Braer McQaid

Braer McQaid was a major politician in the early 24th century. He was the third President of the Federated States

Background

Braer Douglas McQaid was born in Silver City, Earth in the year 2259. He was raised by wealthy parents. Braer's father has Haviland McQaid, a prominent corporate lawyer and his mother, Farrah Evander-McQaid was a diplomat.
Braer attended an exclusive prep school and then went to college at Yale. He studied a BA in Military History. During his time in college he was twice investigated by the Confederate Intelligence Services for "Unpatriotic Behavior". However the end of the Confederacy and the rise of the Confederate Union saw him cleared of suspiscion.
Braer left college in 2281 and announced he would join the Confederate Marine Corps.

Marine Officer

Braer attended the Paris Island marine corps training camp in 2281 and graduated as a second lieutenant in the year 2282. He was initially posted to the Fort Drummond base in South America.
In 2283 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and given an assignment to combat command during the Second Dhau war. He served as a company executive officer and fought in several battles.
In 2284 Braer was promoted to Captain and became a company commander. As the war slowed down, he was given an assignment as a Staff Officer to Admiral Matthews. This relationship was to prove crucial to Brear's career.
In 2286 Brear McQaid was promoted to the rank of Major and given an assignment as an intelligence officer working out of the base on Lightning Point.
In 2290 Braer McQaid was recalled to Earth and promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He was given an assignment as a regimental training officer.
In 2294 Braer McQaid was promoted to full colonel. He lobbied to get a regimental combat team command.
In 2296 Colonel McQaid took over the command of the 3rd Marine Assault Regiment, based out of Fort Selina on St Lawrence.
In 2299 Colonel McQaid was honorably discharged and became a civiliain.

Political Career

In 2299 Braer McQaid returned to work for his ailing father as an assistant. He was then introduced to prominent Senator Elwood Nye He joined his office, initially as a military advisor and then later on he became a Senior Counsel to the Senator.
In 2301 he was named as Chief of Staff to Senator Nye
In 2303 Braer McQaid announced he would seek the Senate Seat for Central America. He raised a lot of money and defeated the incumbent Senator Richardson 50%-44%.

Senator

As a newly elected Senator, Braer McQaid largely involved himself in the military. He joined the Senate armed services committee and was a strident voice for the need to keep a large, well trained fleet.
In 2311 he was vocal about the dangers of the Karkouri Regime and he warned that the Wickleff administration was not taking the threat seriously.
In 2314 Senator McQaid lead a select committee investigation into alleged spending cuts but he was unable to tie the administration to any of the supposed lapses in spending.
In 2318, the Karkouri invasion saw Senator McQaid arrested. He spent nearly nine months in a prison cell before being turned over to the Provisional Government. He was moved to a black site but he was released after three more months.
In 2322 he was outspoken in his need to deal with the Provisional Government. He also called for the Karkouri Regime to be forced to pay reparations.
In 2325 he backed Governor Pierce Colby for President and was rewarded when he was elected as President with the role of Secretary of Defence.

Secretary of Defence

Braer McQaid was Secretary of Defence for the League from the year 2325 to 2328. He was asked to switch to Treasury Secretary for the last two years.
During his tenure as Secretary of Defence, he was heavily involved in the refit of the League's fleet.

Treasury Secretary

In 2328 Braer McQaid was confirmed as Treasury Secretary. He was involved in trade and commerce policies and met regularly with the corporations and the Hansa.
In 2330 he backed President Pierce Colby for reelection. He was rewarded with the role of Secretary of State.

Secretary of State

In 2330 Braer McQaid was confirmed as the Secretary of State. He was heavily involved in shuttle diplomacy with the Hansa and the other neutral colonies.
He was also a key advisor to President Colby.
When the Federated States were formed in 2332 he was confirmed as the Secretary of State for the Federated States. He was sent on trips to almost all of the quadrant's major powers.
In 2333 Braer McQaid announced that he had joined the Federalist Party.
In 2335 he backed Vice President Altus Kinnick for the Federalist Nomination and the Presidency. Kinnick then named Braer McQaid as his nominee for VP in the 2335 election. The Federalist ticket won and Braer McQaid was the new Vice President

Vice President of the Federated States

Vice President McQaid was sworn in and became a key advisor to President Kinnick. Vice President McQaid was often seen as a critical veteran in the administration. He named long time adviser Davenport Lee as chief of staff.
In 2336 tragedy struck when Rafe McQaid, Braer's son, was killed during the OMDA terrorist attack. Vice President McQaid gave impassioned speeches calling for swift justice.
In 2339 stories began to circulate that President Kinnick and Vice President McQaid had fallen out. These stories only escalated when the fund raising reports came out and showed that vice President McQaid had raised nearly A$4M.
In 2340 ahead of the Federalist convention, President Altus Kinnick announced that he would not seek a second term. He gave a luke-warm endorsement of vice President McQaid.

Federalist Nominee

At the Federalist convention, vice President McQaid only faced real opposition from Governor Soren Ocampo who had been critical of the administration.
.Vice President McQaid was able to secure the key backing of the centrist wing of the Federalist Party and was confirmed by 60% of the delegates as the Federalist nominee. He then met with Governor Ocampo and the two agreed to be on the ticket together with Ocampo as Vice President.
The McQaid / Ocampo ticket won both rounds of the Presidential election against the AIS and were confirmed to the Presidency.

President of the Federated States

In June of 2340 Vice President McQaid was sworn in as President of the Federated States. He named Davenport Lee as his chief of staff.
His cabinet was formed from:

• Senator Byran Sorrell (Federalist) as Secretary of State
• Senator Taylor Rishi (Federalist) as Secretary of Defence
• Deputy Maya Abbott (Federalist) as Attorney General
• Fed Chair Dr Sulize Maliwa (Independent) as Treasury Secretary
• Adm Kya Valane (Wellfield) as Director of FSI
• Senator Jonas de Bruyne (Universal) as Colonial Secretary

As per the working agreement with the Progressive Union, a working agreement was formed to put Harminder Mosier back in as the Prime Minister.
The McQaid administration made social justice its priority with a sweeping budget for improvements to schools, infrastructure, wellfare, health and a new bill of Federal rights.
The McQaid administration rejected the Tazzyn trade deal and signed a mutual defence pact with the Tranoan Empire. They also bean to investigate an arms deal with the Gannid Commonwealth.
The McQaid administration increased the military budget between 2341 and 2343. They were able to fund their wellfare program thanks to an increase in corporations tax.
In 2342 President McQaid fired Secretary de Bruyne after contreversial comments about the corporations.
In 2343 Dr Sulize Maliwa resigned after leaks of a trade deal being floated to the Karkouri regime. Davenport Lee stood down as Chief of staff and he was replaced by Dr Ivar Mackie, a long time family friend of Braer McQaid.
In 2344 Secretary of Defence Taylor Rishi resigned. President McQaid announced due to his failing health, he would not seek a second term as President. He firmly endorsed vice President Soren Ocampo for the Federalist nomination.

Post Presidency and Later Life

Braer McQaid retired to support the Federalist Party and his nephew, Arie McQaid. He raised money for the Strickland / Cappotelli ticket in 2345 and he also campaigned on behalf of Arie McQaid for Governor of Whitworth.
Braer McQaid died in 2349 aged 90. He was eulogized by his nephew.