Martin Kortrevich
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Martin Kortrevich (Common: Martin Kortrevich), named The Wise, or referred to simply as Martin. He was the second Aulic Envoy of Haense, assuming the position in 1719. He was a renowned Haeseni statesman, philosopher and military officer during the early 1700s. He is regarded as one of the most successful elected officials in Haeseni history, serving as a Royal Alderman for seven consecutive terms.
Contents
Early Life and Young Adulthood
Martin Kortrevich (1679-1736) was born to Edmund and Anya (Mowbrey) Kortrevich, alongside two brothers within the Royal City of Markev, Haense. His father was a statesman and philosopher, and his mother was a handmaiden for King Robert I and Queen Elizaveta. His childhood was ordinary as the Kingdom of Haense reaped the rewards of a peaceful Golden Age under King Robert I. Even so, he was persuaded by his kinsman, notably Otto Kortrevich, to enlist into the Brotherhood of Saint Karl. As he breached into adulthood, the Third Atlas Coalition War began. Having studied political theory under his father, he developed an interest in serving in the Royal Duma as a Royal Alderman.
Royal Alderman of Haense
In his pursuit to elected office, Martin entered as a Royal Alderman candidate in the Election of 1698. In his first of many bids to elected office, he faced the established incumbency of Rhys var Ruthern, who was seeking a second term. Martin ran as a member of the Priorist Party; his most notable policy being the push for national conservatism. Contrarily, his opponent, Rhys ran as a member of the Common Civic Party; his most notable policy being the push for national liberalism. Through the campaign season, Martin excelled in the public debates due to his quick-witted commentary and cunning rebuttals, shifting exit polls in his favor. After a hard fought election, the results were announced with Martin winning a surprising fifty-six percent of the vote to Rhys’ upsetting forty-four percent of the vote.
Through Martin’s first term as Royal Alderman, he convincingly passed one of the largest infrastructure plans in Haeseni history. This plan included the repavement of the Haeseni roads from dirt to gravel and provided funding to repair bridges and construct fortified towers across the border of the Kingdom of Haense. As a self-described Everadine Prioro-Biharist, otherwise known as an Everadine Waldorvianist; Martin supported a strong concept of Haeseni ethnic nationalism and a national meritocracy. Over the course of just four years, his popularity grew exponentially across both the rural and urban landscape of Haense. In the Election of 1702, Martin ran for re-election against two opponents who vied for his seat in the Royal Duma. Throughout this unique election season, former High Seneschal Brog Dhoon and Princess Aleksandra Alimar competed in a highly contentious election, where elven rights were a big ticket issue. After a long drawn out six months, the results were announced with Martin winning his re-election bid with sixty-four percent of the vote; Brog Dhoon losing with thirty-two percent and Aleksandra Alimar losing with a measly four-percent.
Unfortunately, not much legislation occurred during Martin’s second term, as the Royal Duma was temporarily suspended after the Kingdom was thrusted into conflict with the Vaeyl Order. During this time, Martin served as a Sergeant in the Haeseni Royal Army, his most notable campaign being his command at the Siege of Lasthope. Following the migration to Arcas, Martin became radicalized by sanoist Fabius Bracchus. As a result, he would join the Blue Berets and subscribe to Sanoist ideals, which sparked concern for his growing political base. In the Election of 1706, Martin faced an uphill battle as his recent Sanoist affiliation concerned many independent voters. As a result, the wealthy Centralist Nationalist Convention (CNC), nominated the popular Prince Georg Stanimar as their nominee to run against him. After realizing the odds stacked against him, Martin convinced his cousin Erik to run as an independent third candidate, in a long winded attempt to split the vote enough to prevent his strongest opponent yet from unseating him. Throughout much of the campaign, both centralist and feudalist exit polls had the race tied dead even. As the arduous campaign season came to a close, Martin’s plan surprisingly worked as the vote was split enough to allow him to win by a narrow fifty percent margin. With Georg Alimar losing with a close forty-four percent and Erik Kortrevich losing with only six-percent.
During his third term as Royal Alderman, his popularity began to climb as he renounced his affiliation with the Blue Berets. Notably, he co-sponsored the Royal Scholarship Act of 1710, an act that promoted the arts and education for Haeseni commoners. As Lord Speaker Edward Morris resigned in protest of the Sacking of Ves, the popular Adrian statesmen placed his bid in becoming Royal Alderman instead. Because of this, the Election of 1710 was one of the closest elections during Martin’s electoral history. In a stunning turn of events, Martin narrowly won forty-nine percent of the vote to Edward Morris’ forty-eight percent; the remaining three percentage points going to Wilheim Barclay. Throughout his fourth term, Martin passed a series of legislation that reformed the military, lowered taxes and eliminated noble levies altogether. By 1714, Martin controversially announced his public support for war with the Empire of Renatus, stating, "The Pertanxi regime that rules in the west is the truest threat to humanity and should be treated as such." and "[…] war is inevitable between our two nations." Within just three months, the War of Two Emperors began. It was later decided by Lord Palatine Leopold Stafyr to suspend the Election of 1714 due to the outbreak of the war, which resulted in the start of Martin’s fifth consecutive term.
As his popularity reached its peak, Martin comfortably defeated Siegmund Corbish in the Election of 1718, winning sixty-eight percent of the vote to Corbish’s thirty-two percent. From 1718 to 1722, Martin passed a series of legislation that reformed Haeseni academia, in which he would teach political theory at the Royal Academy of Saint Catherine for a period of twelve years. Additionally, Martin passed an infrastructure plan that saw the construction of a moat around the city of Reza. Towards the end of his sixth term, his political opponents introduced a term-limits bill that would prevent Martin from running for a seventh term. Due to Martin’s partnership with Lord Speaker Lerald Vyronov, the bill was tabled and postponed till the next session of the duma. In the Election of 1722, Martin would win by his largest margin, with seventy-percent of the vote against his opponents Siegmund Corbish (22%) and Kazimar Alimar (8%). With the signing of the Treaty of Reza, the Kingdom of Haense was tasked with repairing a war-torn city. Not much occurred in Martin’s last term as Royal Alderman, with the exception of his numerous speeches that united the Haeseni caucus together. In 1726, Martin announced his plan not to run for re-election, despite being urged to run by his centralist and feudalist constituents. In his last speech in the Royal Duma, Martin spoke about the importance of discussion across political benches; "[...] the decline in civil discourse is the greatest threat to our Kingdom."
Aulic Envoy of Haense
During his sixth term as Royal Alderman, Martin was appointed as the second Aulic Envoy of Haense; following King Marius II’s reprisal of the Aulic position. In 1719, Martin’s appointment received unanimous approval through the Royal Duma. In the first year of his tenure, Martin was captured as a prisoner of war by his turncoat cousin, Ser Rodrik Kortrevich. While under captivity, he was tortured and beaten, though would eventually be released after both his thumbs were cut off. Throughout the War of Two Emperors, Martin was instrumental in negotiating the end of the war. As King Marius II’s head of state, Martin was among the several Haeseni and Renatian lords who was a signatory of the cumulative Treaty of Reza.
As the war ended, the Kingdom of Haense was in a state of disrepair with riots ravaging through the streets of New Reza. As a result, for much of Martin’s tenure, he worked alongside Lord Palatine Lerald Vyronov to restore Haense post-war. Not much else is known of Martin’s latter tenure, with the exception that he worked tirelessly in restoring relations on behalf of King Andrew III with the Kingdom of Curonia, the Commonwealth of Kaedrin and the restored Holy Orenian Empire. Following the death of controversial statesman Lerald Vyronov, a falsehood was spread that Martin was involved in the machinations of the ‘Vyronov Conspiracy’; despite such rumors, Martin denied any involvement and called his skeptics, “deranged fools with brain rot.” By 1730, Martin willingly resigned as his health began to deteriorate after his diagnosis with liver cancer. He was later succeeded by Count Erich Stafyr.
Later Life and Death
After his resignation as Aulic Envoy, Martin began to represent House Kortrevich in the Royal Duma. For a period of six years, Martin, through his deep state influence passed significant legislation; notably the Perjury Act of 1732, the Personal Guards Act of 1734 and the Alibi Defense Act of 1736. Additionally, it is known that Martin was among the proponents of the Canal Project promulgated by Lord Palatine Terrence May. It is suspected that the reason the project passed was due to Martin’s convincing dialogue in the Royal Duma. By 1731, Martin was diagnosed with liver cancer, due to his heavy drinking throughout life. Five years after his diagnosis, Martin passed away at the age of fifty-seven. After his death, he was given full state funeral honors in Haense.
Titles, Styles and Honors
Titles and Styles
- 1698-1726: The Honorable, Royal Alderman of Haense
- 1719-1730: His Excellency, Aulic Envoy of Haense
Formal Title
The formal title of Martin was: Lord Martin Kortrevich, Aulic Envoy of Haense, Royal Alderman of Haense.
