The Land of Kings and Emperors
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The Land of Kings and Emperors, also known as simply The LKE, is a country and empire in Nationstates. It is a member of the Congress of Sovereigns and is a Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy.
Contents
The State
The LKE is a Constitutional Monarchy. However although there is freedom of speech, free and fair elections the Monarchy still wields considerable influence and power. There is very little Seperation of Powers in the LKE, though there is an extensive system of checks and balances.
THE EXECUTIVE
The Executive consists of the unelected Monarch and his elected Prime Minister and Ministers who act on his behalf and form His Supreme Majesty's Government.
The Monarch
The Land of Kings and Emperors has a very detailed and complex form of government. The Head of State is the Monarch, who by law must be from the House of Superbus. The current monarch is Lucius Magnus Rex. The Monarch has the power to dismiss Parliament, dissolve Parliament and Open Parliament. He may also dismiss and invite a government. In addition he has the right to veto and grant assent to Bills of Parliament, upon which they become Acts of Parliament. The Monarch is also responsible for declaring war or making peace, and is needed to assent to treaties. The Monarch is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He also grants Honours and Peerages and appoints the Speaker of the House of Lords. File:Http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie pix/twentieth century fox/star wars episode iii revenge of the sith/ian mcdiarmid/sith.jpgHe must also approve of Parliament's nomination of a Lord Chancellor. The Monarch is the single most powerful person in the Empire, though gradually more authority is being delegated to Ministers and the Prime Minister. There has only ever been one Emperor, the current heir to the throne is His Supreme Highness, Westiana, Prince of Norwood and 1st Archduke of Wellington.
The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of The Land of Kings and Emperors is the Head of Government for the LKE. He/she is invited to form a government by the Emperor after a General Election. By precedent and constitutional protocol the Prime Minister is the person who can best command the support of the LKE Parliament. In practice this amounts to having a Party Majority, Coalition majority or simply the support of most Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. The LKE Prime Minister has the power of patronage over Cabinet Ministers, and de facto power of appointment over Junior Ministers. He also nominates a Lord Chancellor for the approval of Parliament and the Sovereign. In addition he nominates the Speaker of the House of Commons and advises the Monarch on the appointment of the Speaker of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister also is ultimately responsible for a Government's success or failures. He sets the government agenda. The Prime Minister also advises the Emperor on the Honours Lists.
The Cabinet
The LKE Cabinet consists of the Ministers of the Crown, who are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister alone (the Monarch does have the right to dismiss an entire government, but not Ministers individually). Traditionally Cabinet meets twice a week with MSN meetings. However Cabinet Collect Responsibility has never been enforced, though some principles are involved. The Cabinet is chaired by the Prime Minister, and managed and minuted by the Cabinet Secretary. Any individual Cabinet Minister may add items to the Cabinet Agenda, though ultimately the Prime Minister will decide how much discussion time they get. As a group the Cabinet is very much subject to the will of the Prime Minister and it mainly acts as a policy unit for him, in addition to a means of implementing government/Prime Ministerial policy.
THE LEGISLATURE
The Legislature consists of a bicameral Parliament, consisting of the unelected House of Lords forming the upper, inferior House and the directly elected lower, superior House of Commons.
The House of Commons
The LKE House of Commons is the lower House in the
The Emperor
The LKE has a unique mixture of democracy and monarchy, with Parliament having much power but with the Monarch retaining an important and influencial role in government life. The current Monarch is H.S.M Lucius I. Lucius Magnus Rex has been a somewhat controversial Monarch during his time on the throne. He has agreed to many different reforms, including a new constitution (the third one to be introduced), which limits his power to a slight degree, but in actuality vests more power to the crown than the second Constitution. He has often had arguments with his various Prime Ministers. The Emperor is still a position worthy of respect and commands much authority. The Written Duties of The Emperor are limited but Emperor Lucius takes it upon himself to do a large amount of extra work, which he considers his duty. He has worked hard in created a system of free press, indeed he runs The LKE's oldest Newspaper, the LKE Today. He does much recruiting for The LKE. He also takes an active role in activities such as The Political Compass, The Regional Map, Day to day running of government, foreign affairs and much more. Indeed it was Emperor Lucius who had the idea for creating The Grand Alliance. The Emperor has now been on the throne for almost Two years, he has survived many reforms, motions, petitions etc against him and now continues to try and guide The LKE as the figure of the region.
The Crest of Emperor Lucius 
Parliament
The LKE Parliament is a vital artery in the system of government, almost every law must meet with its approval (Soon this will be changed to every law). Parliament is a bicameral system, with the lower house, The House of Commons being elected by the people through the constituency system.
Although Legislation can be introduced in both houses, the Commons is seen as the dominant house, both with the abilities to bypass the Lords if it is deemed necessary and remove the Prime Minister in a vote of No confidance. The House of Lords does have the power to send it back to The Commons, however, the drafter of the bill may then choose whether or not to override the Veto (it takes a 2/3s majority to override the HoL). The House of Lords tends to be the smaller House as appointments are rarer and there is no set number of members, the House of Lords is seen as a place to put senior Statesmen who have officially retired from political life. It is seen as a reward, despite this it is not uncommon to see a Lord or Lady renounce their title for political gain.
The House of Commons has 11 members, made up of citizens which stand for parliament in various constituencies (each citizen, upon attaining citizenship, is allocated to a Constituency where they vote on their preferred candidate from those who announce that they are standing in said constituency). This method of election has come under a lot of heavy fire with many dissenters, however it has not been changed since being instituted- despite proven allegations of corruption and electoral fraud having arisen from it. Each Lord Takes their title from the constituency, where, if there is a tie- they have the final say on who wins the election.
Current Members of the House of Lords
Government Lords
Onderkelkia (Social Democratic Party, Westexshire, 1st Count)
Hobgoblin (Social Democratic Party, Winsbury, 1st Vicount)
Opposition Lords
Westiana (Independent, Wellington, 1st Archduke)
Wolf (Independent, Beckettford, 1st Archduke)
Vladimir Moldorov (Royalist Party, Shaftesbury, 1st Marquess)
SenatorTC (Royalist Party, Mornington Crescent, 1st Marquess)
Jaybagz (Independent, Hawthorn, 1st Earl)
Anumian Captain (Independent, Quintington, 1st Count)
Griffin (Independent, Waldenshire, 1st Baroness)
The Cabinet
The cabinet consists of the various Secretaries and Ministers who are appointed by the Prime Minister throughout his/her term of office. There is usually A Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Interior Minister, Colonial Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, although there have been many other roles throughout Cabinet's history. The Deputy Prime Minister is universally regarded as being the top cabinet job (after the Prime Minister of course), next comes the Defence and Foreign Ministries. The Interior and Colonial Ministries tend to be more junior although both roles are being enhanced. Cabinet varies from Prime Minister to Prime Minister, sometimes it is a genuine collective opinion and influence on the Prime Minister, other times it is simply a top-down led group of Ministers.
The Present Cabinet
Prime Minister - Euphobes
Deputy Prime Minister - HRH Prince Foogal
Minister Of Defence - Vladimir Moldorov
Minister Of Foreign Affairs - Citizen Erased
Minister Of Colonial Affairs - Falconio
Minister Of The Interior - Hobgoblin
Minister Of Cultural Affairs - Chuck_W
Attorney-General - Anumian Captain
Minister of Public Information - Sargon II
Summary of Major Roles in The LKE
Emperor- Head of State and Commander in Chief, responsible for many things, invites the leader of the biggest party to form a government after elections. Appoints and dismisses Royal Colonial Representatives. May dismiss government.
Prime Minister - Head of Government, usually leader of the biggest party. Is responsible for appointing and dismissing the cabinet, and the day to day running of government.
Deputy Prime Minister - Appointed to advise and aid the Prime Minister, fulfills the duties of Prime Minister when the PM is away.
Defence Minister - Responsible for the day to day running of the army, can restructure or reform it. The MoD is also in charge of the day to day runnin of the intelligence services.
Foreign Minister - Is in charge, along with The Prime Minister and Emperor, for deciding and managing LKE Foreign Policy. Appoints and Dismisses Ambassadors.
Interior Minister - Has Global Moderator powers on forum and advises the emperor on citizenship.
Colonial Minister - Inspects colonies and advising the emperor on the appointment and dismissal of colonial crown representatives.
Cultural Minister - A fairly unique role, the Cultural Minister is charged with overseeing all cultural aspects of the LKE. This includes Games, Roleplay, teh University, and the focal point of LKE culture, the Golden Mile.
Lord/Lady Chancellor - Head of The LKE courts, able to set precedents and hand down verdicts and punishments in cases, can be dismissed by the Emperor
Speaker of the House of Lords - Head of The House of Lords
Speaker of the House of Commons - Head of the House of Commons
Director General of the Imperial Intelligence Agency - Head of Intelligence. Presently hold by OnderKelkia.
Political Factions and Parties
Throughout the history of this populous region, many political parties have exercised strong influence over the composition of the LKE House of Commons, and House of Lords. Political Parties have been around since the start of the LKE, yet none have lasted the full test of time.
Current Parties of the LKE include:
The Social Democratic Party
-This party prides itself on moderate, socially forward principles, best exemplified in its charter.
The SDP Party Charter:
Section 1 – Fundamental Principles (1) The Social Democratic Party is a democratic party committed to representative democracy, the freedom of the citizens of the Land of Kings and Emperors and progressive values. (2) Power within the Social Democratic Party (hereinafter referred to as the SDP) is invested in its membership and the party shall be lead on a bottom up principle. (3) This charter is the supreme governing document of the SDP. (4) The goals of the SDP are to see Freedom, Fairness, and Justice and hope spread throughout the LKE and its empire. We dream of an LKE where all voices are heard and every citizen has an input into the region, we believe the power of the LKE lies not in its institutions but in its people
Section 2 – The Party Leadership (1) The Leader of the SDP is an elected and democratic position. (2) Following the Dissolving of Parliament all candidates for the party leadership shall have twenty four hours to declare themselves. There will then be a twenty four hour vote of all the membership of the SDP. The candidate with the most votes is declared Leader of the SDP. The runner up is declared Deputy Leader of the SDP. (3) The Leader of the SDP shall be the Party’s Prime Ministerial Candidate in the case of a general election. The Leader shall further lead party policy discussion and be the formal Head of the Party. (4) The Deputy Leader shall be Acting Leader in the case of a vacancy or the absence of the Leader. If the Leader is Prime Minister the Deputy Leader does not have to be Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy Leader’s other duties are at the discretion of the Party Leader.
Section 3 – The Party Chairmanship (1) The Chairman of the SDP shall be appointed by a vote of all party members (2) The Party Chairman shall deal with internal administration, records and admissions. They will also oversee policy formulation and scrutinise the leader internally (3) The Party Chairman can be removed at any time by 60% Vote of No Confidence.
Section 4- The executive committee (1) The executive committee will be made up of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Press officer, Once a leader is chosen they will also sit on the committee (2) All Committee posts are elected any member may stand, (3) Any member of the committee may be removed by a vote of no confidence receiving 60% support (4) The role of the chairman is described above, the deputy chairman will fulfil his roles in case of absence but otherwise the role is defined by the chairman. The party secretary will handle all administrative roles and keep records. The press office will handle the SDP press image (5) MP candidates are chosen by a majority vote of the executive committee
- the flag of the SDP
The Royalist Party
- this fairly young party prides itself on strong "Empire First" monarchist principles.
The Royalist Manifesto
The goals of our party are simple: To make the region better and to give all due respect to our hard working Royal family.
More specifically:
-To increase recruitment. We need everyone to help out here. We cannot tolerate inactivity in this vital department. It is and should be the primary focus of the government.
-To boost forum activity: Interest in region affairs is at an all time low, this is unacceptable. We need to generate activity, and this can be done by appointing active ministers and fostering strong regional pride.
-To be a constant reminder that we have a monarchy which is vital to our region. We must support and assist our leaders in any way we can.
-Along with that, we must also work together. It is our goal to foster cooperation between the various levels of government (Commons, Lords, and Emperor), so that our regional government will function.
-the Royalist Emblem
The Corporatist Party
-This economically capitalist, ultra-conservatively minded party pushes ideals of militarism and nationalism. The Corporatist Party remains LKE's only Far-Right party currently, and possibly in its history.
- One of Chairman Verak's many Corporatist Advertisements
-The party's most successful member is Prime, who has won two different elections, while other candidates usually get some votes but do not win the seat.
-The party is often the centre of jokes and criticism from other LKE members, much to the dismay of the CP's members.
The Empire
The LKE has a large and growing Empire. The LKE adopts an imperialist policy and has as aresult one of the larger NS Empires. The Empire can also grow by inviting nations to join it. All regions enjoy Home Rule, wherein only Foreign and military affairs are controlled by the LKE, though recent legislation has meant that a colony may now pursue its own foreign affairs with the LKE only intefering if it goes against homeland policy. In all regions of the Empire Lucius I is Head of State. The LKE Empire is designed to be self sufficient and sustainable.
Prominant Colonies within the LKE Empire are Norwood, Ilum, Niso, Sullust, and Williamsburg, along with a number of smaller, lesser colonies.
The Economy
For some time now, the LKE has been experimenting with having a virtual economy, with a virtual currency (The Sovreign) but has caused numerous Real complications.
The first economy died out through lack of things to spend money on, coupled with hyperinflation and over taxation, deeming it a failure, however, undeterred it was restarted later on and seems to be having some success.
All money is paid into citizen's bank accounts, and a group of dilligent bankers make sure that each account is kept up to date. There is also a functioning stock market where shares are traded on an almost daily basis, history has been made on a number of occasions, including the East Ilum Comapany (recently rated the LKE's most evil corporation) becoming the first company not to have an overall controlling shareholder, this was promptly undone with the CEO of the company, Lucius Magnus Rex commited what would have been considered fraud had there been a law against it and taking back a controlling amount of shares when threatened by the other shareholders. Also making History again was the EIC when it decided to sell The Land Of Dragonia on the stock Market and of course when Lucius Magnus Rex payed out 3000S for "Magic Beans", the first instance of money being spent on absolutely nothing.
The currency was abolished by the First Euphobes Government in the Finance Abolition Act at the end of July 2007 due to lack of faith in the system. The last serving LKE Chancellor of the Exchequer was HRH Prince Foogal who was later appointed Minister of Statistics and later Public Information. The records of the currency were kept as historical archives and if the currency was ever again to be re-established.
