Robert Keats

**Robert Benedict Earle Keats** (born 30 August 2965) is a Wiltshirian Labour Party politician who is currently serving as a member of the Wiltshire National Assembly and as Minister for Utilities. Keats was first elected at the June 3020 general election, having previously served as the Chief Executive of the Office of Revenue and Customs and as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Since being elected, Keats has been a backbench member, supporting the government on a wide range of issues. He also sits on the Assembly Economy and Finance committee as Deputy Chairman. Keats is among the more centrist members of the Assembly Labour Party, believing in strengthening worker's rights but not in favour of moving towards the left-wing. Keats was tipped as a potential name for candidacy for Mayor in the October 3020 local elections. However, he chose not to stand as a candidate.

During the February 3020 and June 3020 election campaigns, Keats was a senior advisor to Leader Mark Edwin. As a "primary strategist", Keats was able to orchestrate the election victory and government formation, allowing Edwin to become Prime Minister of Wiltshire. Many have linked Keats withdrawal from the government and Edwin's strategy team as explanation for their loss of fortunes and arguably weaker strategy.

In September 3020, Keats was appointed Minister for Utilities by Prime Minister Mark Edwin. Keats replaced Hans-Otto Laine, who resigned from the cabinet during the WEA/EFR electoral scandal.

## Early life

Keats was born in the Wiltshirian plains, with ancestry roots linking back to the British Isles. Keats was educated in northern Europe, but moved back to Wiltshire in during the Federation migration. Prior to settlement from the Federation migration, the Wiltshirian plains were extremely rural and, more often than not, extremely poor. Farmers operated on a system of "common land", with few enclosures. Keats grew up on one such "common farm", which gave his family the advantage of near un-rivaled farming expansion but also opened them up to theft and looting. As there was no organized law enforcement, dealing with this became common way of life. Keats often recalled stories of fighting off looters from the small population centers, and the coastal region (today Neu Wiltshire).

Keats did not receive a formal education until his late teens, when he became an apprentice to the Librarian at aged 16. He already enjoyed reading, but this apprenticeship became the bed rock for his "obsession" with reading:

> "That three-month stretch, over the winter, was the foundation and bedrock for my eventual obsession with reading, learning and education. I can say with certainty that I would not have left that small farming town, on the corner of the world, if it was not for that apprenticeship and that glimpse into the world of literature." - Keats' biography, published in 3019
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His apprenticeship led him to move to Washington to study for his general qualifications, enjoying English Literature and the Politics courses the most. He had such success in Washington that he was accepted into the University of Leiden, on the Hague, to study Social and Political Sciences, with a minor in English Literature and Classical Literature. By the time he had finished his formal education, the United Federation of Planets was reformed and Keats became a political activist, campaigning for the election of Grand Tarkin. Keats was a self identified tarkinist and campaigned for the open intergalactic borders that the Federation offered.