Llorens

Llorens (founded 6 May 2016) is a retired Assemblian politician who served as a co-founder from 2018 to 2021, as well as Chief Justice for one term in 2016 and Secretary for four terms at varying times between 2017 and 2020.

He is a member of the 'second generation' of Assemblians who founded in the early days of the region. Llorens founded one of only a few political parties that existed under that system before its collapse in August 2016, and later proposed the independent one-branch General Assembly government model that remained in place until December 2017.

Llorens entered the political scene in September 2016, defeating Losinia by just one vote to become Chief Justice. It was at this time that he gained a reputation as a prolific legislator - still holding the record for the most bills and amendments passed of any nation. In later years, he would also overhaul the Constitution and Code of Laws numerous times to properly separate the powers of government, introduce and abolish various positions, and simplify laws.

Following a stint as Prime Minister under Secretary Cedoria, he again faced off against his rival Losinia for Secretary in the March 2016 general election, this time losing by one vote. A critic of the Losinia administration throughout the April Crisis, he later went on to serve two consecutive terms as Secretary - the first 'Assemblian native' in the role - in June and September 2017. During his term, Llorens organised the first quarterly census and the first Culture Competitions. In April 2017, Llorens also founded a new social Discord server for the region, which he was head administrator of until his resignation in January 2021.

In 2018, Llorens served in a variety of portfolios, most notably one term as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Secretary Kavagrad where he established the ambassador program. He also became the first-ever prosecution in a court case - Tobostan v. Llorens (2018) - in which he was successful. Later in the year, he semi-retired from Assemblian politics to focus on NationStates Today.

He returned to politics in mid-2019 before opting to run for a third term as Secretary in December 2019, where he faced a new rival, Greylyn. Promising an executive revamp and opposing Greylyn's civil service, Llorens won in a landslide, though a rematch in March 2020 where the civil service idea again resurfaced saw him win by just one vote. During his final two terms as Secretary, he established the Revolutionary Support Exchange (RoSE) program and oversaw the introduction of a new regional roleplay.

Llorens retired again from regional politics after the conclusion of his term in June 2020, and now continues to manage the regional wiki.

Entry into politics
Llorens was an immediately controversial figure in the region, with his first now-deleted posts on the Regional Message Board in May 2016 questioning why nations with the 'Fascist' category (in the Liberal theme, Inoffensive Centrist Democracy shows as Fascist) were allowed to exist in the region. He also began to question many of the aspects of the region's Constitution and Code of Laws, which had several inconsistencies and ambiguities. This led to his formation of a political party - the Socialist Union - which quickly grew to become one of the largest parties despite having never contested an election.

His agreement to merge with the Independent Leftist Front at the same time that the Workers' Army Party and the Solidarity Party were also in talks to combine ultimately led to the collapse of the party system. He proposed a new independent one-branch General Assembly model as a solution to the issue, with a nine-member variant - consisting of the Secretary, Prime Minister, four other Ministers, and the three Justices - being enacted from the September 2016 general election. This was the first of several major institutional overhauls that Llorens was either partially or fully responsible for.



He ran for the Ministry of Law (the predecessor to the Supreme Court) in September 2016, his first-ever election in the region. The campaign was dominated by a new heated rivalry between Llorens and Losinia, a prominent figure (under the name Napania) in the region's predecessors, with each questioning the credentials and proposals of the other. Other issues that featured were the nature of the Prime Minister role and restrictions on right-wing nations residing in the region. Despite Losinia receiving the endorsement of the two primary authors of the original Constitution at the time - Atealia and New Prague Workers Republic - Llorens ended up defeating him by one vote as Chief Justice after the distribution of preferences.

During the 3rd General Assembly, Llorens quickly gained a reputation as an efficient legislator, outlawing all forms of discrimination that were exempted in the Constitution through the Anti-Discrimination Act, and receiving unanimous support in a referendum for the establishment of a formal legislative process in his Legislative Process Act. However, he also suffered two defeats on his electoral promises: the Vice-Secretary Act that sought to rename the Prime Minister and select them as the runner-up of the Secretary election, and the Rightist Restrictions Act which sought to extend limitations on right-wing nations to being unable to vote.

Prime Minister
In the December 2016 general election, Llorens decided to run for Prime Minister after three-term incumbent Auven stepped down from the role. He faced Minister of Foreign Affairs New Tuva SSR, but most debate occurred between him and Losinia over the issue of the recently-passed Criminal Recognition Act that gave powers of banjection from the Ministry of Law to the whole General Assembly. Late in the campaign, New Tuva SSR accused Llorens of seeking to concentrate his powers as Chief Justice, while Llorens claimed that New Tuva SSR had done little in their ministerial capacity. Llorens won with over two-thirds of the vote to become deputy to re-elected Secretary Cedoria.

During his term, Llorens worked with Cedoria to set up recruitment auto-telegramming and review the status of all embassies. In the 4th General Assembly, he legislated on by-elections with Cedoria in the Minister Replacement Act, formalised the banjection process and returned power to the Justices with the New Lonopolian Empire in the Banjection Reform Act, and removed private industry restrictions on running for office in the Industry Freedom Act.

March 2017 election
The Secretary race in the March 2017 general election was arguably one of the most bitterly contested in Assemblian history, with the vacancy left by Cedoria leading to the nominations of Llorens, Losinia, and Auven, with debate primarily centred around the first two long-term rivals. Highlighting the strength of the divisions, former Secretary and then-Prime Minister candidate Atealia endorsed Llorens, while Cedoria, the incumbent Secretary, endorsed Losinia over their deputy.



During the campaign, Llorens was criticised by his opponents for a lack of 'major' policy plans beyond abolishing the inactive Diplomatic Corps established by New Tuva SSR (and supported by his ally Losinia) in October 2016, while he in turned accused Auven of being inactive in previous General Assemblies and Losinia of having no real plans to deal with the inactive United Armed Forces military beyond rebranding.

Despite leading on the primary count, Llorens was defeated by Losinia by just one vote following the distribution of Auven's preferences, which was an almost exact reversal of the Ministry of Law election that occurred six months prior. Following his defeat, Llorens publicly declined a private offer by Losinia to serve as his Minister of Foreign Affairs, citing his differences in foreign policy, and instead promising to be a "critic" of the administration.

The April Crisis
Losinia led as Secretary for one month, which was a period of turmoil and heightened political tensions following the closely-fought preceding election. Llorens criticised the announcement of the new Leftist Defence Force in place of the United Armed Forces on 7 April 2017 as a "non-policy" for improving activity. He again became vocal when Losinia led the General Assembly to remove First Justice Celera for inactivity just one day before the conclusion of a vote on the Democratic Confidence Act, which Llorens had written but had his ally Atealia sign to avoid opposition from the Secretary. Throughout this, he published a since-deleted dispatch blog, What Is Going On?, that criticised Secretary Losinia's actions.

He also worked behind-the-scenes with Atealia and Cedoria, who had both also become increasingly critical of Losinia in the first weeks of his term. Following Cedoria's motion of a vote of no-confidence in Losinia, the first in regional history, Losinia accused Atealia and Llorens of being “shadow plotters turned public firebrands” that were behind the motion, having planned to remove him from power ever since he was elected. The Secretary's delaying tactics, illegal declaration of a state of emergency, and eventual fleeing from the region saw Prime Minister Atealia assume his role formally on 3 May, though there was a broad perception that Llorens was to be the natural successor in the following election.

On 22 April, amidst the crisis but separate to it, Llorens and The Final Horseman collaboratively founded a new social Discord server for the region, which Llorens was to be head administrator of.

Reform and renewal
Llorens had become a member of the 5th General Assembly just days before Losinia fled the region, winning a close by-election against New Prague Workers Republic to become Second Justice on 27 April following the vacancy left by Celera. Using his new position in the General Assembly, he passed a record number of legislative reforms in the wake of the April Crisis, including the shortening of by-elections in the Replacement Urgency Act, the reduction of the maximum state of emergency length in the Emergency Invasion Act, the adoption of a non-tiered judicial system in the Legal Standard Act, and a complete reorganisation of the Constitution in the Constitutional Organisation Act.

First period as Secretary
Llorens was elected as the first 'Assemblian native' Secretary in a near unanimous vote during the June 2017 general election, with the endorsements of both Atealia and Cedoria. His policies included a revitalisation of the Leftist Defence Force through new training materials, limiting outside influence in the region, holding a referendum on whether to reinstate the party system, and abolishing the Secretary voting advantage in the General Assembly.



Leading the 6th General Assembly, Llorens passed five pieces of legislation, including removing the Secretary voting advantage in the Equal Vote Act, merging the Minister of Immigration and Customs into the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Legislature Reduction Act, banning unauthorised foreign policy communications in the Foreign Communication Act, and once again overhauling the Constitution and Code of Laws to implement a simplified numbered format. In September, he also organised the first-ever Culture Competitions, which has become a biannual event for citizens to design and vote on certain visual elements in the region.

He was again elected in a near-unanimous vote as Secretary with no opposition in September 2017, largely promising a continuation of the status quo, as well as a new "monthly census" to gauge opinions on the region. A quarterly census was hosted for the first time in October 2017, and has continued to date in largely the same form as its original. In the 7th General Assembly, Llorens continued his reputation of reform, notably abolishing the Minister of Defence and their Leftist Defence Force in the Military Removal Act, as well as separating the branches of government with a new Supreme Court and five independent Senators in the Judicial Separation Act.

Towards the conclusion of the term, Llorens became involved in a heated foreign affairs dispute concerning the proposed NSLeft membership of the Social Liberal Union. While most NSLeft regions initially voted in favour of their membership, scepticism by some vocal figures concerning the acceptance of a ‘liberal’ region into the alliance and perceived antagonism from members of the Social Liberal Union towards authoritarian leftists prompted regions to reconsider their stance. Llorens was criticised by some for deciding to reaffirm the region's vote in favour of their membership, making The Leftist Assembly the only region not to abstain or vote against it.

Post-leadership politics
Following the conclusion of his second term as Secretary on 14 December 2017, Llorens spent the entire next term out of office for the first time in over a year. However, he remained active behind-the-scenes in coordinating and assisting the election campaign of executive ticket South Miruva and Atealia in the December 2017 general election, and continued to be involved on the legislative scene.

While he passed the Seek Other and Sentencing Acts, implementing a new 'seek other' election option and expanding the number of prosecutable offences respectively, he clashed with Cedoria on legislation concerning the separation of government powers. He had opposed Cedoria's Executive Government Act, passed by a margin of 10-8 at the start of the term in a referendum, on the grounds that it gave Ministers the ability to see internal General Assembly communications, it blocked Justices from serving as Ministers, and gave preference to Senators for ministerial portfolios. His alternative bill, the Revised Executive Act, sought to overturn these particular elements while retaining the core part of the bill in clarifying ministerial responsibilities, but it failed 8-9 in a referendum.

He made a brief return to the Supreme Court in February 2018 following the resignation of Libertasnia, serving the remaining time of the term, which totalled less than one month.

General Assembly return
In the March 2018 general election, Llorens was comfortably elected as one of seven Senators to the 9th General Assembly. During the term, he passed a number of uncontroversial pieces of legislation, such as the enshrining of regional designs and increasing the Senator population ratio from 1:10 to 1:12, but he faced obstacles with requiring General Assembly votes on all ministerial appointments in the Executive Article Act (failed 6-8 in a referendum) and adopting a new Condorcet-modelled election counting system (passed 9-7 in a referendum).

It was during this period that he also served briefly as the only Minister of Culture in the region's history to host the Culture Competitions, a responsibility handed on in later years to the Minister of Information, as well as the Minister of Archives to manage the wiki (rather than the regional newspaper, as the title had been formally used for). The wiki, which followed a short-lived regional website that he designed using Wix, has been managed continuously by Llorens since, initially as a collection of pages on NSWiki and NSIndex at varying times before the establishment of the independent 'TLAwiki' in August 2020.

He was re-elected as a Senator in June 2018 as the top-ranking candidate, spending the term on a number of legislative reforms: returning to a fixed number of Senators with New Arkados in the Fixed Legislature Act, requiring candidacy confirmations on the Regional Message Board in the Candidacy Confirmation Act, and mandating that one Justice lead each trial as a presiding judge in the Judicial Review Act. The first use of this would be in the region's first-ever court case at the end of the term - Tobostan v. Llorens (2018) - where Llorens successfully prosecuted Tobostan for spamming and trolling behaviour.

He also served during this term as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Secretary Kavagrad, with the notable implementation of the ambassador program to improve direct relations with embassy regions.



Llorens was again the best-performing senatorial candidate in the September 2018 general election, with his third term beginning with another complete legal overhaul that notably saw the Code of Laws become a collection of laws rather than a document in itself. This was followed by his widely-popular Set Ministers legislative package with New Arkados that required the Secretary to appoint Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Media, and Recruitment, while giving them the flexibility to appoint additional ones as they saw fit, a model that continues in largely the same form today.

Semi-retirement
Seeking to focus on his new responsibilities as a writer and editor for NationStates Today, an interregional news organisation where he would later serve twice as Chief Executive Officer, Llorens withdrew partially from Assemblian politics, opting against running for a fourth term as Senator. However, he continued to critique and present some legislation - in the 12th General Assembly, he legislated with Kavagrad to abolish the Minister of Media after a tense public confrontation with the incumbent Libertasnia on the Regional Message Board between several members led to their resignation, which made the continuation of The Red Star effectively untenable. In the 13th General Assembly, Llorens found himself increasingly at odds with rising-star Senator Dawtania, being pivotal in the 19-25 referendum failure of Dawtania's proposal to separate the elections of the Secretary and Prime Minister.

The 14th General Assembly saw Llorens partner with Uan aa Boa and Greylyn to author arguably one of the most defining pieces of legislation in Assemblian history - the Separate Cabinet legislative package. The package, which initially garnered some scepticism but eventually was broadly accepted, formalised the executive branch as the Cabinet, removed the Secretary and Vice Secretary (renamed from Prime Minister) from the General Assembly, and expanded the number of Members of the General Assembly (renamed from Senators) to seven. Llorens also unsuccessfully opposed Dawtania's Civil Cases legislative package for his perception that it would unnecessarily complicate the judicial process by separating civil and criminal cases, which only narrowly passed the newly-increased two-thirds constitutional amendment threshold. He concurrently served as a Justice of the 14th Supreme Court during this term, contributing to legal rulings on the application of ministerial policy, the public nature of General Assembly voting, and the departure of election candidates.

Returning from semi-retirement, Llorens was elected as an MGA in the 15th General Assembly, once more as the top-ranked candidate, and passed six bills/amendments almost unanimously, including a new endorsement cap in the Endorsement Cap Bill, the increase of Justice confirmation thresholds to two-thirds in Constitution Amendment (Court Confirmations), and the abolition of nation category restrictions on running for office in Category Restriction Amendment (Act Removal). On 30 October, Llorens co-founded the region's first-ever polling company, Unity Statistics, with Nottinhaps, with the aim of gauging opinion on election races, leaders, and divisive issues. This renewed political involvement set the stage for a third tilt at Secretary in the following election.

Second period as Secretary
Llorens' run for Secretary in the December 2019 general election was just the second time (after Cedoria) that a nation had sought out a third term in office. He was challenged by incumbent Vice Secretary Greylyn, and the candidates became most divided over their stance on Greylyn's proposed 'civil service' for the executive branch, which Llorens strongly opposed on the grounds of it being an inefficient use of time and resources, whereas proponents of the change argued that it would encourage greater participation in government. Llorens also promised to introduce new Ministers of Events, Roleplay, and World Assembly Affairs, as well as to introduce a new endorsement program called the Revolutionary Support Exchange (RoSE). Ultimately, Llorens won in a landslide with 73% of the vote.



His third term in office was largely defined by the implementation of these campaign promises, leading the 1st Llorens Cabinet with six Ministers and spearheading the implementation of the RoSE program, which has led to a sustained increase in the total proportion of World Assembly members in the region, as well as Delegate endorsements. In a January 2020 opinion poll, 75% of citizens said that they were 'very satisfied' with his leadership as Secretary.

Greylyn again contested Llorens, now the incumbent Secretary, in March 2020, with the campaign again being largely centred around the topic of the civil service, but with notably less campaigning by Llorens. Apart from his continued opposition to the proposal, Llorens largely promised little in his platform apart from a revamped regional roleplay. He won, but unexpectedly by just one vote; nevertheless, he was returned to a record-breaking fourth term as the region's leader.

During his final term in office leading the 2nd Llorens Cabinet, he appointed the first 'Co-Ministers' to a portfolio (the Ministry of Roleplay) and oversaw the transition to the new 'Assembly of Nations' roleplay. Midway through the term on 25 April, Llorens went public about private accusations from Speaker Podria that he had improperly conducted himself in contacting MGA Rhineland Ruhr and Alsace Lorraine to cast the deciding vote for Election Amendment (Regional Poll), which moved all election nominations to the Regional Message Board. The conversation created bitter divisions among commentators, though most supported the right of the Secretary to express their opinion to the MGA on the matter privately given their public statements on it; critics believed that it was an improper use of his leadership position that violated the separation of powers.

As Secretary, Llorens continued to present legislation to the General Assembly, including a revision of the Speaker's responsibilities in an amendment to the Legislature Conduct Act (sponsored by Wascoitan) and a new requirement that the Secretary explain their World Assembly votes on the Regional Message Board, as he had established the precent for, in a unanimously-accepted constitutional amendment (sponsored by Podria).

In foreign affairs, criticisms of the crackdown on 'authoritarian' leftists in the Democratic Socialist Assembly's Discord server - paired with growing tensions in the NSLeft between them and The Internationale - prompted Llorens to co-author and sign a statement with leaders of The Communist Bloc on the region's moderation practices. The situation eventually culminated in the departure of the Democratic Socialist Assembly from the NSLeft and the closure of The Leftist Assembly's embassy with them in September 2020.

Retirement
Llorens effectively retired with the conclusion of their fourth term as Secretary on 14 June 2020, though he initially continued as head administrator of the social Discord server, as well as a co-founder alongside Cedoria and Kavagrad.

As head administrator of the Discord server, he was involved in opposing proposed legislation by Secretary Greylyn and Vice Secretary Podria that sought to increase government control over it, including by making the Secretary a permanent administrator. He endorsed a motion of no-confidence in Podria, who had spearheaded the effort, on 25 July, which eventually saw the Vice Secretary resign before the vote's conclusion. Llorens continued to serve in this role until his unexpected resignation in January 2021, released in a dispatch that detailed his frustration with what he perceived as growing sectarianism in the server amongst some members and administrators. This is largely credited with initiating the Great Departure, where several long-term members of the region, including Libertasnia and Hecknamistan, left the region or the game altogether.

He also served in several leadership capacities, including twice as Chief Executive Officer, for award-winning interregional newspaper NationStates Today from January 2019 until he departed the organisation in June 2021. He published over 80 individual articles for the news organisation during his time as a staff member, including 19 editions of a popular monthly called The Shift, which tracked global World Assembly population changes.

He resigned as a co-founder – the fourth nation to ever do so following Atealia, British Accia, and The Final Horseman – on 24 July 2021, being succeeded by Dyl. An attempted to Commend Llorens in the World Assembly reached vote, but was defeated on 16 April 2022 by 8,814 votes to 7,003. (44.3% - 55.7%). In response, the region would formalise it's anti-WA stance in the first two Legislative Motions passed in regional history. He announced his permanent departure from NationStates on 30 April 2022. The Red and Gold Republic of Llorens ceased to exist on 30 June 2022.

Fun facts

 * Llorens is the only nation to have served four terms as Secretary.
 * Llorens is the only candidate to have ever won two elections by a single vote.

From Llorens

 * "We need a candidate who has been here consistently, not just one who is 'experienced'."
 * Defending his candidacy for the Ministry of Law, 24 September 2016
 * "You mistaken experience simply as holding these positions. That isn't experience. [...] You were basically never, throughout the past six months that I have worked with you in the GA, active in GA discussion and have consistently had long periods of inactivity during the term."
 * Accusing Secretary opponent Auven of a lack of experience and activity, 21 March 2017
 * "I intend to be a fierce critic of the new Losinia regime..."
 * Public statement rejecting Secretary Losinia's private offer to him to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2 April 2017
 * "[...] it was somewhat unfortunate that the SLU government was divided on the issue, but that should not jeopardise our foreign affairs external from the NSLeft. Both of our regions voted overwhelmingly in favour of embassies with each other, and we have a real potential to foster a positive relationship with them."
 * On ties with the Social Liberal Union after their failed NSLeft bid, 4 December 2017
 * "The general hesitation that I am getting from the Justice is that Tobostan might be purely naive and that we shouldn't be too harsh. However, I'm not sure how naivety is a justification for talking to one of your own puppets or repeatedly asking the same questions."
 * Commentary during the Tobostan v. Llorens (2018) trial, 19 August 2018
 * "I believe an efficient Cabinet is one that is made up of Ministers with clearly defined duties within a specific area of regional life."
 * Criticising Secretary opponent Greylyn's proposal for a Minister of Domestic Affairs, 6 December 2019
 * "The enjoyment that we often derive from NationStates comes from the unexpected, and I'm sure that our ship will continue to weather the storm in times of tension and ride with the wind in our sails in times of prosperity."
 * State of the Assembly address, 24 February 2020
 * "The accusation that somehow I was out-of-line for trying to convey my stance on whether there should be an election nomination poll, of all things, strikes me as ludicrous."
 * Defending his decision to ask an MGA to cast a deciding vote for legislation on election nominations, 24 April 2020
 * "We are a region of many strong and passionate souls sharing our vision for a world of justice, fairness, and equity. The collective spirit we embody is an empowering force in an internet-based world full of hatred and division, and in fostering that we are creating something truly special."
 * State of the Assembly address, 31 May 2020
 * "An increasingly vocal minority has sought to belittle those with different perspectives and construct a narrative that their worldview is superior to others and the ultimate goal of any ‘good’ leftist. This is toxic, and each word to this effect slowly unravels the fragile fibre of our community."
 * Accusing certain citizens of sectarianism during resignation as head admin of the regional Discord server, 19 January 2021
 * "Serving as a founder of any region is an interesting endeavour, but being one in a leftist region is uniquely strange. In our region, you effectively serve as one-third of a constitutional monarch!"
 * Reflecting on his time as a co-founder in his resignation statement, 21 July 2021
 * "Gameplayers hate me, fish fear me"
 * Direct Message to Kavagrad after leaving NationStates, 1 May 2022

About Llorens

 * "It would appear as if I am in a corner by these shadow plotters turned public firebrands, therefore I am given no other choice than to declare a State of Emergency."
 * Losinia, Accusing Llorens and Atealia of undermining his administration, 28 April 2017
 * "It's great that our elected officials are voluntarily holding themselves accountable, but I happen to be just a little confused as to why some individuals cannot find that they agree with anything I have to say - until the moment campaign season ends."
 * Dawtania, Criticising Llorens for his comments on the necessity of government reporting, 25 October 2019
 * "I have the utmost confidence that Llorens will do a great job as our next Secretary and I wish him a comfortable transition as the torch passes from one executive to another."
 * Greylyn, Conceding defeat to Llorens in the December 2019 election, 14 December 2019
 * "It's difficult for people who haven't been around that long to realise this, but you'd be very surprised by the sheer amount of grinding work Llorens has put into this community over the years, much of it really hard, boring or nit-picky work that a lot of other people (including me, sometimes) really didn't want to do."
 * Cedoria, Thanking Llorens for his service upon his resignation as co-founder, 23 July 2021