Edward Atlee
From WikiStates
| The Right Honourable, Member of Parliament Edward Atlee |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 June, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Dominic Bradshaw |
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Member of Parliament
for Holmwood |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 21, 1998 |
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| Born | December 9, 1958 (age 51) Lagrina, Valipac |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Jasmine Atlee |
| Children | Edward Jr (17, male) |
| Residence | Lagrina, Valipac |
| Alma mater | Lagrina University of Law |
| Religion | Atheist |
| Website | http://www.pm.gov.val |
Edward Atlee (born December 9, 1958 in Lagrina) is the current Prime Minister of Valipac and Leader of the Liberal Party. Atlee became Prime Minister in June 2009, after defeating the Conservative Party and Social Party in the 2009 General Election. Despite having a long parliamentary career, this is the first cabinet position Atlee has held, and is due to the fact that the party was his brainchild.
Atlee has a PhD in Business Law from the Lagrina University of Law and spent a lot of time after college working for the Myers and Krepp law firm. He discovered a knack for politics, however, and longtime MP Freddie Baxter took him under his wing. Baxter provided the Holmwood constituency for Atlee to gain his first seat from, and Atlee has been the representative from that district since 1998. As Prime Minister, he also holds the offices of First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service.
His time in office has seen the ascension of Valipac to the Oceanic Defense Coalition and the passing of the Taxes and Tariffs Bill of 2010, both of which were hotly contested by the Social Party. After an initial surge in approval ratings and opinion polls, Atlee's rankings have plummeted as Valipac has been more inactive of late internationally and was brought to the brink of war with Kroando in Operation: Dancing Fire. Current political analysts predict that if the Liberal Party does not reverse their fortunes, it will be the Social Party that walks away victorious in 2014.
Early Life and Career
Edward Atlee was born on December 9, 1958 in Lagrina, Valipac. His father was Anthony Atlee, a prominent businessman and the owner of Atlee Laundromats, a company that has since disbanded but once owned some 70% of the laundromats in the city of Lagrina. His mother, Lilly Jane Atlee, was a stay at home mom who educated Atlee at home until high school. He entered high school at age 12, 2 years early, and was finished by age 16, when he enrolled in the Lagrina University of Law on a fast-track pre-law major. Along the way, he earned a double major in modern Aerovan history, and remained at the university to complete his full law training. While completing his graduate work, Atlee met Jasmine Boyle, a 22 year old Broadcast Journalism major. After a lengthy courting period, the two married in 1974.
After receiving his PhD in business law, he was offered a job by Myers and Krepp, where he crawled up the ladder until he broke away to form his own law firm. This new firm, Atlee, Reynolds, and Moss stayed open for about three years and Atlee gained some acclaim by successfully defending Systemin Defence Systems in a lawsuit that implied Systemin was liable for the damage caused by the products she sold. After this case Atlee made numerous public appearances stating his intent to run for parliament, which drew the attention of Freddie Baxter. Baxter saw promise in the young Conservative and offered him a seat in the Holmwood district, which Atlee won in a landslide and has not lost since.
Prime Minister
Atlee became the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Valipac on the 3rd of June, 2009. Like all modern Prime Ministers, Atlee concurrently serves as the First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service, and is a member and the leader of the Cabinet of Valipac. He is also Leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Holmwood. Atlee is the first Prime Minister to have been born and raised in Lagrina since Bradley Reed who was the 58th Prime Minister of Valipac (1976-1985). Atlee runs the party, and thusly the country, on classic liberal principles. He has had to concede some points, such as remaining tariffs on pharmecuticals, to the Social Party, but as a whole has been able to lower government interventionism into the economy. This most notably took place in the Taxes and Tariffs Bill of 2010.
Atlee contends that if Valipac is to experience economic and civil growth on the scale of nations in the Anglosphere, they must more fully embrace the Liberal Party's principles. He is said to be prepared to push for a widespread scaleback of the nation's intelligence services, as well as a reduction of the rights the services have. These reforms are expected to particularly target the Valipacian National Intelligence Service (VNIS), who is not expected to fold to the demands lightly. The VNIS is seen by the Liberal Party as a instrument the state could use to tyrannize it's populace, while the Social and Conservative parties view it as essential to national defense. Even if the Liberal party does not succeed in removing VNIS, they are at least hoping to curtail it's power, especially the rights to full search and seizure it maintains.
Atlee looks to strengthen relations with ODECON nations - in particular Leistung and Santheres, as well as with non-ODECON nations such as Cravan. In the meantime, he looks to pursue a more hawkish international facade, as evidenced by his promotion of William Sharpe to Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of Valipac. It is his goal to make Valipac appear involved and strong in world affairs, although his actions, such as the those leading up to the Battle of Zoingo in the Zoingan Situation have backfired within his own populace, who appear to be yearning for a more dove approach.
