Arnold Heydrich

**Arnold Heydrich** was a Roessish Nationalist politician who served as Chancellor of the Roessen Republic from 1924 to 1925, then later as President of the Roessen Republic from 1928 to 1936.

Before entering politics, Heydrich studied Political History and was training to become a teacher. He interned at a school in his home city of Neunitz, before working his way up to become one of the youngest political lecturers in the country. This was interrupted by his call to service in the Great War; Heydrich served in the German Army on the Eastern Front, before returning home in 1917 after a severe injury. Heydrich went on to support Roessish independence movements, alongside figureheads such as Dominik Schrek and Adal Von Sturt, the latter of which he supported in the 1920 elections.

Heydrich's support for Sturt landed him a hopeful position in 1924. He was referred to as Sturt's "loyal mouthpiece" in the 1924 election, often spearheading rallies and campaigns in favour of him. After Sturt's re-election, Heydrich was awarded the role as Kanzler (Chancellor) - a position he would only hold for a year.

Heydrich's main blunder as Chancellor came with the handling of the Kirchfelden Aggression. He at first did not agree with the demands for Jewish autonomy in the city, and sided with the fascist governor in the repression of the riots. However, when public support grew in favour of the Jewish community, Heydrich did a costly U-Turn that had many of his government and legislative describe as a clear act of opportunistic hypocrisy. In 1925, Heydrich announced his intention to resign as Chancellor.

It was clearly obvious to many that Heydrich's political career was through at that point - except, it was far from finished. In 1928, when President Sturt announced he would not seek re-election, the Nationalist Party knew their contender would have had to be a compromise candidate to win the working class and middle class vote. They settled on the unlikely Arnold Heydrich for the position. Heydrich hesitantly accepted the nomination, and campaigned on the very compromise basis that he was picked for. Surprisingly, he won, but his election came with protests, with many declaring that the formerly disgraced Chancellor had no place as President. The Roessish Electoral Commission had, however, confirmed his legitimate victory.

However, people were stunned when the former disgraced Chancellor gradually became a sensational President. The Heydrich years brought about economic prosperity at a time when the Great Depression was looming, and even put Roessen in the international sphere as a strong and independent European power. The years brought about a population boom, with the nation even greatly outnumbering that of its larger neighbours Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Many feared the population boom would have been costly, but instead it brought about an economic miracle that lingered all the way to the Second World War.

Heydrich won re-election in 1936, this time with a much greater majority, taking on his former socialist Chancellor, Otto Höger. Höger won 38.1% of the vote in the final count, against Heydrich's 61.9%. Heydrich's second term was more relaxed than the first, yet saw an increase in Roessen's diplomatic situation. This included more high-profile ambassadors to the League of Nations and the United States, one more prominent diplomats being Gorden Johann Braunbusch.

Braunbusch went on to become the next President after Heydrich. Heydrich remained in politics until the outbreak of the Second World War. He remained in Roessen as a political prisoner, before being transferred to a labour camp in Wolfszing. He survived until after the war. He lived to see Roessen's independence, but the physical constraints of the war left him in irreparable pain.

The night of his 59th birthday, he died peacefully in his sleep. A state funeral was held five days later in his memory. Due to the conditions of his death, he was commemorated in the Roessish memorial of victims to the Second World War and the Nazi occupation.