Luc Sands

Luc Sands was leader of the Sovereign State of West Ariddia from 2107 to 2122. He is a member of the Free Democratic Party, and headed a minimalist, strongly pro-business government.

Former President Sands is a fairly nondescript Caucasian man in his early fifties, with brownish blond hair. In keeping with his non-interventionist political beliefs, he was only rarely seen in the media during his presidency, even those media under his personal control. In fact, he is perhaps best known to most West Ariddians through his Westville News caricature.

Early years

Sands was born in a moderately wealthy, bourgeois family which had made the most of Limea's transition from communism to capitalism to start up succesful busisnesses. He attended the prestigious Aqeyr Institute of Economics, then went into busisness, quite rapidly establishing a hold on several profitable media corporations. He was drawn into politics upon seeing the rise of the Democratic Communist Party, and fearing that a switch back to communism would instantly deprive him of his wealth and influence.

Political career

President of West Ariddia

He stood for President as the candidate of the Free Democratic Party in 2107, promising voters he would intensify economic deregulation and would "keep government out of your pockets and away from your hard-earned money". He was elected by a narrow margin, and stood true to his campaign policies, entrenching the country in an ultra-capitalist doctrine.

Under Sands' presidency, there was very little government at all, as he let "the market take its beautiful course for the good of all hard-working West Ariddians". Nevertheless, he maintained a strong military deterrent; West Ariddia is the only country in the Ariddian Isles to be a nuclear power.

Sands kept his country out of international politics, although trade with foreign nations flourished. He agreed to a cautious rapprochement with communist neighbours Ariddia and North-West Ariddia, but remained opposed to the idea of reunification. Many have called him a capitalizt, while others refer to him as a libertarian, noting his commitment to political democracy as well as economic "freedom".

Sands was heavily criticised by centrist and left-leaning movements at home and abroad for the dire poverty which millions of West Ariddians lived in under the economic system he upheld. He was also criticised for the catastrophic deterioration of the country's natural environment, a matter of particular concern to Indigenous Ariddians, who, for the most part, strongly opposed him. His main political opponent was Ea L'lew, who faced him (and lost) in the 2117 presidential election; Sands was re-elected for a third term.

President of Uhuhland

From January 1st to July 31st, 2121, Luc Sands was President of the Uhuhland Council. Presiding over a predominantly left-wing institution, he nonetheless set out to reshape the Uhuhland Union in accordance with his own vision. He succeeded in having the Council adopt an Economic Freedoms Act, which established an Uhuhland Union economic partnership, abolishing all barriers to free trade within the Union. However, the Council refused to make the act a binding one, enabling member States to ignore it should they wish to.

His second Economic Freedoms Act, which would have committed all member States' governments to non-interventionism towards Uhuhland multinational companies, was rejected by the Council.

After Sands

In 2122, he stepped down as President of West Ariddia, endorsing Jean-Charles Paon as his preferred successor. Communist candidate Ea L'lew pledged to hold a referendum on the re-unification of the Ariddian Isles if elected, a promise which caused huge controversy, and eventually resulted in her being barred from taking part in the election. Sands himself intervened only once, briefly, to oppose the exclusion of the DCP from the election (for which he was widely applauded as a true democrat). Paon was elected, but with no DCP candidate facing him the process was decried as a farce. Massive protest marches and nation-wide strikes caused economic chaos, forcing Paon to resign. A new election was held and, much to Sands' chagrin, L'lew was elected.

See also

• Nuriyah Khadhim, Sand's Ariddian counterpart
• Jasmina Wu, his North-West Ariddian counterpart