Honorine Peltier

Honorine Giselle Aceline Peltier (born Zechyr 6, 1525) is an Eskkyan politician who currently serves as the nation's Head of State or Elector. Peltier is both the first woman and youngest individual ever to serve as the Eskkyan Head of State. Born in Breuilh, a medium-sized city located close to the Lomarren border, Peltier is a graduate of the University of Eideinn, where she studied Law. A member of the Socialist Party whilst a student, Peltier switched allegiance to the centre-right Democratic Alliance at the age of twenty four, in protest of far-left Manuel Auclair winning the Socialist leadership contest.

Almost immediately upon graduating from university, Peltier began working as a criminal defence attorney in Seneca and remained in the role for the next four years, before being elected to the Falmorish Assembly. She quickly made a name for herself as a security hawk, prompting party officials to nominate her to serve the canton in the Federal Council - the country's upper chamber - by the end of her first term. As one of the ten representatives of Falmore in the Federal Council, Peltier fought against federal intervention in cantonal affairs and lived up to her hawkish reputation by regularly voting against immigration reform. Peltier led a successful bid to become leader of the Democratic Alliance in Falmore just prior to the cantonal elections. She became the canton's first female governor after the party won a majority of the seats in the Falmorish Assembly. In 1570, Peltier was selected as the Democratic Alliance candidate to replace outgoing elector Étienne D'Ussel, a fellow party member. After the National Coalition decided against fielding their own candidate, endorsing Peltier's campaign instead, it became quite evident that she would in fact become the country's first democratic female Head of State. She was sworn in on 7 Dein 1570.

A self-proclaimed conservative, Peltier defended and promoted "family values" whilst serving in her legislative roles, continuing this as Governor of Falmore by vetoing legislation she felt hurt the moral fabric of society. Despite being one of the Democratic Alliance's most socially right-wing members in the past, she has in recent years flip-flopped on quite a number of issues, particularly relating to the LGBT community. Her views made her rather unpopular amongst more liberal circles whilst serving as a legislator, though she managed to gain nationwide popularity during her term as Governor of Falmore. A poll conducted by the Times of Rambouillet found that Peltier has an approval rating of 71% as Elector.

Early Life

Born on 6 Zechyr 1525 in Breuilh, a city in the south-east of Falmore, located close to the Lomarren border, Peltier is the daughter of Fabienne Peltier, an elemntary school teacher from Arseille, Valland, and John Mayfair, a fireman from Hathmore, Strathae. She spent the first ten years of her life in the Valenci-speaking town of Filitosa, where she attended Jean-Brice elementary school, where her mother was employed. Peltier described her time in Filitosa as "difficult" due to not being able to speak Valenci, the local dialect of Lomarren that the majority of kids at school used outside the classroom. At the age of ten, Peltier moved to Seneca with her mother after her parents separated. Her mother legally changed Honorine's surname from Mayfair to Peltier when she was eleven. Whilst living in Seneca, Peltier studied at the André Peroux International High School, where she obtained high grades in all her subjects except sewing.

At the age of eighteen, Peltier moved to Eideinn, Strathae to study law at the University of Eideinn, where she graduated with honours. Whilst at university, she was employed as a librarian by the Department of Law. In her third year, her mother died of a brain tumor, which Peltier struggled to cope with, just barely passing her end of year examinations. A member of the Socialist Party since the age of sixteen, Peltier became actively involved in campaigning for the party whilst at university. In an interview with the DailyReader, a Goldecian newspaper, Peltier said, "I was always more socially conservative than my fellow party members, but at the time I believed wholeheartedly in the economic philosophy of the Socialist Party." She joined the Reform Breizhigist movement at the age of nineteen and became an active member of the congregation.

Upon graduating from the University of Eideinn, Peltier moved back to Seneca, where she began working as a criminal defence attorney for Lyfide Solicitors Office. She remained in the role for four years.

Political Positions

Cantonal Sovereignty

Peltier has been a lifelong defender of cantonal sovereignty and whilst representing Falmore in the Federal Council made a name for herself a a fierce opponent of federal intervention in cantonal affairs. As Elector, Peltier has vetoed a number of bills - eight in total - that she felt gave the federal government too much control over cantonal issues. She opposes granting the Rambouillet Capital Region the same amount of representatives as the nation's three cantons in the Federal Council.

Military

Honorine Peltier has been a lifelong critic of Eskkya's longstanding policy of neutrality, becoming one of the country's leading voices for its repeal. Peltier believes that in order for Eskkya to protect its interests, it must do its utmost to ally with neighbouring Lomarre against what she refers to as the "Carpathian threat", which is presently not possible. She has spoken in favour of Eskkya joining a broad coalition to oppose the aggressive foreign policy of Carpathia. A security hawk since the outset of her career, Peltier continuously voted in favour of spending increases for the military whilst a member of the Federal Council.

Immigration

Peltier has been one of the foremost opponents of immigration reform in the Democratic Alliance since first being elected. Whilst serving in the Falmorish Assembly, she spoke often of the dangers of uncontrolled immigration and the problems that would inevitably arise if immigration to the canton was not curbed. Her 1554 address criticising the federal government over its proposal to grant the right of abode to 250,000 migrants made Peltier a household name not only in Falmore but in the entire country. Peltier has argued that Falmore, being the Eskkyan canton with the weakest economy and the one with the highest number of individuals living below the poverty line, is no position to accommodate an influx of mostly unskilled migrants. Representing Falmore and the Democratic Alliance in the Federal Council, Peltier voted against relaxing the country's immigration laws on a number of occasions. According to Peltier, net immigration should be capped at tens of thousands, and a values test should be introduced to assess whether those wishing to enter the country have views compatible with Eskkyan society.

LGBT Rights

Originally an opponent of LGBT rights whilst serving as a legislator, Honorine Peltier has in recent years become quite vocally supportive of advancing the cause. As a member of the Federal Council, Peltier voted against equalising the age of consent for homosexuals in 1559, yet recently shocked her left-wing critics by becoming the first Eskkyan Head of State to declare their support for same-sex marriage. In her capacity as Elector of Eskkya, she has given her ascent to thirteen bills in total that have advanced LGBT rights, such as granting homosexual individuals the right to serve in the armed forces. According to Antoine Delacroix, the chairman of the the Democratic Alliance LGBT Division, Peltier met with the group shortly after becoming elector and apologised for not supporting the community in the past. The National LGBT Committee dubbed Peltier one of the community's most influential enemies in their 1565 report, but the group has since praised her recent change in attitude towards the community.

Electoral Results

Elector Election 1575

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
<span style="background-color:#97519C; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     Democratic Alliance	Honorine Peltier	487	66.53%
<span style="background-color:#CF1111; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     Socialist Party	René Pascal	243	33.20%
<span style="background-color:#060680; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     True Eskkya	Prainnseas Crannach	2	0.27%

Elector Election 1570

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
<span style="background-color:#97519C; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     Democratic Alliance	Honorine Peltier	372	50.82%
<span style="background-color:#CF1111; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     Socialist Party	René Pascal	342	46.72%
<span style="background-color:#90B547; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     Green Party	Julie Mallet	12	1.64%
<span style="background-color:#060680; color:; border:1px solid #000000; text-align:center;">     True Eskkya	Islwyn Maddox	6	0.82%

Controversy

Honorine is often considered one of the country's most controversial figures not aligned with the far-right National Coalition. In 1653, whilst addressing a student group at the University of Seneca, Honorine told a Tambossan-born Vallish student that he was "free to return home if he didn't feel the grant awarded to foreign students was sufficient". The comment was widely criticised as insensitive and even racist. Peltier caused further controversy when she refused to apologise for the remark.

In her capacity as Elector of Eskkya, Peltier has been criticised for politicising the mostly-ceremonial post. Andon Silvier, the chief editor of the Rambouillet Times, stated that "Love her or hate her, Honorine Peltier has been the most politically-involved Head of State in a hundred years. "

Personal Life

File:Honorine-charity.jpg

Peltier addressing a crowd at a The Children (Les Enfants) event.

Currently single, Peltier has tried to keep her personal life mostly private, and for the most part has succeeded in doing so. However, newspapers in 1564 reported that she was dating Vallish actor Thibault Gérard. Their relationship came to an end in 1567, which Peltier stated was a "mutual decision". Photographs of Peltier with male partners have been released over the years. In an interview with the Times of Rambouillet in 1571, a year into her term as Elector, Peltier informed the nation that she "has no real interest in romance and has always been more of a career-driven sort of woman." In the same interview, she mentioned that she does not regret not having any children.

Besides her native Laurentian, Peltier fluently speaks Lanlian, Oslanburgan and Sniatyn and can understand Florinthian and Iyeau to an extent. She began learning Iyeau whilst serving as the Governor of Falmore, believing it only natural that the leader of Falmore be able to speak the canton's ancestral language. A fan of rugby, Peltier supports the Senecan Swans besides the national team. Whilst she has stated that she is not a fan of football, she has since becoming elector attended many of the national games. Peltier is a patron of the Eskkyan charity The Children, which raises money for Eskkyan children living in deprived areas. She has supported the charity for twenty two years and donated approximately $750,000.

A vegetarian since the age of sixteen, Peltier is a self-proclaimed animal lover. She was a vegan for two years whilst at university. She currently has three dogs, a parrot, a hedgehog and a Strathaen pony named Bruce. Peltier can regularly be found horse riding in the fields just outside the capital. She has carried out work on behalf of animal charities such as the Eskkyan Animal Protection Society throughout the years, delivering speeches and raising money.