Celestine Halida
Born on Earth in the early years of the Dream Century, Celestine Halidas was a well known and skilled politician in the first half of the century, made controversial for her libertarian ideals and fight for equal rights for all humans.
Her career is marked by many successful years as a diplomat and senator, and eventually lead to her winning the presidential seat for Earth in the 2 President structure of the Earth-Mars Federation .
Starting out as a diplomats aide, Celestine made her first journey away from Earth at the age of 17, visiting the colonies and Mars for the first time and experiencing the differences in living condition that she had though only existed on Earth. Her years as an aide made a large impact on her view of humanity and the Federation as whole. Years later as a diplomat and representative of the Ministry of Health she would have a short but powerful encounter with the then already famous Racha Zum Zien , Celestine would later come to praise Racha Zum Zien ´s humanitarian work and credit her as the person who motivated her to run for the Senate and the presidency.
Running a campaign promoting equal rights and improved healthcare and education for the masses, as well as freedom of movement that would improve trade across the human sphere, Celestine Halida won the presidential election of 0045 DC, becoming the 10th president of the Federation and the 5th president to represent Earth. Her trade reforms were highly praised and written into law only a year after the election and whilst most senators would agree on most of the healthcare improvements proposed by Halidas cabinet, progress would be slow to actually get them into effect. In the second half of her 10 year term, President Halida would shift her focus entirely towards reforming the democratic system of the Federation. Her reforms were based on shifting the current representative system towards complete and direct elections, and giving every human in the human sphere an equal vote. This was heavily opposed by much of the Senate and her co-president Yue Woods , although not openly so as opposing such a change would be political suicide and likely spark new riots in both space colonies and the slums of Earth. Even so President Halidas voting reforms would gain traction towards the end of 0050 DC and talks began on how to implement such a system in practice, even though she had yet to gain the support of the Senate for such a change.
President Halida and her cabinet was returning to Nangija from just such a meeting on the colony of Zeon when her dream for the Federation came to an end.
Six years into her presidency, on the 12th of August 0051 DC, she was assassinated along with her cabinet in an terrorist attack that would quickly escalate into the conflict later known as Char´s Rebellion , undoing much of the work she had done to stabilise and improve the relations between the inner planets and spacenoid . She was buried in her hometown in Croatian on Earth and later a monument on Nangija was raised in memory of those killed in the attack, featuring a piece of the wreckage and a memorial plaque listing the dead and blaming Char Aznable and Zeon for their death. The monument was raised on the request of President Woods and the Senate.
Her wife and child, while they regularly travelled with the President, did not accompany her on this diplomatic mission, Celestine having sensed that there was a chance something could happen and instructing them to stay home this time. Her daughter, Yanna Halida would later enter politics as well, and while never reaching the hights of her mother, serving dutifully in the Ministry of Ecology and later the Senate as well.
The circumstances of her assassination and the death of 12 others abord the Federation shuttle she was on has been widely debated and scepticism still exists about what actually transpired. Mere hours after the incident the Martian president of the Federation Yue Woods launched a hurried investigation into the attack and put all Federation forces in the human sphere on high alert. When the results from the investigation came in just days later it was declared that the attack had been planned and executed by Char Aznable ´s military faction and on the direct orders of The Alliance of Zeon. President Woods roused the Senate into a fury with a passionate speech on the 18th of August and swiftly gained a majority in support of limited-martial law in the colonies and a military intervention into Zeon - Colony L5 with the goal of arresting Char Aznable and the Zeon governing council.
The circumstances of her assassination and the death of 12 others abord the Federation shuttle she was on has been widely debated and scepticism still exists about what actually transpired. Mere hours after the incident the Martian president of the Federation Yue Woods launched a hurried investigation into the attack and put all Federation forces in the human sphere on high alert. When the results from the investigation came in just days later it was declared that the attack had been planned and executed by Char Aznable ´s military faction and on the direct orders of The Alliance of Zeon. President Woods roused the Senate into a fury with a passionate speech on the 18th of August and swiftly gained a majority in support of limited-martial law in the colonies and a military intervention into Zeon - Colony L5 with the goal of arresting Char Aznable and the Zeon governing council.
