Geoffrey Van Orden

Geoffrey Van Orden was first elected to the Holy Imperial Diet at the 3854 General Election in the constituency of Orange. He was re-elected at the 3859 and 3861 General Elections, which in both Progress topped the polls in that constituency.

Van Orden had risen to 3rd on the list by the 3861 General Election after passionate speeches in the Imperial Diet. Van Orden comes from a more Conservative background then his predecessor Evans. This is largely due to his aristocratic upbringing and business background.

When Evans stepped down as leader following the 3861 General Election, Van Orden did not intend to run, however encouraged by several other members of Progress he put his 'hat into the ring'. Candidates needed the backing of 10% of the parliamentary grouping (6 MPs), Van Orden obtained 19 backers by the deadline and entered the contest along with four other candidates. It took three rounds of voting for a candidate to get over 50% of the vote, with Van Orden taking 57.3% of the vote in the final round.