Pierce Colby was a major politician in the early 24th century. He was the first President of the League and the First President of the
The Federated States
Background
Pierce Colby was born in 2282 on the Whitworth Colony in Lambda City. His parents were 2nd generation colonists, his father was a lecturer at Salter Academy and his mother was an M.D.
Pierce was a bright, charming student and attended the University of Port-Holland. He studied a B.A in Political Science. He was considered a superb student, popular and energetic. He graduated in 2304 and then went to Bradbury-Thorne University on Mars, studying his J.D in Law.
He graduated in 2306 with a J.D, one of the better students in his class. He applied to join the Confederate Federal Prosecutors office but was turned down, due to a lack of court experience. He instead took a posting as a Public Defender on Mars, defending criminals in court cases.
In 2308 he got a place as a Federal Prosecutor, transferring to the Fort Darwin colony where he was appointed Lead Prosecutor. He had a very good record in prosecuting organized crime and smugglers.
In the year 2311 he announced his intention to seek the office of Attorney General for Fort Darwin. He ran on a reformer ticket, considered a rank outsider. However his charm and great record on prosecuting smugglers, saw him shock the establishment and he was elected Attorney General, taking office in December of 2311, aged 29.
Attorney General
As the new Attorney General of Fort Darwin, Pierce Colby instituted a tough, no nonsense office that cracked down on smugglers, organized crime, prostitution and drugs. He was successful leading a major prosecution against organized crime boss Radzen Varrick, sending him down for 30 years.
He built up an effective political machine around him, working across the Colonial Legislature and whilst he was not associated with any particular party, he was able to make allies with nearly all of them.
In 2316 he was re-elected as Attorney General and began to expand his operations and was considered a major political force on the colony. He came to the attention of the Confederate Union leadership and he was offered a place in the Cabinet in 2317 which he turned down.
During the Occupation, Pierce helped to keep the peace and was seen as supportive of law and order. In 2321 he announced his intention to seek the office of Governor of Fort Darwin.
Despite his youth (Pierce was only 39 years old) he was viewed as the overwhelming favorite. He had a good working relationship with the local corporations and had a slick, well funded campaign. Pierce Colby defeated Maria Allback to be elected Governor of Fort Darwin in 2321, taking office in January of 2322.
Governor of Fort Darwin
As the newly elected Governor of Fort Darwin, he ran a consensus building administration and appointed members of all the local parties to his administration. He was supportive of the newly formed League and was invited to a place in the Council of Governors where he was known for his sensible, consensus building approach.
He named experienced political operative Oren Hallam as his Chief of Staff.
Governor Colby instituted a new program of public transport on Fort Darwin and was able to get investment from Esprit du Nacional to help fund this.
Governor Colby was known for (and at times criticized) for being careful about his opinions on things like the War Crimes trials and OMDA. He was supportive of the corporations being allowed to remain their current size, bringing him into conflict with OMDA and their supporters.
Presidential Candidate
see the 2325 League Presidential Election
In the year 2324, the League began to gear up for its surprise snap Presidential election after President Shockley announced she would stand down early to allow for a new administration. Governor Colby was mentioned by some in the media as being a good candidate for the Presidency, despite his relative lack of experience.
Governor Colby announced in May of 2324 that he would seek the Presidency of the League. He was initially viewed as a long shot for the Presidency, lagging behind Governor Rust Collingwood and lecturer Dr Valerie Oxford. However Governor Colby was able to get support from centrists, those who approved of Federalism and those who were fairly pro-corporate.
Governor Colby announced that he would run alongside Jovian Belt Attorney General Altus Kinnick, who was essentially an unknown in political circles.
As he and Dr Oxford began the race for the Presidency, Initially Dr Oxford was viewed as the overwhelming favorite but after the news broke that Dr Oxford had taken lobbying money from VENTRISS UDC, a large number of left-wing groups switched their support and Governor Colby was elected President of the League.
President of the League -1st Term
see The League Presidential Election 2325
Newly elected President Colby set his sites on reunification as his main goal. To ease the transition to his new government, he kept on veteran Secretary of State TH Sorrell who would become a very influential member of his administration.
President Colby named his longtime chief of staff, Oren Hallam, as the new Presidential chief of staff. However Hallam proved to be badly out of his depth and he resigned in 2326. President Colby named veteran pollster and consultant Lewin Learen as Chief of staff. Learen proved a much more solid hand.
Vice President Kinnick was given a role as a major adviser to the President and he was often involved in prominent decisions. Vice President Kinnick was also seen as the President's enforcer, sent to take care of difficult opponents.
He also appointed veteran Senator Brear McQaid as Secretary of Defense. He replaced war-hero Admiral Uwe van Lowe, who retired from active duty to seek a Senate seat, with Admiral Ravi Sati as Fleet Chief of Staff.
The reunification talks stalled, however, and President Colby had to accept, instead, a working group that would take more than 4 years to yield major results.
The President maintained political neutrality but made some major alliances, especially with the Federalist wing of the Senate. Senator Alden Haer often had the ear of the President and was a key ally with brokering deals in the Senate.
President Colby was able to achieve some small goals. He strengthened the role of the President and the Executive branch. This was done through a deal in the Senate, lead by Senator Haer and with support from the Progressive Union and a number of Independent Senators. He also increased the strength of the legislative branch, particularly the Senate.
In 2329, President Colby announced that he would seek a second term. His popularity had faded quite badly during his first term and most polls showed him with about 45% support within the League. Lewis Learen stood down as Chief of Staff and was replaced by Helen Thorne. President Colby brought in veteran campaign manager Uriass van Haulen as his campaign manager.
Presidential Election of 2330
see the League Presidential Election 2330
President Colby defeated Progressive Union and former OMDA spokesman Cole Berenhault in the 2330 election. This campaign was largely fought around the idea of reunification and the need to take on the corporations.
President Colby kept Vice President Kinnick in place but replaced Secretary of State Sorrell with another political heavyweight, former Treasury Secretary Braer McQaid.
President of the League -2nd Term
On taking office for his second term, President Colby set his sights on finally delivering on the promise of reunification. He named Helen Thorne as the Chief of Staff for the new administration.
He was greatly aided in his aims of reunification by the election in the Hansa of progressive chancellor Sotaru Ayada. The two found common ground and the even the corporations appeared to have come around. The summit in 2331 was a resounding success and in 2332 the two announced reunifcation as the Federated States in 2333 as per the project.
President Colby was to be President and Sotaru Ayada would be Chancellor. Some sections of the Senate called for a new election but this was rejected.
President of the Federated States -Founding Father
In 2333 President Colby took office as the President of the entire Federated States. One of his first orders of business was directing the fleet to take care o the issues with piracy and raiders. This was easily dealt with. He also oversaw major infrastructure upgrades and worked with the Senate (and the Federalist Party) in expanding the reach and scope of the Federal government.
In 2334 speculation began to mount over whether President Colby would seek a 3rd term as President as it would only be his 2nd term as President of the Federated States and the constitution does not have a term bar anyway. President Colby silenced speculation by confirming that he would follow convention and not seek a 3rd term.
He rejected an offer to join the Federalist Party and refused to formally endorse anyone for the Presidency in 2335. However he did campaign on behalf of the Vice President, Altus Kinnick.
Post Presidency
After ending his term as President, Pierce Colby moved to Silver City on Earth and bought a large, off shore mansion where he planned to write his memoirs. He kept a low political profile but did comment on the Corporate War in 2336, offering his support to President Kinnick.
In 2339 he ruled out seeking office. He publicized his memoirs "The Long Bridge", a dense, worthy book that became a best-seller. Pierce Colby announces in 2339 that he would take be doing guest lectures and raising money for charities. At only 58 years old, there were many political experts felt he could still play a major role in the politics of the Federated States.
In 2340 he took up a post as a consultant, largely working for the Big Five corporations on foreign trade and occasionally doing some lobbying.
In 2340 he raised money for President Kinnick's unsuccessful campaign to win the Federalist nomination. He eventually endorsed Vice President Braer McQaid for President in 2340.
In 2345 he stayed out of the election, refusing to endorse anyone. However he raised money for Roderick Strickland as a favour to old friend Altus Kinnick. He criticized Dustin Attencort as not being fit to be President of the Federated States.
He passed away in 2366 after a long illness. His funeral was widely attended.
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