Joseph Sutter

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The Right Honourable
Joseph Sutter
PC, BA, LLM

josephsutterql4.jpg

14th President of Kelssek
In office March 4, 1996 - September 30, 2006
Preceded by Pierre Davids
Succeeded by Dominique Drapeau
Born May 10, 1955
Kirkenes, Noua Cymru
Profession Lawyer

Joseph Sutter (born May 10, 1955 in Kirkenes) was the 14th President of Kelssek between 1996 and 2006.

Education and early career

Joseph Sutter was born in Kirkenes to a middle class background. He attended local public schools and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kirkenes, then topped his law class at Adams University for his law degree. He spent 7 years in private practice with the firm of Trennmay, Brandeau & Partners before entering politics.

Justice Minister

Sutter was elected as the Green Party Member of Parliament for Blackston Bridge (Noua Cymru) in 1988 and he spent 8 years in the House of Commons. He was named Minister of Justice in George Marlin's first Cabinet in 1992.

He resigned to run for the presidency in 1995 and won with 54% of the vote over former Cabinet minister Patricia Sheehan after three rounds.

Presidency

His election was viewed as dangerous by political opponents of the Liberal Party, as the Greens were then in the governing coalition with the Liberals. Although Presidents are expected to be politically neutral, nonetheless he was initially viewed as a puppet and rubber stamp for Marlin. However, he did speak out against Marlin's reluctance in 1999 to recognise gay marriage federally, and as a result managed to pressure the House of Commons into passing the bill.

In 2001 he won re-election in one round, promising to work with George Marlin to enact sweeping healthcare system reform, a crackdown on organised crime involvement in the recreational drugs industry, a reduction in military spending, and increases in spending on education, police, and welfare. The fulfilment of this agenda saw mixed results, however as Marlin was not always cooperative.

With Marlin forced to resign over an extradition scandal prior to parliamentary elections in 2004, Alan Kerk became Prime Minister. This saw much closer cooperation as Kerk and Sutter often worked together to formulate policy, and much of what Marlin and Sutter disagreed on and hence was not enacted was put into practice with Kerk's budgets. During this time, the constitution was also amended to remove the nation's right to declare war.

He left office, having served the maximum two terms and 10 years, on October 1, 2006 with the swearing-in of his successor, Dominique Drapeau. His wife, Linda Sutter, has worked as a senior public defender since 1989. They have three sons, Colin, Mark and Kevin, and one daughter, Olivia.