Mirgu Zbhosli
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Mirgu Zbhosli-Qal (born Mirgu Satna Zbhosli on October 12th, 1973) is the wife of President Zanwar Qal and thus the First Lady of Qalustan. She is an author and former freedom fighter.
Zbhosli was the youngest of three children; her mother died giving birth to her. Her father was a member of the Vrani Imperial Border Guard, but was driven to alcoholism by the death of his wife, so Mirgu and her two brothers were raised by their paternal grandmother, Vanes Zbhosli.
By the age of fourteen, Mirgu had attempted to run away from home four times. She was sent to a school sponsored by the Reformed Church for difficult girls, but escaped from there as well, living in the wild for eighteen months before joining the anti-Imperialist rebel group known as the People’s Hand.
It was while working for the Hand in the mid-1990s that she met her future husband, Zanwar Qal. She was a lieutenant on an operation he was leading to hijack a dirigible when it stopped to refuel in the Frajjit Valley. The mission was successful, but the two were trapped together in the refuelling station for four hours.
The couple maintained a long-distance relationship for several years – often they would be working at opposite ends of the country. After the Revolution and Qal’s election to the Presidency, he proposed to her on Christmas Day 2001. In April of 2002, hundred of thousands of well-wishers gathered at the Presidential Wedding at Luntat Cathedral.
Since assuming the role of First Lady, Zbhosli has done a great deal of work for good causes, including personally managing the construction of the National Library of Qalustan in Luntat, which was finally completed in 2006.
Zbhosli has written four books of her own, and co-authored two chapters of her husband’s book “The Lucretia Paradox”. Her own titles are listed below.
Books
The Prodigal Daughter (Qalustani: Anjegu Enos)
Written: 2002
Published: 2003
A deeply emotional and honest memoir, Zbhosli discusses some of the highest and lowest moments of her life, from the times she betrayed her friends to the great risks she took to ensure the freedom of her people.
Feral Government
(Qalustani: Lbarogen Rmotbu)
Written: 2002-2003
Published: 2003
A thorough, well-researched and sometimes savage critique of governments past and present, this is more than a potted political history; Zbhosli’s targets range from the old Empire to Stalin’s Russia, from pre-Revolutionary France to her own husband’s government.
Zero Games
(Qalustani: Bnans’b Voris)
Written: 2003
Published: 2005
A more abstract and philosophical work than her previous books, “Zero Games” deals not just with social issues, but also with the mathematics of probability and the physics of random chance. The conclusion Zbhosli aims to draw is that nothing is entirely impossible, and she succeeds – proving in the process that she herself possesses a great analytical mind as well as a tender soul.
The Spider
(Qalustani: Derqo)
Written: 2003-2005
Published: 2006
Her first novel, this book was written for teenagers but has proved popular with adolescents of all ages. It follows a young woman as she makes her way through the dark and dangerous world that is the urban jungle of Luntat. Written after meeting with girls who had been rescued off the streets by the government, “The Spider” is both joyful and desperately sad, and speaks to any reader on an emotional level.
