Carlisle Noah

Carlisle Noah was a Coalition for the Republic politician who served as the 12th Chancellor of Orion for several months in 58 A.R., making her the shortest-serving Chancellor in Orionian history. Prior to serving as Chancellor, Noah served as National Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Minister for Justice, the only person to hold both roles. After retiring in the 58 A.R. election, Noah was appointed Commander of the Orion Armed Forces in 60, serving for seven years.

## History

Carlisle Noah was born in Ipswell, a far western suburb of South Island, as the only child of Carmody Noah shortly after the conclusion of the war. As a young child, Noah was sent to the Foveaux Academy, an elite boarding school in the capital. After graduating, she attended Heller College and concentrated in international studies and law. Noah further completed post-graduate specialization in international law at Foveaux University, and graduated in 28.

After graduation, Noah took a job with Langley Caldwell, the then-Governor-General of Gaullis, as assistant legal counsel. When Durant Gordon was elected Chancellor in 31, Noah moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under National Minister Mulling Balcombe. She initially worked in the National Minister's inner office as deputy legal counsel to the Ministry, and was named general counsel to the Foreign Affairs Intelligence Directorate. Then, Noah was named by Abaray Proctor, the National Minister for Justice, to lead the ministry's international enforcement division.

In 37, the Coalition lost its majority and was relegated to opposition status. Noah returned to Balcombe's office and was named chief-of-staff to the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. But when Gordon won the 40 A.R. election, Balcombe was unexpectedly denied a return to the Ministry, and was instead named Ambassador to Gaullis. Noah briefly served in the Orionian Embassy as director of public affairs, but resigned in 42 in anticipation of that year's elections.

## Political career

In the 42 election, Noah ran to represent her home constituency of Ipswell, which had previously been represented by Carmody until her appointment as Commander. Since the 37 election, however, the constituency had been represented by a Social Movement member. In a thin victory following a hard-fought campaign, Noah narrowly defeated the incumbent. As a member of the National Assembly, Noah now rejoined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an assistant national minister under Archambault Rivett. In 45, when Rivett was named Ambassador to Gaullis, Chancellor Thatcher Cooley named Noah as National Minister for Foreign Affairs. In a brief tenure marked by relative tranquility nationwide, Noah focused on improving the country's relationship with Gaullis, and setting the dependency on a course for greater political independence.

After the Coalition lost its majority in 47, Noah declined to serve in the Shadow Cabinet under Leader Bonner Holt. Instead, due to her antipathy toward Holt, Noah sat as a backbencher for five years. Once Ranburne Titan was elected Leader following two disastrous elections for the Coalition, Noah joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Justice. Noah's selection was unusual, given her concentration in international, not domestic, law, but Noah acquitted herself well as the party's counter to Belmont Spruill.

Titan was elected Chancellor in 55, and named Noah National Minister for Justice. Noah and Titan had developed a close working relationship, and Titan planned on elevating Noah to Vice-Chancellor following the planned election in 58. However, when Titan was assassinated in 57, these plans were altered. Following behind-the-scenes machinations with Opposition Leader Jennings Moynihan, Noah was elected Vice-Chancellor over Chancellor Bonner Holt's wishes, and retained her Justice portfolio. Noah worked within the Cabinet to preserve the status quo, by requiring a majority vote of Cabinet to remove any National Minister, effectively undermining Holt's rule. She collaborated with Moynihan, Fovi Director Barkdull Bowers, and Commander Covett Crawford to monitor Holt's actions, which ultimately resulted in Holt's arrest and deposition in 58.

Noah was elevated to Chancellor in 58, and attempted to correct the party's course prior to the mandatory elections. She attempted to call for an early election to, essentially, maintain the party's long-term survival by allowing it to lose an election, regain support in opposition, and eventually rise again. However, Moynihan schemed against Noah and prevented early elections. The Coalition's public standing continued to deteriorate, and eventually, Noah announced that she would not stand for re-election and stepped down as leader of the party. The election saw the almost total wipeout of the Coalition, which was relegated to holding just a handful of seats nationwide. The party never recovered, and would eventually lose its party status and collapse, to be replaced in its ideological position by the National Alliance.

## Post-Chancellorship

Devastated by the Coalition's destruction and her loss of the Chancellorship, Noah retired from public life almost completely for several years. When Commander Crawford stepped down in 60, however, Noah asked Moynihan to nominate her, which she did. She stepped down in 67 after a widely praised tenure, which mostly involved modernizing the country's armed forces and expanding the forces' global reach by opening more military bases worldwide. Noah was replaced by Barkdull Bowers and this time, permanently retired.