THE BASRID MINISTRY

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THE BASRID MINISTRY 

“I am Owyn Son of Godwin, servant of the Lord, called to prophetic vocation in His service.” - Epistle to the Magi, Spirit.

 

Ode to the Colonel Basrid, 1736

By Jasper of Erhan

 

 As dictated in Alexander II’s 1730 Articles of Restructure, the council-of-state is a conciliary body comprising those holding the rank of Minister of the Crown, led by the Archchancellor, who serves as Lord President of the Council and right-hand of the crown. The Archchancellor is responsible for assembling a government on behalf of the monarch to execute their will and vision.

 

The standing Basrid ministry was raised in 1739 upon the resignation of Cardinal Helena in his post of Archchancellor. Emperor Peter III thus has raised his lifelong personal friend Sir Simon Basrid KCS into the role of Archchancellor, presiding over the third ministry of the Holy Orenian Empire after the Selm ministry, led by Sir John de Balain, the Baron Selm, and the Helena ministry, led by Peter of Kaedrin, Cardinal Helena.

 

BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARCHCHANCELLOR

A Rhenyari exile of the storied city of Ba’as, the young Simon Basrid found gainful employment in the Pontifical Household of Daniel VI at the tender age of 20 after the deposition of his elder brother, Prince Caspian III. The disgraced noble secured his patronage through the various Farfolk merchant circles that were empowered with the ascent of Prince Matthias Rutledge and Prince Ide Haraccus of Ves - they proved notable allies in advocating on his talent and education to the Holy Father. While the second son’s initial intent was to utilize that office to rebuild his fortunes and aid his elder brother in retaking the Simughri Throne of Ba’as, time in Oren, land of the prophets, made Simon realize the value in serving the new country he called home.

 

Upon the ascent of Alexander II by the political machinations of Daniel VI, Simon was thus thrust into imperial politics as his station was elevated to that of Imperial Chamberlain to maintain the de Joannes Household. In that office, he met the young Duke Adrian de Sarkozy, who soon became his personal friend due to a shared sentiment of disdain for inherited privilege, despotism, and the old feudal elites. When Alexander perished to a summer sickness with no true successor, it was that alliance which served the springboard for Simon to ascend to the post of Vice-Chancellor for a year under the Helena ministry, by which he, alongside the standing Secretary of War, Leonard de Ruyter, envisioned the Imperial State Army and advocated for the soldier’s flag of red and white among the Senate of 1738. 

 

He resigned shortly from his station in government to commit to the fledgling institution of the military, assuming a seven-year commission as a Colonel of the Helena Regulars as a siege commander before the demise of the Lord Protector from wounds sustained in the Second War of Orcish Submission. His successor named in the 1737 Instrument of Succession, the young claimant Antonius Sigismund of Helene, had been a lifelong personal friend of Simon due to their shared time in Ves - the young one-eyed Pertinaxi zealot crowned could think of no one better to charge the organization of his government.

 

Some of the great Orenian statesmen the Archchancellor seeks to emulate in his service include St. Adrian of Kaedrin, Tobias of Rosemoor of the 2nd Empire, and Adrian of Leone of the 5th Empire. He is a known mystic, mage and practitioner of the four hermetic teachings, with hobbies in couture, sailing, riding, hawking, scholarship, and the connoisseurship of all matters tobacco.

 

POLITICAL AGENDA OF THE BASRID MINISTRY

 

A Modern Imagining of Paradisus, 1741

By Rupert Vesnic, Count of Susa

 

The Basrid ministry recognizes the turmoil inflicted by the ongoing Troubles, a period born by the cataclysmic 1710 Burning of Ves. The Orenian people have seen since then over eight claimants to the imperial title, the sacking of their capital city, significant internal conflicts, and what may seem an unrelenting deluge of endless inconclusive war against nonhuman polities. These threats to stability and succession are dictated to be the driving wedge of what bars Imperial society from advancement, and as a result, the Basrid ministry’s primary political agenda rests in ending this era of turmoil and ushering in an age of peace and prosperity through reforms of civil service and military to challenge old feudal orders and revitalize the country.

 

Having been the victim of the excesses of absolutism in both his place of birth and throughout human polities of Arcas, the Archchancellor sees fit to institute reforms that empower the Senate and burgeoning gentry class to ensure meritocratic administration, whilst still recognizing the role of lettered nobility in inspiring the country into action. Much of his thought rests from his early time as an emigres in Republican Ves and Rubern - the former where he famously spoke at the age of 22 against the standing noble republic, only for the country to fall into atrophy until its royal prerogative was signed to the Governor de Reden. Alongside incidents of the excesses of the lettered elite in the reign of Alexander II and the NAFTA pact, the Basrid ministry maintains forward-thinking policies that seek to integrate and empower the country towards St. Peter’s Maxim of One God, One Law, One Country while maintaining the imperial honors espoused in Brother Polycarp’s Exordium. 

 

THE CHANCELLERY

The Chancellery is the body of administration that make up all personal assistants and advisors to the Archchancellor. Aspirants in government are encouraged to reach out to the Archchancellor or Vice-Chancellor about positions as scribes, couriers, escorts, and attaches to facilitate communication and ensure timely action and assistance with the various departments of the council of state. It is headed by the Vice-Chancellor, the penultimate minister of government. 

 

The standing Vice-Chancellor is Joachim B. Haas.

• Son to notable imperial statesman and senator John Haas and Leuven heiress Joanna de Falstaff, Joachim began imperial service as a 1^st Regiment attaché and Ensign to the Colonel Basrid, before pursuing the role of ambassador in the Helena Ministry. 

 

THE COUNCIL OF STATE

 

Duke Ratibor Before The New Model Council, 1690

By Red of Belvitz

 

The Council of State is handpicked by the Archchancellor to execute the vision of the imperial government. It consists of seven positions, each with their own attributed office by which rising civil servants interested in a particular facet of government can elect to join as an understudy. The many burdens of state require fresh hands to tend to, and as a result, the Basrid ministry encourages any and all who see tasks that they may contribute towards reach out towards the respective secretary, who is expected to maintain a formal office with a hierarchy by which civil servants can ascend. The council-of-state is as follows:

 

SECRETARY OF WAR

His Excellency, Leonard de Ruyter, Count of Harlingen / @Naj, who maintains…

The War Office

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• The War Office faces great hurdles in both the ongoing conflict with the aggressing Alliance of Independence States aside with executing the vision of an Imperial State Army charted with the beginning of the Lord Protectorate. The Secretary of War has a standing tasklist of establishing a robust crownland garrison, maintaining and upgrading relevant imperial fortifications, ensuring the seven traditions of the ISA are maintained, and fleshing out the officer and enlisted corps of the nascent army. 

 

SECRETARY OF INTERIOR / SECRETARY OF TREASURY

Offices Vacant

The Home Office [WIP]

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• With war-time measures in place, the Interior and Treasury Secretaries had been maintained by one minister of state, the Vessian Joseph Nicephore, until his untimely demise. His successor is charged with rebuilding the city government and maintaining the revenues of all crown estates to fund the government as a whole. The Basrid ministry intends to divide these roles a-two once peace time commerce can be attained.

 

SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

His Excellency, Jahan Basrid / @Dyl, who maintains…

The Foreign Office

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• The Empire is without allies at this time - the Secretary of Foreign Affairs has the standing objective of ensuring a lasting peace by which the country can heal from The Troubles, as well as establishing embassies and cultural events by which the Empire and the world at large can interact.

 

SECRETARY OF CIVIL AFFAIRS

His Eminence, Jasper Cardinal Renzfeld / @xboxersz, who maintains…

The Civil Affairs Office [WIP]

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• The Secretary of Civil Affairs is charged with organizing the imperial curriculum and educating the population on matters regarding history, culture, civics, and tradition. A standing item to aid in that endeavor is to charter the ten most precious texts of the realm to begin formalizing a test for all imperial civil service and officers of the realm to undertake, alongside chronicling imperial works by category for the betterment of posterity. Furthermore, the Civil Affairs Office must expand its class of scribes in order to better publish the ongoing affairs of the court, crown, and realm.

 

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

His Excellency, Veikko Harjalainen / @frill, who maintains…

The Judicial Office [WIP]

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• While maintaining the imperial set of law and monitor the fledgling courts of the realm, the Solicitor-General is also obliged to declare and investigate formal inquiries of any and all suspicious or illicit affairs of the realm. His role in maintaining the Judicial Office involves keeping at hand the emperor’s finest barristers and lawyers to serve the realm in trials civil and criminal.

 

SECRETARY OF INTELLIGENCE

His Excellency, Governor-General Richard de Reden / @Zhulik, who maintains…

The Intelligence Office [WIP]

POLICY DIRECTIVE

• The Intelligence Office’s official directives are often classified given the nature of the work and the ongoing conflicts the Empire faces. However, those interested in espionage, subterfuge, intrigue, and the assistance in establishing imperial propaganda and war-time publications should reach out to the ministry on these endeavors. 

 

GREAT WORKS OF THE MINISTRY

The First Generalissmo

An account on the first six-star general in Orenian history, St. Thomas of Gaekrin.

 

CHRONICLE OF PAST MINISTRIES

The Selm Ministry

1730-1734

• [WIP]

 

The Helena Ministry

1734-1739

• [WIP]