Erius Jeremius Brett

Erius Jeremius Brett is the 2nd and current Chief Minister of the Angirisian Empire, and is the second Chief Minister to serve under Emperor Leoric. He has been in office since his appointment by the Emperor and confirmation by the Curia in 1568 and will be the first Chief Minister in history to face an election in 1572. Born in Tarsonium, West Angleterre, Brett is an accomplished statesman, author, lecturer and public official. He was elected to the Curia for a single term, representing the Thames district in Angleterre, as an Independent. He also served as the chief prosecutor for the city of Tarsonium for a decade, and was regarded as one of the best judicial minds in the country. In between these offices, Brett served as a lecturer and instructor at Thames Provincial College in Tarsonium and at The Angleterre University in Andarielum, and it was from his position as guest lecturer at Thames Provincial College that he was appointed Chief Minister. Brett also has acted as a private detective in Tarsonium, aiding local police in cases that the police were having issues with. Brett was considered the best private detective in the Angirisian Empire in his heyday. After three years as a private detective, Brett was then appointed by the mayor of Tarsonium to the official police force. Brett has also had success as an author, writing several books on governmental affairs, Imperial history, and some accounts of his cases as a private detective.

Early life and career

Erius Jeremius Brett was born in Tarsonium, in the Thames district of Angleterre, on 6 Alvan, 1508 at New Gettius Hospital to Alayna Brett, a seamstress, and Darius Gregorius Brett, a former military officer turned civilian contractor. Little is really known about Brett's family; very few records were kept by the family except for some birth and death certificates and a few notable events. Erius Jeremius, often simply called Jeremius by friends, seemed to have a fairly decent childhood. He attended primary school at the Elbridge Academy in the New Gettysburg neighborhood of Tarsonium, then was given a scholarship at 13 to attend the prestigious Yshari Academy in Caldeum, Kehjistan. This gives some indication that Brett was an excellent student as a child. After graduating from the Yshari Academy in 1526, Brett returned home to Tarsonium, where he started for the first two years of his college career at Thames Provincial College before transferring to The Angleterre University in Andarielum to receive his bachelor's degree in governmental affairs. It was around this time that he began to dabble in police affairs, helping local authorities as a private investigator. He would return to AU in 1532, in the midst of his detective career, to receive a bachelor's in history and then earn a Master's in governmental affairs.

Police career

Brett became fascinated with crime and mystery in his youth and had thoughts of being a detective.

Chief Minister of the Angirisian Empire, 1568-present

Domestic policy

During his first year in office, Brett radically changed the temper of the office of Chief Minister. He was given full authority to act as head of the government of the Empire by Emperor Leoric from the start of his term. He immediately called for heightened investment in domestic affairs, particularly in national education programs. Brett has had a long love for the sciences, and felt that the Empire would be served better by a strengthened emphasis on mathematics and science. Brett also urged the Curia to create a national space program to give youths a chance to look to the future, calling it a "working and evolving space exploration program" that would be "one of many ways that our youths can look up to the skies and wonder with interest about the majesty that lies beyond our atmosphere." Brett also has put a focus on better literacy, which when he took office sat at 84%. Brett felt this was not enough, and made a plea for a more literate population. Brett also asked the Curia to fund a major hydroelectric dam building project as well as additional advancement in hydroelectric technology, calling it a "consistent resource that will always be renewable for future generations to use and enjoy." Brett also signed into law a series of income tax reductions for poor and middle-class citizens, which was offset by small cuts in the defense budget as well as ending programs and killing projects that were deemed wastes of taxpayer funds. Brett also indicated that he was enacting a softer immigration policy, putting into a place a new initiative to expedite the citizenship process for Eastern Brigidnian immigrants and issued executive orders halting deportations for one year to process cases and determine the necessity of deportations or other actions.

Foreign policy

In the realm of foreign policy, Brett's term has been called a "roller-coaster". Brett espoused a "big brother" policy, calling Angiris the "seniors of our realm" and felt that Angiris had a duty to encourage the other countries of the Near East to better themselves economically and socially. He also said that any belligerent countries in the region would be encouraged by Angiris, in its capacity as an "older sibling", to put them on the right course. He threatened military action against Ga'Bath in its conflict with Mithraina; Brett and his officials believed Ga'Bath to be the aggressor. Brett backed down after the Mestran Imperium offered mediation in the conflict; Brett would not send delegates to Mestra to attend the resulting conference but said he would support any accord coming out of I'balan. Brett also was very vocal in his opposition to the revolutions in western [[Brigidna], leading to the rise of fascist sentiment. He denounced Galeae's invasion of Vienland, and blasted the Alamannia government for its support of the invasion. He also denounced the Oslanburg coup, declared the new government of the country "illegitimate" and "called for a restoration of the old order". He then recalled Angiris's ambassadors from Oslanburg, Veinland, Galeae, Alamannia, Drahen, and Adwest and closed all Angirisian embassies in those countries' capitals. However, he made a mistake with Adwest, and immediately sought rapprochement with the Adwestians over the issue. Brett then found himself receiving criticism from his own Foreign Minister, Alexander Lachdanan, over his criticism of Adwest and his "overreaction" to events in the West. Turning back to the main region, Brett called for a mutual defense union among Near Eastern countries, called the "Near Eastern Union", but his pleas fell on deaf ears as a competing union out of Mestra, the Unified Economic and Defense Union, arose to frustrate Brett's efforts. Brett also has wrestled with the Tambossa crisis, originally planning to send aid to civilians there, but after repeated attacks on Angirisian civilians and aid workers, Brett retracted his position.