was another major power of the Lord Councillor, but was not afforded to the position directly. Instead, the Lord Councillor was by ex officio the Deputy Chair of the Imperial Command, the governing body of the Armed Forces, the office of Chair was held by the Monarch who was also the Supreme Marshal of the Forces.

History

Foundations

Like many of modern governmental institutions in Eroea, the Imperial Reformation Decree 3776 was the legal instrument that formally established the office of Lord Councillor. The decree officially delegated royal prerogative to the elected office of the Lord Councillor. Initially, there was no electorate specified to nominate the Lord Councillor, thus this led to a legal paradox whereby any body could technically elect the Lord Councillor at their own will. This was swiftly amended and the power was formally vested in the House of Councillors. This was not a serious issue since Gregor IV corrected this issue during the time of the Transitional Government, led by the first Lord Councillor, Ingrid Rey. If this issue had gone unnoticed, it would have been possible for any body within Eroea to nominate the Lord Councillor position.

The Lord Councillor replaced the old role of Imperial Chancellor (which still theoretically exists but was no longer in use). The Lord Councillor was not the formal head of government, such power was vested in the Monarch and the Lord Chamberlain, in practice however the Lord Councillor was seen as the most senior adviser to the Sovereign and this convention has been upheld for millennia. The tradition of appointing the leader of the largest party in the House of Councillors stems from the fact that they often wielded a majority in the House and thus no bi-partisan alliance could oppose them. The House was an elected body and was seen as a connection between the people and the Sovereign, a connection that must be upheld and respected. The belief that the Sovereign was a divine being has largely dissipated in Eroean society. The Sovereign was, however, seen as the most senior representative from Divya, the deity of the Faith of Eroea, the major religion of Eroea and the religion of the Imperial Family.

Upon its formation, the Lord Councillor was subordinate to the Imperial Council, the upper house in the Parliament of Eroea. It was common to see government legislation end in tatters as the conservative-dominated, noble oriented Imperial Council were not inclined to agree with many of the 'common' measures of the Imperial Government. They utilised their royal prerogative as wielders of the Sovereign's power to issue imperial veto's, which would practically bring a stop to a bill progressing through the legislative process and be forcefully thrown out. Thus, during the Rey premiership, the Veto Rationalization Memorandum was issued by Gregor IV himself. It made it impossible for the Imperial Council to express the Sovereign's opinion on legislation and thus removed their right to have absolute authority over all legislation. Thus, for the veto to pass it must be rationalized under a number of imperial legislative violations. This was when the true power of the office was recognized and it allowed for a proper functioning government, without obstruction from lower nobility, many of whom were opposed to quasi-democratic governance.

Precedence, privileges and style

Despite being the most senior member of the Imperial Government, the Lord Councillor was not a senior member in the hierarchy of Eroea, instead ranking below 4 other members of the government. In terms of actual executive authority, the Lord Councillor outranks all other offices except the Lord Chamberlain, which has more power but only when authorized to execute these powers on behalf of the Monarch. In an official sense, the Adjudicator of Parliament outranks the Lord Councillor but since the Adjudicator was almost always the Sovereign, they would outrank them regardless. The Imperial Chancellor also outranks the Lord Councillor but was a defunct office in practice and only exists in law. The Imperial Steward of the House, the presiding officer of the House of Councillors, was seen as the more senior figure than the Lord Councillor but since they have little to no executive or legislative authority, the Lord Councillor out ranks them in a de facto sense. There have been attempts to increase the seniority of the Lord Councillor but all have subsequently been blocked by the Imperial Council, who have stated that a position of the commoner deserves no higher place in the Eroean order of precedence; a principle that has garnered much criticism but has been upheld by many Monarchs.

Despite Lord Councillors' names often being prefixed with the title 'Lord', they are not by right a lord within the Peerage of Eroea. The inclusion of the word Lord in the title was to signify that they are a servant of the Crown, however, since the office holds no lands, it was not an actual lordship. In the case of a member of the nobility being appointed to the position, their title was always used in preference of the title Excellency, which was the formal title for all officeholders. There have been attempts for a Consul's Estate to be established for the Lord Councillor to own as a personal fief during their tenure, but all have been struck down due to the often volatile nature of the position; despite the fact that the average term length of an administration was 16.5 years between 4000 and 4100.

Residence

The Lord Councillor of Eroea has two official residences; Counsel Manor, in Central Argost and the Palace of Yuntvar, in the Government District of Argost.

Appointment and succession

Appointment

The appointment of the office was the sole authority of the Sovereign. According to law, there was no conditions on who can be appointed to the office. However, by convention, the Lord Councillor was always a member of the House of Councillors - usually the leader of the party with a majority in the house, however, sometimes a Lord Councillor may be appointed with a minority. The House of Councillors holds a symbolic vote to nominate the Lord Councillor, called the 'forum of councillors on the matter of first among equals'. This was a vote where any member can put their name forward for a the position and a vote was held to determine the winner. If none reach a majority, the candidate with the lowest votes was struck out and the process repeats. In almost all cases, the whip of the largest party organizes the members to vote for the party leader. Once the vote has concluded, the nominee was conferred the title of Senior Counsel of the House. This was essentially a title of popularity and a vote of confidence in a certain leader in the House. The Monarch can then be assured that the councillor has the ability to form a functioning government.

The process was lengthy and rather ceremonial, since it was based on years old tradition.

Succession and resignation

The procedure for succession to the office of Lord Councillor was unclear and differs from government to government. Traditionally, the Lord Councillor appoints a Deputy Lord Councillor or First Minister and these positions become the Lord Councillor upon the incapacitation of the previous officeholder. In the case of a Lord Councillor resigning, the standard procedure was for the Lord Councillor to make a recommendation to the Sovereign on their successor; in almost all cases, this recommendation was adhered to. If a Lord Councillor dies, an imperial decree was issued in the same day by the Lord Chamberlain on behalf of the Sovereign, decreeing either the Deputy Lord Councillor or First Minister to be the new Lord Councillor. A confidence motion must be made in the new officeholder within 2 weeks. If the confidence motion fails, the Cabinet was dismissed, the House dissolved and an election was called. If the confidence motion passes, as it almost always does, the new Lord Councillor was confirmed by the Sovereign directly and their term formally begins.

If there was no Deputy Lord Councillor or First Minister, the office of Lord Councillor was said to be in commission under the control of the Cabinet. By convention, the Minister for the Interior was the leader of this commission, however, this depends on each cabinets structure. The government can continue doing business as usual, however the normal appointment procedure must be followed. This was riskier as it may allow for a new government to prop up without a new election, however, this has happened seldom in recent times.

As the Lord Councillor was seen as a servant of the Crown, they must personally make their intention to resign known to the Monarch, which can theoretically be rejected. Upon acceptance of the resignation, traditionally the Sovereign will ask the Lord Councillor who their successor should be. As stated above, Lord Councillors almost always recommend their next most senior member of government or the current party leader, who will be able to command a majority in the House. The process was not complete, however, as the Lord Councillor was still the Senior Counsel of the House and must resign from that position to make way for the nomination of a new Lord Councillor. This was often when the former Lord Councillor makes their final speech as head of government, up until this moment, they are still regarded as the de facto head of government. The resignation was then approved by the Imperial Steward of the House and the Imperial Council was informed. Normally, this was the last business of the day and parliament reconvenes on the next working day to nominate the new Senior Counsel and Lord Councillor.

List of Lord Councillors

No.	Lord Councillor	Party	Ministries	Term Start	Term End	Elections	Sovereign	Description of Premiership
				Total Years
26	Gerald Yalan	National Eroean Alliance (RDP-CNP)					Amadeus II	Gerald Yalan, Lord Paramount of Farah'n, is often cited as one of the greatest Lord Councillors in history. A longtime member of the Conservative Noble Party, he built a strategic alliance with the Royal Democratic Party to counteract the Eukatosian Secession War. His leadership and eloquence ultimately led to boosting morale across the country. His economic policies brought about prosperity, however, his social policies lacked the enthusiasm of forwardness that had been a staple of previous administrations. His new party survived only as long as his premiership, and he formed the largest government in the history of the state.
25	Josiah Mahon	Royal Democratic Party		30 September 4134	13 February 4136			The tenure of Josiah Mahon was one of failure, ultimately due to the Eukatosian Secession War, which his government was unable to avoid. The war, stoked by far-right insurgencies in Eukatosia, caused the biggest internal shift in the Eroean political sphere in generations. Ultimately, he was forced to resign in early 4136 and call a parliamentary election on the issue.
				1 year
24	Howard McCormick			10 February 4119	30 September 4134	4134 4129 4124 4119
23	Harold Acaster		I	11 September 4117	10 February 4119
				1 year
22	James Vice	Commoners Party	I, II	1 June 4109	11 September 4117	4114 4109
				8 years			Justinian III
21	Joseph Xao	Royal Democratic Party	I, II	4 June 4102	1 June 4109	4106
				7 years
							Justinian II
20	Arthur Hermang		I, II, III, IV, V, VI	8 April 4083	4 June 4102	4101 4096 4091 4086 4083
				19 years
19	Vernon Wester	Conservative Noble Party				4080 4075 4072
				10 years
18	Augustus Wester			1 September 4038	5 August 4072	4067 4062 4058 4055 4050 4045 4042 4038
							Justinian I
(16)	Sean Chandler	Royal Democratic Party		17 August 4029	1 September 4038	4033 4029
17	Jeremy Smith	Commoners Party		3 February 4016	17 August 4029	4024 4020 4018 4016		Smith, who was now 76 and had been leader of the Commoners Party since 3983, aimed to put the party into power before his retirement which he aimed to have completed by 4020. By 4016, the general populace longed for a change in government and the Chandler premiership, which had been relatively successful over the years, had been in power for 24 years and were slowly losing their voter share as their mandate shrunk. Chandler called an election in 4016, stepping down from all government positions and retiring from politics simultaneously. The Conservative Noble Party, which was in disarray because of disputes among House Wester about leadership of the party. Smith led a campaign to profit of this turbulence and also campaigned of continuing economic prosperity and progressing civil liberties within the country. The election led to a hung parliament, the first in 30 years. Smith formed a minority government, going into a confidence and supply agreement with the RDP. This collapsed in 4018 with the Eroean Imperial Budget for 4019, which aimed to modify tax benefits for landowners. The confidence and supply agreement was re-secured after the 4018 election, with the RDP losing seats and the Commoners Party making significant gains but not enough for a majority. The government was dissolved again in 4020 due to the Energy Nationalization Act by a bi-partisan alliance of Conservative Nobles and a number RDP defections. Smith won the subsequent 4020 election with a significant majority and he went on to win the subsequent 4024 election. He died in 4029, which triggered a leadership election within his own party but due to internal conflict, the government collapsed and the RDP were returned to power after 18 years out of power.
16	Sean Chandler	Royal Democratic Party		17 May 3992	3 February 4016	4011 4008 3992		There was a gap of 16 years between the 3992 election and the 4008 election due to the Colonial Disturbance which lasted from 3992 until 4008.
15	Alexander Hermang			11 December 3986	17 May 39992	3987 3986		A father to Arthur Hermang, he served as Lord Councillor from 3990 until 3992. He was ousted in 3992 due to poor colonial relations and revolt within his own party. However, his premiership was marked by the most socially liberal policies until the appointment of Joseph Xao in 4102. The introduction of the Civil Partnership Adoption Act and the Special Case Abortion Act redefined Eroean law in terms of adoption of children in civil partnerships and also gave leeway for abortion to be utilized in specific cases as specified by the act. Hermang was able to form a minority government between his party and the Commoners Party in the 3986 election, but this collapsed a year later with the resignation of all Commoner cabinet members and the loss of their support in Parliament. This action led to the 3987 election to be triggered in January of that year. The election backfired on the Commoners Party and would lead to a temporary collapse in their voter base until 4016; the Royal Democrats then formed a majority government . Hermang served a full term but was ousted towards the 3992 parliamentary election by his own party.
14	Nelson Varies	Commoners Party		19 May 3931	11 December 3986	3931 3936 3941 3945 3950 3955 3960 3962 3967 3972 3979		The election of Nelson Varies as Lord Councillor was not a shock to many within Eroea at the time. Varies had been elected after a turbulent 13 year period, over 7 elections had been called in that time and the people of Eroea were now fed up with the amount of government changes which was beginning to have a series affect on the country. Varies was elected in the 3931 election with a super majority of 581 seats, the largest majority government since the foundation of the state at the time until he bet his own record in 3967 with 698 seats. Varies embarked on a broad social welfare program. He established the Imperial Medical Service, the Eroean Coal Company, the Common Bank and the Office for Welfare, Employment and Pensions. This seriously widened the budget of the state but coupled with increased colonial economic output, the difference was offset and allowed for Varies to maintain a small but steady government surplus throughout his term as Lord Councillor. His ability to encapsulate the general public and his ability to charm members of the aristocracy has been noted as one of his strongest traits, and along with his successful government policy, is often cited as the reasons why his tenure was so lengthy. Varies led the party until just prior to the 3986 election, when he announced his resignation as Lord Councillor. He passed the Leadership of the party on to Jeremy Smith. The party formally agreed to exit power at the 3986 election and intended to enter in to opposition.
				55 years
13	Jenna Furlong	Independent		10 January 3926	19 May 3931			Furlong was personally appointed as Lord Councillor to lead the reestablishment of the Eroean democratic government.
–	Aishur ministry (imperial rule)	N/A		20 September 3919	10 January 3926			The Aishur ministry was established by the Emergency War Decree on the 18 September 3919, on the 20 September legislation was passed in the House of Councillors proroguing the Parliament and delegating all legislative powers to the Imperial Council. This precipitated due to the outbreak of the Aishur War.
12	Leonard Riley	Commoners Party		5 June 3907	19 September 3919	3917 3912 3907
11	Sean Archibald	Royal Democratic Party		16 August 3906	31 May 3907	None
(10)	Gerald Wester III			19 December 3902	16 August 3906	3902
11	Robert G. Asquith	Commoners Party		19 March 3894	17 December 3902	3897 3894
10	Gerald Wester III	Royal Democratic Party		7 November 3880	17 March 3894	3889 3885 3880
9	Phillip de Bruene	Liberal Party		13 May 3865	4 November 3880	3875 3870		The Minister for the Treasury and Finance in Bowles-McCormick's ministry took over after her sudden death. Phillip de Bruene was a veteran of the party. He would be the last leader of the Liberal Party to be Lord Councillor
8	Regina Bowles-McCormick			7 April 3865	13 May 3865	3865		Bowles-McCormick was elected during the 3865. She was the first woman to hold the post of Lord Councillor since its inaugural holder, Ingrid Rey. Bowles-McCormick passed away just a month into her term.
7	Josiah Mortimer	Royal Democratic Party		1 October 3864	1 April 3865	None
(4)	Eamon Scanlon			19 December 3850	1 October 3864	3862 3857 3855 3850
6	Ned van Sprang	Liberal Party		17 May 3849	19 December 3850	3846 3841 3849
(4)	Eamon Scanlon	Royal Democratic Party		11 March 3843	17 May 3849	3844
(5)	Maria Thornton	Liberal Party		3 June 3842	11 March 3843
(4)	Eamon Scanlon	Royal Democratic Party		18 February 3841	3 June 3842	None
5	Maria Thornton	Liberal Party		19 August 3834	18 February 3841	3839 3834
4	Eamon Scanlon	Royal Democratic Party		5 June 3829	19 August 3834	None
(2)	Atticus Smith			21 February 3816	5 June 3829	3829 3826 3821 3816
(3)	Peregrine Wester			3 October 3811	13 February 3816	3811
(2)	Atticus Smith			15 June 3798	11 September 3811	3807 3802
							Gregor IV
3	Peregrine Wester			27 February 3797	10 June 3798	3797
2	Atticus Smith			21 June 3792	3 February 3797	3892
1	Ingrid Rey	Royal Democratic Party		1st February 3777	21 June 3792	3787 3782 3777
	Office established; replaced Leader of the Transitional Government