Nelson Cudderboard

Neslon Cudderboard (2470-2552) was the Prime Minister of Aloria from 2523 to 2529 and President from 2529 to 2535. A member of the Publitrican Party (later the Alorian Public Union) he was the only Presiden to be from that party.

Early Life
Nelson Cudderboard was born into a middle class background in Alectronia, Ultran. He was first in his class at Helmut High School and he attended the aclaimed University of Slidar, majoring in buissiness. He had much success in the private success, becoming the Vice President of the Herman Foundation at the young age of 37. His connections with the Herman family, considered the "Patrician Family" of Ultran and the founding "aristocracy" of the new Publitrican Party (Colgate Herman Johnson being the party's first chairman and Presidential candidate in 2505) was what first got him into politics.

Chairman of the Publitrican Party
Following another failed Presidential bid in 2514, Colgate Johnson resigned his posisition as chairman of the Publitrican Party. Cudderboard, with his ties to the Herman family, was seen as his natural replacement, despite the fact that he had never held an elected posisition. The 2514 elections had proven to be a success for the then incumbent Moderate Libertarian Party, who had both mantained their large plurality and whose candidate, incumbent President Daniel Mansfield got re-elected to a sixth term.

Soon after this success, the party and the President claimed that their was a "national mandate" for the Libertarian ideaology, and they promised further cutbacks to the already minimalist government. Legilsation was proposed to the Alorian Parliament, with such titles a s"Libertarian Mandate Article X". Cudderboard accussed the President and the party of arragonce, pointing out that the party had a plurality, not a majority, and that 70% of Alorians had in fact voted for something against Libertarianism. His party then proposed bills which would have eliminated government all together, with Cudderboard stating that this was to test out the idea of Libertarian Mandate, by allowing a democratically elected parliament to vote on absolute Libertarinism. All other parties, including the Publitrican Party, voted the legilsation down with MLP being the only party to vote for it.

Despite this symbolic victory, Mansfield was succesful in many of his efforts to reduce government activity. Cudderboard saw the need for Aloria's oppossed parties to unify together to gain the Presidency and build a majority coalition in Parliament. He quickly made a short term deal with the People's Reform Party, while at the same time begining talks with Democratic Rationalist Chairman and Presidential Candidate. Colton White.

Despite efforts towards unification, Mansfield manatianed the Presidency for a 7th term in the 2517 elections. The Libertarian Mandate cuts continued, the Ministries of Foriegn Affairs and of Finance were completely defunded. The Publitrican Minister of Foriegn Affairs, Mark Gingerman, spoke out vocally against this, and Nelson Cudderboard soon announced that his party would fund what he called a "private diplomatic PR firm" on behalf of Aloria meant to fill the void left by the defunding of the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs. It was named Good Will Aloria. Mark Gingerman and Colgate Herman Johnson were made co-CEO's of GWA.

The ever aging Mansfield was under the impression that GWA was illegally operating at the offices of the former Ministry of Foriegn Affairs, and using unauthorized government documentation. He sent in Police to remove workers from the premises. As it turned out, Mansifled was under a false impression, and he had removed government workers from the soon to be out of buisiness yet still operating Ministry of Foriegn Affairs. Claims of senility soon followed as the images of a Libertarian President ordering government police to remove soon to be sacked workers from their job became a campaign issue in the Presidential election of 2520.

Prime Minister of Aloria
Nelson Cudderboard and the Publitrican Party endorsed Democratic Rationalist Colton White for President in 2520. Cudderboard and White had for years been working to unite a coaltion to curb MLP influence, and this year their two parties joined with the Alorian Free Democrats around White for Coalition Presidential Candidacy. White defeated Mansifeld in the elections, and his innuaguration began in Aloria a period which would become known as the "Progressive Rennassaince". The Ministries of Fincance and Foriegn Affairs were refundned, and progressive reforms were implemanted, the government's role increasing in Alorian national life.

Shortly before White's re-election 2523 over MLP candidate Jack Vincent, Cudderboard was given the role of Prime Minister in the Alorian Government. The two became the leading partners of the new Progressive Coalition and of of Nation's devolopment throughout the Progressive Rennasiance.

White decided not to seek a third term in 2526, and stated that he would seek the office of Prime Minister following his term's end. He named Cudderboard as his successor. Cudderboard, however, suffered an electoral defeat to MLP candidate Jack Vincent.

Despite his win, Vincet's party was unable to win enough seats in the Alorian Parliament to take control of the government, and the Cabinet remained stacked with Progressive minister as well. Vincent decided to do all he could by himself as cheif executive to promote the Libertarian Ideaology. By executive order, he shut down, the Executive Cabinet Offices. When Democratic Rationalist Minister of Finance Sojourner Smart challenged the President over his authority to do that, a legal battle ensued, Finally, the Alorian Supreme Court ruled President Vincet's actions as unconstitutional.

In an attempt to cut losses and still gain political points, Vincet had the Offices converted into a homeless shelter, challenging the Progressive Coalition to enforce the court's order and evict the homeless then living there. Cudderboard used the oppurtnity as a photo op, offering volunteer offices at the shelter and stating there that while he was happy that the Libertarian President aknowledged the need for government to help the homeless, what he offered was still not enough, as the offices could only house so many people. The Cabinet soon found another buidling to work at, and latter the old building was turned into a mueseum.

President of Alorian
The Coalition was able to once again pull together in the elections of 2529 and Nelson Cudderboard was popularly elected President. He stepped down from his job as Prime Minister to assume the office of President, delivering an innuagural address, a speech which epitomized the values of the Progressive Coalition, stating:

"Whether in issues abroad or issues at home, you can now expect a government that cares. You can now expect a government that works for and with the people rather then just ignoring them. To suggest that the citizens of this great country should expect anything less is a contradiction of the values most Alorians hold most dear. Now that we have been given your mandate, I expect nothing less of you then for you to hold our feet to the fire, to make sure that we live up to your expectations and beyond. Together, I believe that we can leave this country in even better shape then we found it.”

As his first act as President, Cudderboard proposed a cabinet with Colton White as Prime Minister (a continuation of their political partnership) and Colgate Herman Johnson (now into his 80s) as Foriegn Minister. Parliament accepted this cabinet, and soon after the new Foriegn Minister began crafting an internationalf free trade treaty. Cudderboard proposed Johnson's treaty to Parliament, where it faced some traction, and the elderly Johnson toured the country on its behalf. It finnally passed, but the process greatly fatigued Johnson whose health would never recover.

Soon after Cudderboard's innauguration, former Libertarian President Jack Vincet propsed that all parties participate in a "give-and-take" compromise conferance. Cudderboard said that he liked the idea, but didn't quite know what exactly what the former president proposed would entail. White soon after seized on the initiave, and the Democratic Rationalist Party took center stage leading the compromise legilsation. The MLP, however, had a differant vision for the "give-and-take" conferance one that Cudderboard accussed of being "ess take and more give." The issue never took fruition.

At the end of his second term (Cudderboard was decisively re-elected in 2532), Cudderboard stated his intention not to run for a third term. The Coalition rules were that each Coaltion candidate only stand for two terms and and then they would go on to the next party. The next Coalition Candidate would be AFD Candidate Margaret Lycurge. Cudderboard endorsed, by publicly stated that it was "reluctant and half-hearted". The AFD party had led the way on legilsation repealing government aknowledgement of and Alorian State Religion, something which the Publitrican Party fought vigourusly for. Lycurge was not able to win election, and MLP candidate Vincento Vanzetti V (whose family had for generations been active in government) was elected to the Presidency, holding that posisition for decades.

Retirement from Public Life
Because of his half-hearted endorsement, Cudderboard recieved much of the blame for the coalition's loss of the Presidancy to the MLP. After stepping down from the Presidancy, he retired from public life. The end of his second term is seen as the end of the first Progressive Rennassiance, the Progressive Coalition not retaking the office of Presidency until 2568. Aside from a few public appearnces as a spokesperson for his old party (which was later renamed the Alorian Public Union), he lived a quiet life in his final years until his death in 2552.