Stefan Tepeu

Stefan Tepeu (born September 8th, 2421) is a member of the Redemption Party and is the current President of the Free Republic of Lourenne. He began his career as a political activist at the age of fourteen in Kamaryul, Kundir, when opposition to then-President Merovichi was at its apex. Riding the popular tide of anti-totalitarian sentiment, Tepeu became one of the youngest senators in Parliament in December of 2442.

The laissez-faire politics of the Redemption Party appealed to Tepeu and his supporters, but Tepeu's staunch advocacy of decentralization stood in stark contrast to the party's general attitude. Notoriously disliked by Bennie Hutton, the charismatic leader and founder of the party, Tepeu was given to dramatic displays and harsh words, even against his friends and allies. Tepeu stormed out of Parliament in anger and raised his voice to a nerve-grating shout so often that political satirists nick-named him "The Injured Pig," though with time he began to maintain his composure.

A dispute between Hutton and Tepeu in 2445 threatened to create a schism in the Redemption Party until Ramiro Dull, the Foreign Minister, devised a compromise that allowed Hutton's policies to remain in place, while Tepeu and his supporters were allowed to restructure the Redemption Party's organization. An unintended consequence of this compromise was that Tepeu's influence on the politics of the party was far more long-lasting even than that of the more popular Hutton, and the modern Redemption Party political platforms are nearly identical to those of Tepeu in his early career.

In 2450, Tepeu was one of only four Redemption Party senators to keep his seat, and over the next few years he opposed the onslaught of socialist legislation with unprecedented vehemence. When his party regained a foothold in Parliament, Tepeu led a successful campaign not only to reverse all the legislation passed by the Secular Party and others, but to decentralize the government to the point of relegating most matters to local governments.

In 2462, Tepeu ran for President and came in second to Walter Bagehot of the Economic Liberty Party. In 2466, his presidential bid was successful, and he relaxed his anti-socialist policies to allow progressive government programs to override some of his earlier decentralization legislation.

On July 9, 2468, the Deltarian government kidnapped a host of diplomats, including Ramiro Dull. Tepeu took great personal offense to this action, supporting an international blockade and invoking his interpretation of Lourenne's constitution in order to directly order a detachment of naval vessels to Lake Majatra. The response of Lourenne's legislature and the international community have yet to become fully realized.