Council of Twenty
The Council of Twenty is the leading, well, council, of the STUN. The members of it each govern a section of STUN space, and delegate leaders to manage smaller sections, and so on, usually to the planet-level.
There are actually 24 councillors now, but that number used to be 20 back when the STUN was founded, hence the name.
Assembly
A few times a decade, the councillors of the STUN gather to Earth, to discuss some relevant situation and/or the current general state of things. Back before FTL travel, this would only happen maybe once or twice a century, what with the message taking maybe decades to get to the councillor, another few decades to get to Earth, and then yet another few decades to return. The advent of faster-than-light travel allowed the Council to convene more often.Appointment
The elections for a councillor are held after the previous one's term ends, and are generally elected from high positions in the sector's governments and nations. Leaders of countries are rarely chosen, as not to give them too much responsibility or have their allegiances muddy their judgement. These elections can take years, especially in the larger sector, as votes are collected and balanced between potentially thousands of candidates. Usually, neighboring sectors' councillors have some influence on who gets picked, though this depends on a myriad of political factors.
Duties
The STUN is currently divided into 24 sectors. These vary in size, and the Core cluster, for example, consists solely around twenty stars, at most 12 light-years from Sol. For contrast, the furthest region from Sol, which houses the Odessines, has over 30 000 stars within. On average, a cluster has about 10 000 stars within it, though the closer one gets to the Core Worlds, the smaller clusters are.
Due to the sheer scale of these sectors, they have to be subdivided for ease of governance. The hands-off approach of the STUN helps, but even still, sectors are generally split into various divisions. Smaller sectors like the one Sol is in is divided by star system, the internal zones of a system and then by planet, but the largest divisions of the big clusters are often several clusters together. Most systems in the outer clusters are not very populous, however, so outside larger clusters' centers, the smallest divisions there are often by star system. The officials who govern these divisions are technically picked how the councillor wants, but due the scale, most leave it up to local elections.
Responsibilities
The STUN collects a fairly small amount of taxes, usually in the form of manpower, material, or other military supplies and manages local ASTUN forces in a given region. A councillor is nominally responsible for this, but again, the sheer scale of the STUN forces delegation to smaller divisions, which delegate onward, and manage the local affairs. Still, a councillor oversees these actions on a larger scale, and does ultimately have the final say in things, though rarely do they actually take action on smaller things.
Type
Civic, Political
Status
Active
Creation
2316, Along with the STUN as a whole.
Form of Address
Councillor
Equates to
The Council compromises the highest authority in the STUN. The decisions of its councillors affect every facet of its operation, and have a not-insignificant effect on the lives of the people within its constituent nations.
Length of Term
30 years
Related Locations
Related Organizations
Comments