George Robassa

Vice President(s)

 Battles/wars

Field Marshall **George Labo Robassa** (born 19 September 1960) is a Zvakan politician and military leader who has been serving as the President of Zvakana since 1999.

A son of a village chief of the Dalo ethnic group, he became a member of the Young Lions of Uldona in 1974, a Dalo paramilitary organization involved in an armed conflict against the country's leader Diro Lossa. Robassa quickly grew up the ranks, and became Jacques Dawda's right-hand man in 1990. After Dawda's execution in 1993, he overthrew the remaining leadership of the Dalo Protection Force and became it's leader. In 1994, he launched the Dalo Revolt against President Lossa, which resulted in the May Mayhem, a massacre of nearly 250,000 Haruzu civilians by the DPF. After Lossa's death in 1996, his eldest son assumed power, and signed the Navan Accord, in which the Communist Party of Zvakana formed a coalition government with the Dalo Realization Party, led by Robassa. However, Robassa was prevented from accepting any cabinet ministry in the new government.

On 4 July 1999, while Lossa left the country to attend a conference, Robassa initiated the a coup with support of high ranking Dalo military officers and countries like Montbéliard, Alconbria, the USA and Israel, and proclaimed himself as Zvakana's fourth President.

Robassa was heralded in the west as a reformer, and was responsible for Zvakana's entry into the IMF and the United Nations. Robassa also began pursuing closer relations with Zvakan's former coloniser Montbéliard, and also began working with Younes al Ashraar of Libya, signing the Zvakana-Libya Pact of Co-operation. Domestically, Robassa decriminalized homosexuality and set up several organizations combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, he has been criticized for allowing less political freedoms than his predecessors, and enacting several anti-Haruzu policies, outlawing the press, corruption and nepotism.

## Public image

Robassa was widely touted as the savior of the Dalo people after launching the Dalo revolt in 1994. After assuming presidency, Robassa set about creating a cult of personality, and was touted as a demi-god among the Zvakans. The early increase in quality of life brought about by his privatization earned the support of both the poor and the rich of Zvakana.

## Controversies

### Drug smuggling

During his reign, Zvakana became a major transit point for cocaine, heroin, MDMA and other illegal substances smuggled by drug cartels from Mexico to Europe.

It is believed that the Zvakan army and the OSD use state apparatus and infrastructure to move drugs across the country, into the smuggler's ports in Algeria and Libya. According to a whistleblower, George Robassa received 35% of the total profits.

Robassa also encouraged the domestic production of banned substances, and used it to flood the streets of Zvakana and other African countries. By 2016, Zvakana was the largest producer of heroin in Africa.

### Nepotism

Robassa has been accused of nepotism by several organizations and individuals. Several members of Robassa and Ogo's families hold key positions in the country. For example,

* Robassa's wife and Maurice Ogo's daughter Josephine Robassa served as Zvakana's Vice President from 2008 till 2016, and began her second term in 2018. Additionally, she is the chairperson of the Zvakan Sports & Athletics Federation, the President of the Nativité Dawda Foundation, and the Minister of Health and Family Welfare for 20 years from 1999 till 2019.
* Robassa's eldest son Michael has been the President of Petrozwa, the state owned petrochemical and oil company since 2007.
* Robassa's second son, Pierre is the CEO of Plus Industries, Zvakana's largest company and has a net worth of over $15 billion. Pierre is married to Pierre Essy's granddaughter.
* Robassa's eldest daughter Marie Dawda is the CEO of Zvakana's largest retail company, and has was appointed as the country's telecommunications and information technology minister in 2014.
* In 2020, Robassa's daughter Jean-Maria Robassa became the Speaker of the Zvakan parliament on her twenty-fifth birthday, with her father reducing the age requirement from 35 to 25.
* Robassa's brother-in-law Phillipe Ogo was the Governor of the Central Bank of Zvakana since 2001. Phillipe's brother Joseph Ogo was the deputy leader of the OSD.