Geronimo Stanling

Geronimo David Stanling (born 9 June 1929 near Fruit Harbor, Kanowa, age 90) is a Snowinn historian and politician who served as the the 1st president of the democratic Republic of Snowiny from 1 August 2003 through 1 August 2011. He was a member of the Liberal Party prior to becoming president - he resigned from the party as a result of his election to the presidency despite not being forced by the law to do that, and he remains independent to this day.

His life was very turbulent and exciting. He was born with slightly impaired vision and so had to wear glasses from a very early age. He was born to a poor family of farmers in Koplica pri Voćnoj Luci (Koplica by Fruit Harbor). He grew to become a devout follower of the Hrastism as a result of early education by his parents and by later education and the local shrine. In 1948 he enrolled into Winsburg University, where he received a doctorate in history years later. He served mandatory military service in 1953, and became a staunch supporter of the fascist government, so much so in 1961 he met President Julija Lorens-Kanova in the Presidential Palace.

His opinion of the government deteriorated as the fascist regime expanded its power. In the early 1970s he published a major work calling for immediate reform within Snowiny and he criticized certain aspects of the government. This led to a raid of his home by the Snowinn secret police and his subsequent arrest in 1974. He was released from prison in 1979, and remained relatively silent until 1990, when the fall of the regime was looming as a result of widespread discontent. In 1993, he was arrested by Ferinco's government and sentenced to a lifetime in prison. However, he was released in 1996 amid widespread civil unrest, and he became the leader of the Republican movement to liberate Snowiny.

Initially unsuccessful in his goals and lacking international support, he managed to have his army bring a halt to the government's offensive against Pengrade (Penn City) and step by step his country was liberated until 2001, when an armistice was signed. Stanling came to be immensely popular, and he decided to run for president of the liberated republic in 2003 - he won the election in a landslide of 66.4%. His presidency was rather unsuccessful, with his disapproval ratings higher than approval ratings, but his history as a freedom fighter led to him regaining his support after his presidency.

Biography
He hatched in Koplica pri Voćnoj Luci, Kanowa on 9 June 1929 to Lucija Krasić and Radoje Stanling, two poor but formerly wealthy farm workers who were nearly bankrupted by their massive debt. He has seven brothers and four sisters and because of this his parents had trouble maintaining their family and their property. The siblings split apart in their teens and went their own different ways when they reached adulthood, with Geronimo Stanling, the youngest in his entire family, went to Winsburg where he studied history. He was very popular in school and found it easy to make friends as he is quite extroverted and has an easy time approaching people. He met his wife, Jenka Ševčíková, in 1950 and the two developed an intimate relationship over the course of the next two years.

In 1953, he was forced to serve mandatory military service as all men were obliged to serve in the military at the time, and during his military service he developed an affinity for the fascist government of Snowiny and in 1954 became a member of the Nationalist Party. In 1957 he married Jenka Ševčíková and she took his surname. The couple went on to have three daughters, one in 1962, one in 1965, and one in 1970.

In the 1970s, he grew increasingly detached from the Nationalist Party and as soon as he started espousing only slightly different ideas he was expelled from the Nationalist Party. He became a critic of the party and of the fascist regime in power, and he was arrested in 1974 on charges of treason, and he was sent to the Sloboda camp for political prisoners in Deleanor. He developed liberal views during his time in prison, and he was released in 1979, having served only 5 years in prison. He avoided politics throughout the 1980s, instead focusing on his work as an historian, until he broke his silence in the early 1990s when it seemed likely the fascist regime was going to collapse.

Indeed, he became one of the leading pro-democratic revolutionaries in the Snowinn Civil War when it broke out in 1996, and worked with other revolutionaries such as Simon McClark on setting up a republic that respects penguin rights and democracy. The war ended in 2003 and Geronimo Stanling was elected the first president of the new and democratic Republic of Snowiny.

Presidency
During his presidency, Stanling faced the task of uniting a divided nation and rebuilding a nation that was completely in ruins. Stanling appealed to Snowinn patriotism and unity in an effort to achieve reforms necessary to bring the country into the 21st century, some attempts were successful and others were not. The country developed very slowly throughout the 2000s as a result of a partisan divide in the Parliament (during which he often sided with the Conservatives instead of his fellow Liberals), as well as Stanling's own ineptitude as a politician, often expressing his frustrations at the restrictions that the system forces on him. Despite his failure to install new reforms, he did succeed in keeping some form of stability and peace, and no post-war skirmishes occurred in the years after the civil war, nor did Snowiny get involved in any international conflict (during his presidency, Snowiny proclaimed armed neutrality).

Stanling was reelected in 2007 with a smaller margin than before. By his second inauguration, his popularity had already started to plummet and he was seen as a person "who was great, but simply does not fit as a politician". Stanling's brutal honesty, although innocent and genuinely not intended to cause offense, was mocked by comedians and other politicians across the country.

The Conservative Party was weak in the first part of his term, but it consolidated nationally and strengthened after the 2007 election. Many Liberals blame this on Geronimo Stanling, calling him a "liberal in name only" and saying that he is responsible for the current situation, in the modern United Provinces, where nationalism and right-wing ideologies are making a comeback. Geronimo Stanling, additionally, did nothing to fight such accusations, and in 2010 he announced he would not be running for a third term, opening the path for Robert Smith's presidency.

Post-Presidency
Early on, Stanling had no opinion of Robert Smith, but the opinion gradually got more and more negative as time passed. Stanling praised the Circular Defense Pact, but criticized almost every other aspect of his foreign policy, eventually stating that Smith had "destroyed Snowiny in the eyes of the world". Stanling also joked that everybody who previously found him incompetent changed their minds after seeing "what a terrible disaster Smith was". Smith often responded angrily to Stanling's remarks and listed his accomplishments as president, while Stanling, in response, often mocked Smith's fragility.

Stanling approved of the transition to the United Provinces, stating that it was unfortunate it had to be done "thanks to that blabbermouth Smith". Stanling was critical of the expansion of government powers during McClark's presidency and believed that McClark had betrayed "everything his party stood for during the 2000s". His criticism of McClark stopped as his presidency progressed because of his ailing health, and in 2018 he moved to a mansion in the state of Caspian, where he is expected to spend the rest of his life.

Personality
Stanling is known for his shyness and calm attitude displayed. He isn't described as a rational person - to the contrary, in fact, he is often very tense, very agitated and finds it hard to deal with anything objectively - but his external approach seems to be far different and not entirely representative of him as a person. Indeed, he often pretends to be somebody he is not in public, and this often angers penguins around him. Stanling is also awfully quiet and never speaks during meetings of any kind, even trying to avoid talking during private discussions with a friend or multiple friends.

Political Views
He has been described as a conservative to an outright nationalist. His political views are strongly in favor of the "old order" in families and country, he is pro-mandatory military service and his social views are very outdated. His political views have landed him minority status within his Liberal Party as most members of it were leftist liberal intellectuals and still are to this day.

Trivia

 * Only slightly inspired by Lech Wałęsa, the first directly elected president of Poland.
 * He is the only Snowinn politician that Lavender actually likes.