A history of Vilania’s presidents

This is a history of the Presidents of Vilania. Eleven different men have held the office since 2016, with two holding office at two different times. This means that Vilania has seen thirteen different presidencies, which is why Winston Gray is currently the 13th President.

Here are all eleven presidents, in order of when they first took office:

1. Gabriel Goldwater (2016-2017)

Gabriel Goldwater was born on March 13, 1960 in San Juan. He was born when Vilania was a part of the Empire of Cambria. He attended law school in Hamilton and passed the bar in 1983. In 1998, he was elected to the Imperial Parliament of Cambria as an independent. He was a fierce advocate of Vilanian independence from the oppressive empire, and became an icon of many separatists. In 2002, he took the bold step of forming the Vilanian Separatist Party, who won 44 seats in that year’s election. By 2014, they had 59 seats. However, the Cambrian empire refused to answer to any of their demands. So, on June 22, 2016, Vilania took the audacious step of declaring independence. Goldwater was made the first president of a provisional government that would hold power until elections in February 2020. He had a bright vision of Vilania’s future, but had to put it on hold thanks to an invasion from Cambria, who were determined to take back their territory. Goldwater was the commander in chief of the military, but was not well-versed in anything war related, and he had to rely on his generals to advise him. This didn’t work out too well as Vilania were pushed further and further back into their territory. However, they were able to stall the Cambrian advance by October. Goldwater often visited troops on the front lines and sometimes even engaged in combat despite being 56 years old, which made many Vilanians idolize him. However, at the Battle of Ridgeton, on August 5, 2017, Goldwater was tragically killed in combat. The whole country mourned his death. However, his legacy would live on forever in Vilanian history. The city of Ridgeton was renamed Goldwater in his honor. His son Daniel served as Vice President under Damian Greene in the 2050s, and his grandson Gabriel III served as Foreign Minister and acting Vice President under Winston Gray in the 2080s. He is by far the most honored President in Vilanian history, and many speculate he could have taken Vilania far had he not been killed when he was.

2/4. Christian Flanagan (2017-2024, 2028-2032)

Christian Flanagan was born on April 5, 1981 in San Laurenz. He attended elite military school in the Cambrian imperial capital of Cambridge and eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Cambrian military. However, he suffered great discrimination for being Vilanian and left the military in 2010. He returned to Vilania and secretly became a commander in the militant separatist guerilla group, the Red Knights of Vilania. Thanks to his superb military prowess, he eventually became the group’s leader. Then, in 2016, when Vilania became independent, President Gabriel Goldwater asked him to become Vice President. Flanagan accepted, and, because of his military background, he was often the top man behind the war effort. However, when Goldwater was killed in August 2017, he had to become President. He took over the war effort fully, and by March 2019, the war was won, immortalizing Flanagan as a Vilanian hero alongside Goldwater. He won the first elections in 2020 in a landslide as the candidate for the newly formed National Front party. However, he was a mediocre peacetime president, unable to truly set the nation on a path to recovery, and was defeated in the 2024 election. However, the new president, Darren Thomas, was also unable to govern effectively, and Flanagan made a comeback, winning the 2028 election. He did somewhat better in his third term, but this was not enough to prevent a loss to Felix Cannavaro in 2032. He retired from politics after that. On December 7, 2065, he died in San Laurenz at age 84. Although he was not the best leader overall, his winning the War of Independence means that he will be remembered as a national hero.

3. Darren Thomas (2024-2028)

Darren Thomas was born on July 24, 1983 in Ridgeton (now Goldwater). He was an economist in his early adulthood, but in 2016, he enlisted in the army to fight in the War of Independence. He returned home after the war, and in 2020, was elected to the National Parliament as a member of the Liberal Party. As President Flanagan’s popularity diminished, the Liberals looked to seize power in 2024. They nominated Thomas as their candidate, and he won the election. However, once in office, he proved to be a disappointment. He was more of a moderate than the Liberals had hoped, and was unable to effectively govern. His economic policies did not have their intended effect as growth stalled. In 2028, Christian Flanagan came back and defeated him. Thomas retired back home for the rest of his life, writing memoirs and books on economics. He died on May 2, 2079 in Hamilton at age 95.

5. Felix Cannavaro (2032-2036)

Felix Cannavaro was born on January 4, 1970 in Waterford. Like Christian Flanagan, he attended military school in Cambria, and like Flanagan, he suffered discrimination for being Vilanian. However, he persevered and eventually became the leader of an all-Vilanian unit. This would prove to be useful, as in 2016, when Vilania declared independence, he assumed the rank of General. And he won some important battles at Green York and Westbridge, becoming a war hero himself. In 2024, President Darren Thomas appointed him Minister of Defense, a position he held until 2028. In 2032, the newly founded Union Party nominated him for president, and he won the election against President Flanagan. While he was a war hero, similar to Flanagan, he was an ineffective peacetime leader. However, the economy did begin to grow during his presidency thanks to his deregulation. His popularity was neither high nor low, and he decided not to run in 2036, retiring afterwards. He died on April 16, 2055 in San Fernando at age 85.

6. Vincente Barranquilla (2036-2044)

Vincente Barranquilla was born on February 23, 1976 in New Madrid. His family was very poor and struggled to get along during his childhood, meaning that he was unable to attend military school in Cambria, which was his dream. Instead, he joined the separatist militant group Red Knights of Vilania in 1994 and became one of the group’s top leaders, gaining lots of praise for his excellent planning skills. By 2016, he was the group’s second in command. So when Vilania declared independence that year, he was appointed as the country’s first Minister of Defense. Then, in August 2017, when Goldwater died and Vice President Flanagan assumed the presidency, Barranquilla was made acting Vice President. He played a crucial role in winning the War of Independence, and alongside Flanagan, became a national hero. In 2020, he stepped down and returned to the military. Then, in 2034, he resigned as a General to run for president in the 2036 election. He won the nomination for the National Front party, and won the election. He was the country’s first effective peacetime leader, !@#$ the currency to the gold standard for the first time and inviting foreign investment. He also spent money on new infrastructure projects and announced plans to build a new capital city, Vilania City, which would be very close to the current capital, Kingsbury. The idea was originally conceived by Gabriel Goldwater but was never formally announced until Barranquilla’s presidency. These decisions saw him get reelected in 2040, the first president to win two consecutive elections. He continued with his policies until 2044, when he decided not to run again. He died on January 8, 2066 at age 89. Rising from nothing to become an effective economic and military leader made Barranquilla a well-respected president in Vilania’s history.

7. Samuel Payne (2044-2052)

Samuel Payne was born on December 13, 2000, in Kingsbury. Although he was technically too young to fight in the War of Independence, he joined the Red Knights at age 16 and participated in guerilla raids against Cambrian forces until Vilania won the war. In 2032, he was elected to the National Parliament as a member of the National Front party. Then, in 2040, President Barranquilla appointed him as Finance Minister. In 2044, when Barranquilla decided not to run for a third term, the National Front nominated Payne to be his successor. Thanks to Barranquilla’s popularity, Payne won comfortably. He continued Barranquilla’s successful economic policies, but made them more effective. Foreign investment and GDP growth shot up. Construction on Vilania City progressed very well, and national infrastructure was expanded. He won reelection in 2048, but decided, just like his predecessor, not to run for a third term. He retired from politics afterwards a popular and respected leader. He died in Kingsbury on May 17, 2092 at age 91.

8. Damian Greene (2052-2064)

Damian Greene was born on October 12, 2008 in Wake Forest. Because of his age, he was too young to serve in the War of Independence, being the first president to not have served in the War. He attended law school in Hamilton and passed the bar in 2032. In 2036, he was elected to the National Parliament as a member of the National Front party, and in 2040, he became the chair of the Judicial Oversight Committee in the Constitutional Assembly. President Payne appointed him as Attorney General in 2045, a position he kept until 2052. When his boss decided not to run for a third term, Greene was nominated to run for the National Front in 2052, and he won. He continued with his predecessors’ economic policies and also began building up the military. Construction on Vilania City also finished in 2059. He won reelection in 2056 and 2060, becoming the first president to win three straight times. However, in 2061, Vilania became involved in a war in Liberia, who had just seceded from Cambria. When Greene voiced support for the rebel state, Cambria launched missile strikes against Vilanian cities, provoking Greene to send troops to Liberia. The war made him unpopular, and he lost the 2064 election. After retiring, he died on May 15, 2091 at age 82.

9. Adrian Woodsworth (2064-2067)

Adrian Woodsworth was born on June 15, 2000 in New Madrid. He, like Vincente Barranquilla, fought with the Red Knights of Vilania during the War of Independence. He stayed in the military until 2032, when he ran for a seat in the National Parliament with the Liberal Party. He failed, but tried again in 2036 and won this time. He became a prominent opposition figure in the National Parliament as the National Front won every election from 2036 to 2060. However, with President Damian Greene’s popularity declining, the Liberals nominated Woodsworth to run against Greene. He won the election, becoming the first Liberal president to win since 2024. He became very popular after Vilania and Liberia won their war against Cambria in 2066, but his left-wing economic policies were not as effective as Greene’s, Payne’s, or Barranquilla’s, and the economy began to take a tumble. Woodsworth was not able to fix it, as, on June 22, 2067, he was assassinated in Vilania City. To date, he is the first and only president to be assassinated.

10/12. Malcolm Glenn (2067-2068, 2076-2084)

Malcolm Glenn was born on June 3, 2022, in Hamilton. He is the first president to be born in independent Vilania. He attended law school in Kingsbury before passing the bar in 2056. He was elected to the National Parliament in 2060 before being nominated by the Liberal Party for Vice President in the 2064 election. He and Adrian Woodsworth emerged victorious. However, when Woodsworth was assassinated in June 2067, Glenn was thrust into office. He decided to simply finish Woodsworth’s term and did not run in 2068. However, he did decide to come back and run against incumbent President Julian Sanchez in 2072. However, Sanchez won. This didn’t discourage Glenn, and he geared up for a rematch in 2076, which he won this time. He took office and became arguably the most liberal president in Vilanian history, pushing left-wing social policies and regulating the economy more. While he narrowly won reelection in 2080, things went downhill from there. The economy actually plunged into recession in 2083, and while it was able to recover, Glenn’s popularity sank below 40% and never came back. He was resoundingly defeated by Winston Gray in 2084.

11. Julian Sanchez (2068-2076)

Julian Sanchez was born on March 7, 2012 in New Madrid. He attended the Royal Military Academy in Kingsbury and graduated in 2034. He eventually rose to the rank of General in the army by 2060. In 2061, Vilania went to war in Liberia and Sanchez became one of the most important Vilanian generals. He won his biggest victory at the Second Battle of Monrovia, in which his ingenious tactics helped the joint Liberian-Vilanian force take control of the Liberian capital for good. This made him a beloved figure among both Liberians and Vilanians. In 2068, the newly formed New Vilania Congress nominated him as their candidate for president, and he won. Sanchez tried to reverse President Adrian Woodsworth’s liberal economic policies in favor of a more moderate approach, and it did help the economy to recover and grow. His greatest victory came in 2072. Liberia was struggling economically, and since Sanchez was the Vilanian president, they asked to become part of Vilania. On September 9, 2072, Liberia officially became part of Vilania, giving Vilania 43,000 square miles of new territory. The central square in St. William (Monrovia) was named Julian Sanchez Square in 2086 in Sanchez’s honor. However, he struggled later in his second term, and lost the 2076 election to Malcolm Glenn.

13. Winston Gray (2084-present)

Winston Gray was born on January 22, 2043 in Palatina. He was briefly a professional footballer for San Laurenz FC, but at age 18 he enlisted in the army to fight in Liberia. He returned home in 2066 with many honors. In 2069, he founded a real estate company, Royal Western, and eventually became a billionaire. Then, he decided to go into politics and ran for president in the 2084 election. He won the National Front’s nomination before defeating incumbent Malcolm Glenn in the general election in a landslide. This was the first electoral victory for the National Front in 20 years, and Gray, at 41 years and three months old, was the youngest ever president to be inaugurated. Gray got to work dismantling the left-wing policies of his predecessor. He enacted a strong conservative social agenda, and also deregulated the economy. Under Gray, the Vilanian economy experienced a kind of growth that it had never experienced before. Thanks to some excellent policies, Vilania’s GDP doubled in just 11 years, and is now at $2.18 trillion, whereas it was $876 billion when he first came to office. He was reelected in 2088, 2092, and then, in 2096, he became the first president to win a fourth term in office. Foreign investment, GDP per capita, average income, and quality of life have all risen significantly. Couple that with strong support for his Catholic-oriented social policy, and you get the most popular president in Vilanian history. Gray’s approval ratings are consistently around 75%. And some have suggested that he may go down as the best leader in Vilanian history if this trend continues.

That’s all. Please feel free to ask any questions you have about any of the 11 presidents.