Mason Trah

Mason Trah was an Akarvian politician and political professor who served the nation as its fourth president, and infamously inspired the formation of the Populous Party, which actively opposed his ideals.
Trah was a child when the Voldranian Exodus occurred, but even at the age of 11 he displayed a surprising level of intelligence, and was able to understand what was going on in the world around him. When he turned 18 in 7 AE he convinced his local political representative to let him shadow her, and after a few weeks he earned a position as her assistant. He spent the next few years as her assistant even after she became an official Senator after president Christian Zen formalized the Senate.
By 12 AE Trah's boss, Teresa Silvia, had been elected Head of the Senate by its members, and her promotion came with an increased work load for Trah. He continued working for Silvia for the next four years, gradually transitioning from her assistant to a general organizer for the Senate as a whole. Unfortunately Silvia lost the next Head election, and Trah found himself demoted along with her.
Trah wasn't satisfied with being an assistant following his demotion, and with Silvia's urging he ran for his own Senate seat, which he won at the end of the 16 AE election. While he never achieved a position as Head of the Senate, his prior position as Silvia's assistant earned him a popularity and respect among the other Senators that allowed him some leeway in passing agenda. He would eventually become a pivotal ally of Niles Karav, helping him attain the Senate votes necessary to pass his "Checks and Balances Act".
By 24 AE Trah had become one of Akarv's more popular career politicians, and had he remained in the Senate he likely would have become it's Head. But by the beginning of the year he had already decided that he was going to run for the presidency instead, and with the backing of Teresa Silvia, several Senators, and his intellectual advantage over opponent Gordon Hull he managed to win.
Immediately after taking office Trah entered a fierce ideological battle with the Senate over the reinstatement of Isabel Corinna as the Head of the Military. She had held the position since its formation, and had already earned the Senate votes necessary for her reinstatement, but Trah refused to sign the final confirmation, disapproving of her policies. He and the Senate went back and forth for a year debating over the issue, until they finally settled on Wer military commander Rory Sven, Trah's top choice. He was only able to get Sven confirmed on the condition that he signed Gordon Hull's confirmation as the Head of International Relations.
While he was locked in his battle with the Senate over the Head of the Military Trah was also pushing for an increased focus on Glowstone-research, which had seen promising breakthroughs in recent years. By the end of 25 AE a joint Akarv-Equis-Yoren scientific team unveiled the first working airship made solely by non-Lirun, a concept which Trah immediately latched onto and incorporated into the Military.
While all of this was going on the Heran-Tripolian War had silently broken out in the west, which saw the exile-nation Hera try to forcibly remove the "trespasser" Tripoly from lands they considered to be their own. Akarv became aware of the war just as the airship was being adopted by the military, so Trah made the decision to hold back from intervening, in part because Tripoly seemed to be holding its own just fine. But by 27 AE Tripoly requested immediate help, as Heran forces had managed to make significant gains that left them poised to win the war. Confident in the military's newfound strength, Trah gave the order to attack and Akarv quickly entered and ended the war, utilizing its newly formed airship fleet to decimate the Heran forces. 
Trah experienced a surge of popularity at the end of the war that led to his reelection in 28 AE, but a growing number of people were growing frustrated with the nations large military and interventionist policies. In 29 AE the Populous political party was formed to challenge the beliefs and policies of Mason Trah and the growing Karavist Party.
Trah's second term was marked more by diplomacy than it was expansion, as the early 30s saw the official formation of multiple new nations which included Hera, Fallnavor, and Scavoran. He also continued to focus on Akarv's militaristic strength, legitimizing the Akarvian Air Navy as an official branch of the military. In 32 AE he stepped down, bound by the checks and balances act he helped create. His former opponent Gordon Hull would go on to replace him, making him the first candidate backed by a political party to win a presidential election.
After his Presidency Trah retired from politics, and spent the next two years of his life on an extended vacation to "recuperate" from his time as President. He soon became bored, though, and so he took on a job at an Akarvian university teaching political sciences, a job he held for twenty years before he retired in 55 AE. Future Presidents Adam Pyro and Sarah Nass were known to have taken some of his classes. Trah spent a short time in retirement before he fell ill in 57 AE. Despite access to some of the nations best modern medicine he ultimately succumbed to his illness in 58 AE.
Category:Voldranians Category:Characters Category:Akarvians Category:Politicians Category:Leaders