Hassen Ahmed

**Hassen Yunus al-Menfi Ahmed** (March 3, 1985 -) was a Persian politician and activist who served as the ninth president of the Persian Republic from November 17, 2035 until November 17, 2039. Ahmed also briefly held office as prime minister of Persia from March to November 2035, and was the founding leader of the Union for Persia between July 2030 and December 2038, having previously led the Republican party between December 2021 and June 2030. He was a member of the Persian Congress from April 2018 until November 2035.

Born in 1985, Hassen Ahmed entered politics in 2009 under the devolved administration of Emirate Emanuel Parra as an undersecretary within the defence ministry, and continued working for the government following Persian independence in 2018. Following the resignation of President Emanuel Parra in 2020, Hassen Ahmed joined other members of the government in fleeing into exile after the establishment of the Emirate of Persia. Ahmed joined the Republican party in November 2021 following the restoration of the Republic of Persia, and took up office as Secretary of State for Defence under President Almac Docu. During the existence of the Confederacy of Independent Nations, Ahmed's role was sidelined by the organisation's extra-governmental institutions; in November 2024, Ahmed voted for the impeachment of President Docu, and returned to the backbenches of congress following Geena Kulmuni's election as president.

On December 18, 2024, Hassen Ahmed was elected as leader of the Republican party after the resignation of Fayez al-Sarraj, and began to rebrand the party as a liberal centrist party. As the leader of the official parliamentary opposition, Hassen Ahmed became a vocal critic of President Kulmuni's constitutional reforms and continued alliance with the Libirachi Empire, viewing the nation as being far too Libirachi centric in it's foreign policy; despite this, Ahmed remained a supporter of the electoral reforms and in 2027 formed the Union for Persia, a coalition between the Islamic Conservative Party and the Republican party, contesting the 2029 Persian Presidential Election as it's presidential candidate. After loosing the election, the Islamic Conservative Party left the political coalition; in turn, Hassen Ahmed established into a fully fledged political party on June 16, 2030 after a merger of the Republican party with several smaller parties in the Persian Congress. Following the outbreak of the Conquest of Africa and the Raid on Nupersia in 2033, President Geena Kulmuni closed the Persian Congress and prevented the legislative body from meeting. Amid growing unpopularity, President Kulmuni refused to hold presidential elections in 2034, beginning a constitutional crisis - following a foiled coup, opposition leader Hassen Ahmed was appointed prime minister of a transitional government, before securing victory in the 2035 presidential election.

During his presidency, Hassen Ahmed implemented a series of electoral reforms to restore democratic institutions in Persia; in May 2036, the Union for Persia secured an absolute majority in the Persian Congress following the reopening of the legislative branch, and Tamim bin Hamad was appointed as prime minister. Throughout Ahmed's presidency, Persia remained committed to the increasingly unpopular war in northern Africa and President Ahmed was personally responsible for numerous diplomatic breakthroughs, including the Treaty of Kampala in 2037. As a result of the war, Persia grew increasingly close to the Fox Dynasty in terms of foreign policy and Ahmed reneged on many of his campaign policies of cutting ties with the Libirachi government in order to capitalise on the defence capabilities of the Shanghai Pact. Amid falling polling ratings, President Hassen Ahmed attempted to remove his rival Geena Kulmuni from office as general secretary of the Shanghai Pact to gain a quick foreign policy victory; despite succeeding in forcing Kulmuni to step down, Kulmuni's Progressive party attempted to impeach Ahmed, forcing him to dissolve congress and call new election. After loosing his majority in congress, Ahmed was forced to resign as leader of the Union for Persia after former prime minister bin Hamad attempted a takeover of the party, though Ahmed was able to appoint Salman Al-Khalifa as his successor instead.

## History

Growing up during the era of Bovido Hassian occupation of Persia, Hassen Ahmed entered politics in 2009 under the devolved administration of Emirate Emanuel Parra as an undersecretary within the defence ministry, formulating the local defence strategies with other members of the regional government. Present at the Persian declaration of independence in 2018, Ahmed took up a post as Minister for Local Government within the Internal Affairs Office. Serving under Prime Minister Nicolas Burez, Ahmed's ministry began to allow for greater devolution within the Persian Republic, overseeing regional elections in 2018 and was in charge of the coordination for the planned 2020 local elections until a terrorist insurgency led by the Hǔnluàn led to the delay, and ultimate cancelation of the elections.

## Political Career

Following the resignation of President Emanuel Parra on April 4, Hassen Ahmed joined other members of the government in fleeing into exile, with Ahmed seeking refuge in the Libirachi Empire alongside fellow ministers. With Prime Minister Burez and Defence Minister Karen Sanders remaining in Persia to negotiate with the Hǔnluàn terrorists of Ashton Morre, Ahmed took up the role of Defence Councillor in the Provisional Government of Persia and was one of the most important members of the government in-exile, coordinating Persian foreign policy whilst also helping lead the charge in getting nations to disregard the legitimacy of the Hǔnluàn Occupation of Persia. With the Battle for Persia and the toppling of the Presidencies of Ashton Morre and later Karen Sanders in August-September 2021, Hassen Ahmed and the rest of the Provisional government took part in the 2021 Persian Presidential Election, with PGP Chairman and former President Emanuel Parra loosing election to Libirachi politician Almac Docu, resulting in the Progressive party returning to the official opposition of government. Joining President Docu's government as Defence Minister, Ahmed joined the Republican party in November 2021 following the dissolution of the provisional government and became one of the more prominent proponents of a parliamentary democracy within President Docu's party, a stance that the president rejected.

During the Libirachi Civil War, Ahmed's role as Defence Minister was greatly reduced, with most powers being handed over de-facto to the Confederacy of Independent Nations and it's corresponding ministers, leaving Ahmed in a rump job until 2024, when he led the Persian defence army in it's defence of the capital during the First Battle for Dubai. On November 11, 2024, Hassen Ahmed was one of 567 congress people to vote for the impeachment of President Almac Docu, resulting in the Speaker of the House inviting opposition leader Geena Kulmuni to form a temporary government until elections could be held. With former president Emanuel Parra appointed as Prime Minister, Ahmed retained his job on a temporary basis and during the Second Battle for Dubai, Minister Hassen Ahmed led the Persian forces in assisting the Union of Aligned Nations' invasion, with the death of Confederate President Almac Docu occurring on the same day as the 2021 Persian Presidential Election. Sent back to the opposition benches of parliament following President Geena Kulmuni's election and the creation of a Progressive government, Hassen Ahmed took over the reigns of the Republican party from senior politician Fayez al-Sarraj, and began to rebrand the party as a liberal centrist establishment, gaining seats in congress in the process. As the leader of the official parliamentary opposition, Hassen Ahmed became a vocal critic of President Kulmuni's constitutional reforms and continued alliance with the Libirachi Empire, viewing the nation as being far too Libirachi centric in it's foreign policy; despite this, Ahmed remained a supporter of the electoral reforms and in 2027 formed the Union for Persia, a coalition between the Islamic Conservative Party and the Republican party, contesting the 2029 Persian Presidential Election as it's presidential candidate. Having lost the election, the Islamic Conservative Party left the political coalition, which Hassen Ahmed established into a fully fledged political party on June 16, 2030 after a merger with several smaller parties in the Persian Congress.

### 2034-35 political crisis

    Following a year of conflict with the Bovido Imperium during the Conquest of Africa, the Persian Republic found itself embattled, having lost Prime Minister Emanuel Parra during the Raid on Nupersia in November 2033, the government of President Geena Kulmuni began to attempt to centralise power to the executive branch in order to deal with the war. Citing Article IV of the 2024 Persian Constitution, on October 7, 2034 President Kulmuni refused to call elections in November 2034 and instead expanded her presidential term using legally dubious means, resulting in a constitutional crisis and a split within her own political party as former backbench members of the Persian Congress began to call for new elections to be held. As plans for the Shanghai Pact began to be drawn up in late 2034, President Kulmuni began to syphon power to the organisation's Coordination Council in early 2035, resulting in further protests against the executive office. With opposition being led by Union for Persia leader Hassen Ahmed, the government of President Geena Kulmuni and Prime Minister Muhammed Abdulla found itself under intense scrutiny in February 2035 as Ahmed led parliament to formally call for new presidential elections. Following a flurry of senators defecting from the Progressive party on March 1st, Prime Minister Abdulla resigned his office and dismissed his Council of Ministers and joined with the opposition in calling for the removal of Kulmuni, orchestrating a build-up in militias around the capital city of Dubai. On March 17, 2035 following street battles with government security forces, Muhammed Abdulla proclaimed an alliance of militias known as the United Front and declared himself to be the rightful president, as mob forces backed by defected members of the army overran the city of Dubai and forced President Geena Kulmuni to flee the capital, retreating to Abu Dhabi where she began to coordinate a national response to the group.

Ultimately despite his opposition to president Kulmuni, opposition leader Hassen Ahmed led members of the former Persian Congress to denounce the militias and mobs who had overrun the capital, mobilising the army to retake the city. As street fighting overran the capital city, Ahmed created his own Council of Ministers to lead the government response to the crisis, whilst President Geena Kulmuni returned back to the city on March 23rd, 2035. Upon her return and the final elimination of the United Front on the 26th, Hassen Ahmed was appointed as prime minister to form a coalition government, whilst negotiations between Ahmed and Kulmuni opened as to how to resolve the crisis, with General Secretary Stanford Newman of the Shanghai Pact acting as a mediator to allow for talks to work effectively. Ultimately on August 15, 2035, President Kulmuni and Prime Minister Ahmed signed a transition agreement which allowed Kulmuni to remain in place until elections were held on November 17 of the same year, in which she was not allowed to run again as president. With both Libirachi leaders Penny Fox and Karyn Voor as well as President Kulmuni realising their power over the Persian Republic was slipping, Kulmuni negotiated the Persian Republic's full entry into the Shanghai Pact's Coordination Council, signing over all international and defence policy control over to General Secretary Stanford Newman, a puppet of the Beijing administration, before herself standing for election as General Secretary in November 2035, assuming control of the Coordination Council on November 20, 2035, just 3 days after loosing her presidency of Persia.

## Presidency

 Prime Minister

At midday on November 17, 2035, Hassan Ahmed was inaugurated as president of the Republic of Persia in a ceremony on the steps of the Persian Congress building in Nupersia; the ceremony was notable for several reasons, with former president Geena Kulmuni refusing to attend her successor's inauguration, and Ahmed's choice of location for his inauguration being a political statement against Kulmuni's consolidation of power during her presidency.

### Democratic policy

Upon assuming office as president, Hassen Ahmed attempted to revamp the office in his own image with the appointment of a new government - however, mere hours before his inauguration, outgoing President Geena Kulmuni had entered Persia into the Coordination Council of the Shanghai Pact, which collectively assumed the powers of the prime minister and prevented Ahmed from appointing his own candidate. Faced with the prospects of being a figurehead leader, President Ahmed instead embarked on domestic reforms whilst the Coordination Council dominated foreign affairs. In May 2036, President Hassen Ahmed and Libirachi President Karyn Voor signed a political declaration of sovereignty for Persia which allowed the nation to withdraw from the Coordination Council and returned full political sovereignty to the government. Subsequently, Tamim bin Hamad was appointed as prime minister on May 9, 2036 following the re-opening of the Persian Congress and new legislative elections.

Amid the 2038-39 political crisis, President Ahmed held snap legislative elections in September 2038, which saw the Union for Persia lose its legislative majority

On October 17, 2038, the Union for Persia and Halqa party jointly passed a constitutional amendment which imposed a two term presidential term limit, effectively prohibiting former president Geena Kulmuni from holding office again. The two parties also cooperated in January 2039 to further amend the constitution to reduce presidential terms to four years effective immediately, which brought forward presidential elections to November 2039 instead of the planned date of November 2040.

### Foreign policy

During the Conquest of Africa, Hassen Ahmed grew increasingly close to the Fox Dynasty in terms of foreign policy and reneged on many of his campaign policies of cutting ties with the Libirachi government in order to capitalise on the defence capabilities of the Shanghai Pact. In exchange, Ahmed became one of the most senior members of the organisation and led policy developments during several summits, including the negotiation of the Treaty of Kampala in 2037; despite this, personal and political animosity with Shanghai Pact general secretary Geena Kulmuni undermined the working relationship of Persia within the pact. In March 2036, Hassen Ahmed was a vocal supporter of the Treaty of Beijing and provided sanctuary to Arab leader Khalifa Haftar following the collapse of the United Arab Republic.

### 2038-39 political crisis

In August 2038, President Ahmed led calls for General Secretary Kulmuni to resign following divisions over the terms of Bovido surrender; following Kulmuni's resignation on August 17, 2038, Kulmuni's Progressive party tabled impeachment articles against Ahmed with the support of parliamentary UfP rebels. In response, Ahmed dismissed the Persian Congress in September 2038 and called early elections, which produced a hung parliament - after incumbent prime minister Tamim bin Hamad refused to attempt to form a government in the divided congress, Hassen Ahmed appointed defence minister Salman Al-Khalifa as prime minister of a minority government on September 29, 2038. Despite the formation of a new government, the Progressive party and Halqa continued to motion for impeachment against President Hassan Ahmed in the Persian Congress, though Halqa refused to commit to an immediate vote. Amid the political turmoil following the snap congressional election in September 2038, former prime minister Tamim bin Hamad began to make political movements against President Ahmed in a bid to gain control over the Union for Persia; on December 7, 2038, Hassen Ahmed resigned as leader of the Union for Persia and appointed prime minister Salman Al-Khalifa as his successor with the support of the executive committee of the party.

## Legacy

Since leaving office in 2039, historical evaluations of Hassen Ahmed's legacy as president have been largely mixed, though two main camps of thought exist. Some academics and historians view Ahmed's legacy as one of an idealistic opposition leader brought down by a failure to enact his central pledge of removing Persia from the Libirachi sphere of influence, whilst others view him as a successful administrator and diplomat who fell from power after refusing to harshly crack down on dissent against his government. Both schools of thought broadly agree that Ahmed's fractious relationship with his predecessor Geena Kulmuni led to many of the core issues which plagued his government; ideological opposition to Kulmuni's alliance with the Libirachi government led Ahmed to campaign for the end of said alliance, which was widely seen as an unlikely possibility given the dominance of the Libirachi regime. Similarly, partisan point scoring by forcing Kulmuni to resign as leader of the Shanghai Pact in the middle of peace negotiations at the end of the Conquest of Africa tarnished Ahmed's reputation as a non-partisan and competent administrator, and caused a political crisis which served to only further damage Ahmed's popularity by creating mass instability. The 2038-39 political crisis also allowed Tamim bin Hamad to take control of the Union for Persia and effectively left Ahmed as a lame duck incumbent by September 2039.