Leo Minestrici di Mineria

Leo Minestrici di Mineria
Dux of La Rossa
In office 7-2 39 PC – 7-2 49 PC
Preceded by	Giulio Moretti
Succeeded by	Vincenzo Barozzo di Tolia
Personal details
Born	26-4 3 TT Mineria
Nationality	Rossan
Parent(s)	Paolo Giovanni (father) Maria Minestrici di Mineria (mother)
Education	University of Mineria Faculty of Economics

Leo Minestrici di Mineria (born 26-4 3 TT) is a former Dux of La Rossa. A member of the Minestrici family in Mineria, he is the first member of the Six Families to take rule of the island since the La Denunzia. He oversaw the island's opening to the international market and the formation of the House of Light

Early Life

Born to Maria Minestrici of the noble Family in Mineria, and Paolo Giovanni, a large-scale wine producer, Leo Minestrici's childhood should have by all accounts been one of luxury, the kind many only dream of. Yet as the Silver Crisis unfolded throughout his early childhood, he would unknowingly become part of the first generation where the traditional rule of the Families would collapse. Previously the sole rulers of the island, Dux Falcone's rise to power after La Denunzia saw a great amount of societal upheaval against the island's dynasties. Much of the Families' wealth was reappropriated, and placed under either direct government control, or sold and distributed across the population in form of handouts. Although some of their industries were returned back to the Families' hands under the reign of Ducissa Alessandra DeGaio, most others were denationalized and sold to private actors.

Receiving an influx of wealth in 18 PC when he was appointed to the board of the Minerian Shipyard by older family members in an act of nepotism, he would soon resign at his own initiative to enroll and attend at the University of Mineria, where he would obtain a degree in economics cum laude, before returning to the family business. Despite the economic instability of the decades after the Silver Crisis, and the Minerian shipbuilders' past woes, the Shipyard outperformed the rest of the industry, oftentimes securing valuable government contracts throughout the period. Minestrici's pragmatism, shown in his willingness to collaborate with the governments which once ousted his family from power, is believed to have given him much legitimacy in his future campaign for Dux. Even before rising into the world of politics, his credibility and success led him to be oft invited to write opinion columns for Minerian and Rossan political journals.

Dux

Elected in 39 PC, after a long-lasting period of economic stagnation, Minestrici's campaign was propelled by the nation-wide discontent stemming from the declining wages over the past several years. Although the popular movement that gave birth to the modern political situation has kept the Families out of power for the past 35 years, its hold over the nation started to wane as growth in an increasingly resource-starved country became stagnant. Although the welfare of the previous years helped lessen the blow of the decades-long trend, the post-Denunzian reforms have begun to approach their logical conclusion. Trade remained mostly insignificant due to the expenses of transport, requiring vessels which most merchants were unable to bear the cost of, and a weak local economy, which was unable to attract foreign investors. Despite the high price of leaving the island, the nation experienced significant rates of emigration over the past ten years.

Seizing the reigns over the nation, in 41 PC, Leo Minestrici would announce to the world that La Rossa has opened its ports, marking a radical shift in policy. Dubbed mercantilismo by some of his followers, the Dux's set of decrees imposed high rates of tariffs on imports, in an effort to protect local industries during the period of readjustment to the world of international trade. Though exclaimed to be temporary, the Dux has received criticism for the policy from more radical internationalists, stating it would harm free trade relations with the rest of the archipelago. The tariff revenue from imports, however, would be used to subsidize local industries, allowing them to gain a foothold on the international market before a significant amount of foreign actors could establish themselves on the island, potentially drowning out local business guilds.

In 42 PC, the construction a lighthouse on the disputed island of Soluga (claimed by Deysachin under the name of Sarrhusar) would lead to the formation of the House of Light. Beginning by the two nations separately bringing teams of builders to the island in acts of escalation, the two construction crews would begin to stack atop each others layers, each based on their own designs. Resulting in the Miracle on Lighthouse Island, the final pillar, standing high and bright enough to shine to the coast of Buglio, would amazingly lead to a mutual approach between nations. Despite La Rossa's reserved and somewhat antagonistic towards Deysachin at first, such original rhetoric would begin to dissipate in favor of talks of a mutual alliance born from such a miraculous event. Enveloping Deysachin, the Dvergur, Okrit and La Rossa, the House of Light alliance would become one of Minestrici's greatest legacies as Dux, despite its unintended origins. Liberalizing trade stances towards alliance members in 44 PC, La Rossa would establish easier imports with its alliance members, in efforts of bolstering lasting relationships to ensure the island's survival in a tumultuous world.

As Dux, Minestrici has started to establish relations with nations across the archipelago. At first winning re-election with high margins, his administration marked the permanent return of the Families into Rossan politics. Though many of the problems he inherited continued to persist, his focus on reversing La Rossa's downwards economic course remained a crucial point of his reign. A strong believer in state-backed investments, a great sum of the national budget would be allocated towards facilitating exports from La Rossa's still struggling industries. The construction of the Giramonda, the largest cargo ship yet created in La Rossa, remained both a symbolic and real sign of the Dux's focus on ensuring the competitiveness of local industries on a grand scale, despite the island's small size.

The new rise of the Six Families came, among other reasons, through such government subsidies targeting the island's industry. Making advantage of state contracts, the administration's reign would be marked by yearly statistics of rising inequality. Despite real wages rising as well, a fact that ringed through for all economic classes, the noticeable shift towards supporting industry leaders over its workers became more and more apparent as years went on. This anger united underneath the leadership of Advisor Antonio Morobaldi, spearheading an isolationist movement characterized by rage over a low-income working class feeling increasingly abandoned by the state, and a forgotten west coast the industry of which was left to rust. United behind the idea that the opening of the island would lead to the pre-Denunzian state of affairs, and a new age of the unending reign of the Six Families, the movement would eventually come under the banner of Isola, the first political party in La Rossa.

With increasing pressure against him due to rising movements and strikes, and a narrow plurality that led to his victory in the 47 PC election, Minestrici would resign in the run-up to the 49 PC election, no longer confident that he would be able to stave off the isolationist movement from power. The internationalist wing of Rossan politics would come together at the Mare conference, where a successor to Minestrici's candidacy was chosen in Vincenzo Barozzo di Tolia, an aristocrat and business leader. Due to a quirk of the Rossan political system, Barozzo's eventual victory would lead to an abolishment of the Advisory seat in Tolia for the duration of his reign, eliminating Antonio Morobaldi's position. Similarly, Barozzo's victory would lead to a complete exclusion of the Advisor from local politics, ending his political prospects for the length of his rule.

Post-Dux

After ending his final term as Dux, Leo Minestrici would once more begin to preside over the operations of Minestrici Shipyards, made into an industrial powerhouse by his own administration's investments. He has frequently been called upon to mediate international talks and agreements by his successor, Dux Barozzo, owing to Minestrici's calm demeanor and moderate, pragmatic approach to politics.

Electoral History

37 PC

37 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Denunzian	Giulio Moretti (incumbent)	1,781,712	52.1%
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria	1,514,968	44.3%
	Independent	Luca Minestrone	123,112	3.6%
Total Votes			3,419,792	100%

39 PC

39 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria	1,867,538	54.8%
	Denunzian	Giulio Moretti (incumbent)	1,534,521	45.2%
Total Votes			3,402,059	100%

41 PC

41 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria (incumbent)	2,543,891	67.1%
	Denunzian	Patrizia Luzzi	862,625	22.8%
	Denunzian	Oliviero Lupo	384,677	10.1%
Total Votes			3,791,193	100%

43 PC

43 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria (incumbent)	2,524,120	67.4%
	Denunzian	Patrizia Luzzi	1,220,865	32.6%
Total Votes			3,744,985	100%

45 PC

45 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria (incumbent)	2,181,511	60.1%
	Denunzian	Carlo Grande	1,288,414	35.5%
	Independent	Luca Minestrone	159,877	4.4%
Total Votes			3,629,802	100%

47 PC

47 PC Election for Dux

Alignment		Candidate	Votes	Votes (%)
	Internationalist	Leo Minestrici di Mineria (incumbent)	1,670,215	45.4%
	Denunzian	Antonio Morobaldi	1,578,243	42.9%
	Independent	Ignazio Dotti	230,229	6.3%
	Independent	Vito Pandini	130,144	3.5%
	Independent	Luca Minestrone	70,056	1.9%
Total Votes			3,678,907	100%