Mati Atakana

**Mati** **Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Atakana** (December 9, 1920 - October 15, 2004) was an Isgardian statesman and autocrat who served as the thirteenth president of Isgardia from July 27, 1986 until July 27, 2004. Additionally, Atakana served twice as prime minister of Isgardia, first from October 1983 until July 1986, and again from July until October 2004. From October 18, 1981 until September 2003, Atakana was the leader of the Republican party, which was the sole legal party in Isgardia from 1993 until 2010. From 1976 until 1986, and again briefly in 2004, Atakana was a member of the National Assembly.

Atakana was born in Livorno, northern Isgardia, in December 1920. During the Fascist regime, Atakana briefly joined the Isgardian military, before returning to join the Bank of Isgardia, where he rose the ranks to become Governor in 1973. In January 1976, Atakana joined the Republican party and stood as a candidate for the National Assembly; upon his election, Mati Atakana became one of the most vocally harsh critics of the governments of Cossiga Francesco and Giuliano Amato. Following the resignation of Ferruccio Parri as party leader in October 1981, Atakana was elected as the leader of the Republican party. During the 1983 political crisis, Atakana was appointed as prime minister after negotiating a confidence and supply agreement with President Giuliano Amato. In June 1986, Mati Atakana defeated President Amato and Democratic party leader Umberto Badoglio to be elected as president of Isgardia.

During his first term as president, Mati Atakana presided over widespread regulatory reform of the economy and financial system during the 1980s, before moving onto political reforms in the 1990s. President Atakana's political policies during his first term were widely denounced as being authoritarian and neo-fascist, particularly following the revocation of citizenship for Isgardian-Ethiopians in 1988. Following an attempted impeachment in 1971, Atakana extended his term in office by three months; during the term extension, Atakana and the Republican party seized control over the formerly independent electoral commission. In August 1992, the infamous "Night of the Long Knives" purge occurred, and hundreds of political opponents were assassinated by government agents. In the subsequent 1992 presidential election, Atakana was the only candidate and was elected by default.

At the start of his second term in office, Atakana consolidated his position with the implementation of a new constitution which drastically reduced the influenced the powers of the National Assembly. Over the winter of 1992-3, the Organization for the Repression of Terroristic Activity (ORAT) was established as a secret police force, marking the beginning of a period of terror. In 1998, Mati Atakana won election to a second term in office after being the only candidate permitted to run in the election, in similar circumstances to his 1992 victory. During the final years of his presidency, Atakana suffered from age related health issues and stepped back from the presidency in 2004 after appointing Joseph Natolia as his successor. Between July and October 2004, Atakana held office as prime minister before dying in office of cancer.

As the second longest serving president of Isgardia, Mati Atakana's legacy is highly controversial within Isgardia; during the Patria Isgardia dictatorship, places named after Atakana were removed and restored to their original names, whilst statues and paintings of Atakana were removed across the country. Despite his dictatorial leadership, a sizable part of the Isgardian population remains highly supportive of his economic and political positions.

## History

Atakana was born in Livorno, northern Isgardia, in December 1920. He received a B.A. in ancient Greek literature and classical philology in 1941 from the *Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa*, one of the country's most prestigious universities. During the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, Atakana became one of several thousand Isgardian nationals recruited into the armed forces, and was deployed to Ethiopia as a military prison guard in 1946, serving until 1950. Upon returning to Isgardia in 1951, he married Franca Pilla. That same year, he obtained a B.A. in law from the University of Pisa and began working at the Banca d'Italia. He also joined the Fascist-organised CGIL trade union. In 1955, he was called to work in the central administration of the Bank of Italy, where he became Secretary General in 1968, Vice Director General in 1971, and Director General in 1972. In October 1973, he was nominated Governor of the Bank of Italy and President of the national Bureau de Change by President Giulio Andreotti. In January 1976, Atakana joined the Republican party and stood as a candidate for the National Assembly; upon his election, Mati Atakana became one of the most vocally harsh critics of the governments of Cossiga Francesco and Giuliano Amato. Following the resignation of Ferruccio Parri as party leader in October 1981, Atakana was elected as the leader of the Republican party.

## Political Career

In January 1976, Atakana joined the Republican party and stood as a candidate for the National Assembly; upon his election, Mati Atakana became one of the most vocally harsh critics of the governments of Cossiga Francesco and Giuliano Amato. Following the resignation of Ferruccio Parri as party leader in October 1981, Atakana was elected as the leader of the Republican party.

In September 1983, President Giuliano Amato was expelled from the governing Democratic party after passing constitutional amendments to prolong presidential terms and allow for re-elections; subsequently, Mati Atakana was appointed as prime minister on October 29, 1983 after the Republican party pledged to support President Amato in the National Assembly. For much of the remainder of Amato's presidency, the Republican party stalled on political changes in order to give the government the perception of being ineffective and save major policy changes for a future Republican government; despite this, the party rapidly increased public spending for the military and police forces, and launched a rapid crackdown against the Sicilian Mafia in 1985. In June 1986, Mati Atakana defeated President Amato and Democratic party leader Umberto Badoglio to be elected as president of Isgardia.

## Presidency

 Prime Minister
 Election

During his first term as president, Mati Atakana appointed former president Giulio Andreotti as prime minister and formed a cabinet comprised entirely of members of the Republican party. On September 6, 1986, President Atakana and prime minister Andreotti announced the beginning of a full-scale regulatory overhaul for most sectors of the economy, increasing the government's spending limits, and reducing the National Assembly's powers regarding finance bills. The package of reforms was immediately controversial among Isgardian politicians, and Democratic party leader Umberto Badoglio openly accused Atakana of having started a "slow coup" against the republic. In January 1988, the Atakana administration implemented a reform of immigration policy and stripped Isgardian-Ethiopians of their citizenship following a terrorist attack in Rome committed by Isgardian-Ethiopian dissidents. Allegations of corruption and sleaze were made against Atakana during much of his first presidency and in October 1991, the Democratic party attempted to impeach him from office; in response, Atakana threatened to invoke emergency articles of the constitution to extend his term to resolve the political deadlock. On March 16, 1992, President Mati Atakana dismissed the National Assembly for early elections and announced that presidential elections would be held in October 1992 instead of the scheduled date of June 11th; in response, prime minister Giulio Andreotti resigned from office, whilst all opposition parties denounced the move as a "brazen power grab". With the appointment of Joseph Natolia as prime minister the next day, President Atakana launched an assault on the independence of the electoral commission by issuing a decree appointing a new executive board for the body. New elections for the National Assembly occurred on May 10, 1992, with elected members of the assembly taking office on May 27th; all major opposition parties refused to take part in the election after Atakana's takeover of the electoral commission, which led to the formation of a National Assembly almost entirely dominated by the Republican party.

Having been granted new executive powers by the National Assembly, President Mati Atakana announced that presidential elections would be held on September 10, 1992. Following a terrorist attack in Rome with links to Democratic party leader Cossiga Francesco, President Atakana announced a state of emergency in Isgardia on August 2, 1992; with the new powers granted to him, Atakana launched a widespread crackdown against senior political opponents in what became known as the "Night of the Long Knives", whereby hundreds of opposition leaders and rivals within the Republican party were assassinated, including former presidents Ferruccio Parri, Giulio Andreotti, Cossiga Francesco, and Giuliano Amato. In the subsequent 1992 presidential election, Atakana was the only candidate and was elected by default.

Throughout his second term in office, Mati Atakana focused his administration primarily on consolidating power within the executive branch. In November 1992, Atakana repealed the constitution of the second Republic of Isgardia and implemented a new draconian constitution which effectively reduced the National Assembly to a rubber stamp authority and stripped it of its impeachment powers; alongside the congressional reforms, all political parties other than the Republican party were banned, effectively transitioning the state to a single party autocracy. Additionally, a new secret police organisation known as ORAT (Organizzazione per la Repressione dell'Attività Terroristica) was established to spy on dissidents and remove opposition to the government. In March 1993, President Atakana began to frame the previous year's "night of the long knives" as being a campaign against the influence of the Sicilian Mafia, drawing criticism from the criminal organisation - in response, the Isgardian government launched a crackdown in Sicily in August 1993 and implemented draconian restrictions on internal freedom of movement to the island. During the government's campaign, an estimated 13,000 Sicilian citizens were killed by 1999, with only about 4,000 of those dead confirmed to be mafia members. After journalists from Milan discovered of the massacres in the summer of 1996, the Atakana administration introduced the Law on Media Regulations which effectively nationalised all media outlets in the nation by placing government ministers in charge of the companies. In 1998, Mati Atakana won election to a second term in office after being the only candidate permitted to run in the election.

Following his second re-election in 1998, President Mati Atakana's health began to deteriorate from old age and untreated illnesses. This effectively paralysed the Isgardian government as Atakana controlled the decision making and legal implementation process for legislation, meaning that without his support or written consent, no policy could be put into force. In December 2001, Atakana was briefly hospitalised for an undisclosed procedure, but returned to full duties by February 2002. In September 2003, President Atakana announced his decision to step down from the presidency following the 2004 election, and instead nominated prime minister Joseph Natolia for the presidency; following the 2004 presidential election, Atakana took part in a transition of power to his designated successor and assumed a seat in the National Assembly.