Leadership of Willemstan's Dictators
This article was last updated on: January 20th 2023
A simplified timeline of Willemstan.
Lore
The ruler of Willemstan is an elected Dictator, who is chosen by the citizens every six months through an election. Willemstan Dictators rule with absolute power, but must abide by a term limit of two dictatorships. There have been eight elections so far, although one of them was canceled after a coup took place. Historically, some Dictators have not served their full six month terms. As a result, there have been several "Acting Dictators" throughout Willemstan's history, who serve until a scheduled election can occur. For most of Willemstan's history, only Original Members of Willemstan had served as Dictator, but in recent times, Wave #1 Willemstanis have been elected. In the early years of Willemstan, policy making occurred in Mr. Gailitis's class, where members of Willemstan had lots of free time. Today, policy making a administrative decisions are usually discussed in dms and in government channels in the Willemstan Discord Server.
Currently, the Dictator controls and operates under the New Articles of Willemstan, the current legal document of Willemstan. The Dictator can change this document at anytime, or even scrap it for a new one. During 2020 and 2021, there was a lot of controversy behind the legal systems of Willemstan and the powers of the Dictator, resulting in many reforms and changes. Alexandra and Izzy are the current Dictators of Willemstan, ruling together under the first co-Dictatorship.
Josue Mejia's Rule
Median Score: 3/5
Approval Rating: 60% (5 votes)
Summary
Josue won the Summer 2018 Election, making him the first elected Dictator. Not much occurred during his rule, but he lead Willemstan when it was on Google Classroom. However, the 2018 summer break and the transition from Google Classroom to Discord resulted in Josue losing interest in Willemstan. After the move, it was Joey, Eli, and Charlie who actually held power and were running Willemstan. Josue officially stepped down from power and joined Wolfenstan in December, sparking the Willemstan - Wolfenstan War. While this seemed like treason at the time, he did claim he was actually spying for Willemstan. His involvement with Willemstan ended shortly after this.
Administration
Josue Mejia's original administration consisted of himself as Dictator, Nick as Right Hand Man, and Charlie N. as General. In the later months, Charlie, Eli, and Joey were actually running Willemstan as a sort of oligarchy.
Impact
Josue's absence in the Willemstan Discord Server allowed Charlie, Eli, and Joey to rise to power. Josue's resignation directly lead to the Willemstan-Wolfenstan War, and put Charlie in charge. It also represented the end of the first era of Willemstan, leaving behind the original home and original leader.
Charlie Nolan's Acting Rule
Summary
Charlie was an Acting Dictator for a time due to the departure of Josue from Willemstan. During his rule, he directed the war against Wolfenstan. He did this by providing regular updates on the war, enforcing tax collection, and advocated for mass recruitment to the server.
Impact
Charlie continued the Willemstan - Wolfenstan War, and his ramping-up of Tax Collection insured it would be a practice for months to come. Charlie's time in power also solidified his role as election and finance manager of Willemstan, positions he would hold for years to come.
Eli Payton's Rule I
Median Score: 4/5
Approval Rating: 87.5% (8 votes)
Summary
Eli won the Winter 2018 Election. After he was elected, he prohibited members of Willemstan from joining Wolfenstan, under the penalty of prosecution by the state. After that, updates and interest in the Willemstan - Wolfenstan war ceased. During his reign, his administration's most important addition to the Willemstan Commandments was creating the monthly traditions of Willemstan. Advertising other Discord servers was banned under this administration as well. Eli made more additions to the Willemstan Commandments than any other Dictator.
Administration
Eli Payton's administration consisted of himself as Dictator, Joey B. as Vice-Dictator, and Charlie N. as General. Malcolm H. held adminship for some time, but eventually lost it.
Impact
Eli's rule was very well received, and his laws such as the monthly traditions continued to be observed for over a year after they were originally implemented. However, his resignation from Willemstan politics resulted in Joey's promotion to Acting Dictator and beginning the "political drought". This was when there was low interest in Willemstan elections and politics, resulting in little legislation and changes to Willemstan. Despite this, the legacy of Eli's first Dictatorship made him a good pick for de-facto Dictator during the coup in 2020.
Joey Badra's Acting Rule
Summary
Joey was an Acting Dictator for about three months, before Annie Payton assumed power. During his time as acting Dictator, he banned Devin A. from Willemstan by amending the Willemstan Commandments. This change was later revoked. Other than this, no legislation was passed. This was mostly because Eli instructed Joey to not to do anything while he was gone. Charlie Nolan held server ownership during Joey's rule.
Impact
Joey's rule was the start of the political drought caused by Eli's resignation as Dictator.
Annie Payton's Rule
Median Score: 2/5
Approval Rating: 33.33% (9 votes)
Summary
Annie won the Summer 2019 Election. He didn't do shit. Annie Payton was a figurehead controlled by Eli Payton.
Administration
Annie Payton's administration consisted of himself as Dictator and two administrators, who were Charlie N. and Joey B.
Impact
Annie's rule, while well received at first, soon sparked a strong resentment for pet Dictators/candidates. This was because the public was frustrated that the cat wasn't doing anything and was a figurehead of someone else. This opposition to animals would last for a number of years.
Sean Kavanagh's Rule I
Median Score: 3/5
Approval Rating: 44% (9 votes)
Summary
Sean won the Winter 2019 Election. As promised, he made the consumption of water mandatory, but later declared that milk was an acceptable alternative. He also established the "#enemies-of-the-state" text channel in the Willemstan Discord Server. At its peak, there were four enemies of the state. After these initial joke policies, Sean began to consider serious reform to Willemstan. On May 3rd of 2020, Dictator Sean, along with a couple of admins, put Willemstan through an extensive government reform that lasted from May 3rd of 2020 - May 5th of 2020, known as Willemstan 1.1. These changes abolished the Willemstan Commandments, and replaced it with a new constitution, the Willemstan Amendments. He also renamed the Head of State's position to "President", replacing "Dictator". His administration also purged almost all of the Willemstan Discord Server and reintroduced slavery to Willemstan via presidential order. Sean was the first and last president of Willemstan, as he was removed from power during a coup.
Administration
Sean Kavanagh's administration before the 1.1 reforms consisted of himself as Dictator and three administrators, who were Charlie N, Eli P, and Joey B. Sean Kavanagh's administration after the 1.1 reforms consisted of himself as President and two administrators, who were Charlie N. and Dawson M.
Impact
Sean's rule was one of the most impactful to date. For one, Sean had single-handedly erased almost all the work previous Dictators had done by retiring the Willemstan Commandments. The push to a more democratic system under his rule, while strongly hated at the time, was the first step towards Willemstan the election reforms that would eventually turn Willemstan's election system into a fair one. The coup against him became one of the most infamous and remembered events in all of Willemstan's history.
Eli Payton's Rule II
Median Score: 4/5
Approval Rating: 100% (10 votes)
Summary
This was Eli's second, arguably third term as Dictator if you include his cat. He was the first Dictator to take office without an election. Despite this, his second term has been highly praised. Motivated by the stalling of the Summer 2020 Election and a dislike for the new changes, he repealed the Willemstan 1.1 reforms and the Willemstan Amendments, abolishing the reforms passed by Sean Kavanagh's administration. Eli's administration introduced new legislation known as the New Articles of Willemstan, which pushed Willemstan back into a Dictatorship. He was also responsible for the Willemstan 1.2 reforms, and lead Willemstan to victory during the Willemstan Civil War against the Willemstan Nationalists, a faction consisting of the former President and administration. Under this term, Eli was the first Dictator to deny his administration administrator permissions in the server.
Administration
Eli Payton's administration consisted of himself as Dictator and five "Admin V2s", who were Andrew M, Devin S, Ian H, Joey B, and Malcolm H. Devin was later dismissed from the admin team.
Impact
Eli's rule stabilized and established an improved Dictatorship government, but continued to set the expectation for major reforms. The one-party system came to an end under his rule, which allowed for the formation of new political parties and weakened the influence of the WE-PP. This paved the way for a new dominant party to rise. His administration also invented the "Willemstani Deviant" system, in which unwanted members were exiled to a channel known as #haram-pit. This would inspire future oppression systems. The oppression of undesirables remains in practice to this day.
Sean Kavanagh's Rule II
Median Score: 3/5
Approval Rating: 76.9% (13 votes)
Summary
This was Sean's second term as Dictator. He came to power by winning the Winter 2020 Election in a landslide. He ended the exile of SuS and the Other Discord Bots started by Eli Payton during his second term. He approved the establishment of the Willemstan Salt Mine, a punishment system ran by his administration. He allowed Charlie to integrate some of SuS's functions with the Discord server, eliminating the need for SuS Premium, and green-lighted increased government suppression. Sean and his administration also set up a Willemstan Wiki section of the Discord server, and created Wee Willemstan, a miniature Willemstan for any new members and successor to the #haram-pit. In addition, Sean's administration reformed the entire election process and implemented official Willemstan holidays. Sean had also promised the official restoration of the Willemstan Market in exchange for Andrew's vote during the Winter 2020 Election, but never occurred.
Administration
Sean Kavanagh's administration consisted of himself as Dictator and two Generals, who held full administrative power. These generals were Charlie Nolan & Ian Hampton.
Impact
Sean's rule brought back oppression in Willemstan on a large scale, while also laying the foundation for the fair election system. This balance between blatant oppression and fair systems was decently received by the citizens. The Willemstan Salt Mine was introduced during his Dictatorship, and it remains in place to this day. The return of the Discord bots was well received. The fair election system established under his rule still remains in use.
Ian Hampton's Rule
Median Score: 4/5
Approval Rating: 100% (10 votes)
Summary
Ian became Dictator by winning the Summer 2021 Election, the first fair election in Willemstan's history. He expanded the administration to include a variety of positions, while also remaining true to Willemstan ideology. He also brought the Willemstan Market back to the Willemstan Discord Server, and added legislation to the New Articles of Willemstan which enforced a term limit on the Dictator position. Later, he added discussion channels to Willemstan. All of these new channels greatly increased the amount on the server, which is ironic because Ian was in favor of the channel condensing in Willemstan 1.1. Later into his Dictatorship, Ian lead the 2021 Inventory Operation and started an archive of inactive channels. Also during his time as Dictator, Ian greatly reformed the role system by adding many new roles. Some of these new roles separated members of Willemstan into three camps: "Original Member", "Wave One", and "Wave Two".
Administration
Ian's administration was one of the largest, but still has power centralized at the Dictator & General level. Charlie Nolan served as the General, with Joey, Devin A, and Thomas as the Senior Strategists. Andrew M. & Sean served as the Enforcers.
Impact
The Recruitment of Underclassmen Initiative passed under Ian's dictatorship caused the Willemstan Discord Server to gain over 20 new members. However, it would eventually prove unsuccessful. The new roles he added to the administration were later removed in favor of a new ranking system (also designed largely by Ian) during Izzy and Alexandra's Rule. The Willemstan Market channels added to Willemstan during his Dictatorship remain mostly intact to this day.
Izzy and Alexandra's Rule
Median Score: 3/5
Approval Rating: 70% (10 votes)
Summary
Izzy and Alexandra became Dictators by winning the Winter 2021 Election. Early on, their Dictatorship was challenged by controversy. After threatening to spread rumors about the election, Sean was sent to the salt mines before he could even act, sparking some unrest. Later, in reaction to the Willemstan Social Credit System, a revolution was started but quickly crushed in a matter of hours. In terms of reforms, their administration made a new ranking system based on 1984, and the power to administer salt mine sentences was restricted to the Dictator position.
Administration
For a brief amount of time in January, Charlie was General until he demoted himself to Senior Strategist. Andrew initially kept his Senior Strategist position, but lost it over the Sean controversy. After a new ranking system was adopted, the lasting administration was Ian, Joey, and Charlie as Inner Party members.
Impact
TBD
Izzy Beckhorn's Rule II
Median Score: N/A
Approval Rating: N/A
Summary
Izzy won the Summer 2022 Election, re-electing her as Dictator of Willemstan. No official legislation has been passed as of yet. However, she did call votes on many issues conjured by the citizens. During the subsequent election, Izzy ran for Dictator for a 3rd time, an act deemed illegal under the New Articles of Willemstan. Additionally, she directly meddled with the election by giving several candidates bonus points. Yet, she ultimately did not rig the election entirely in her favor, and she was defeated.
Administration
Her administration remained largely unchanged from her previous Dictatorship. The only difference was Alexandra was demoted from Dictator to Inner Party, as she did not seek re-election alongside Izzy.
Impact
TBD
Charlie Nolan's Rule I
Median Score: N/A
Approval Rating: N/A
Summary
Charlie won the Winter 2022 Election. Shortly after taking power, he revised the ranking system and added the #banned-fandoms and #death-row channels. Additionally, he launched an official investigation into the Winter 2022 Election.
Administration
Charlie's administration includes Joey, Malcolm, Izzy, and Alexandra as Governors.
Impact
TBD