Merrett Fillion

Merrett Fillion was a major politician in the early 24th century. He was the second Chancellor of the Hansa

Background
Merrett Fillion was born in 2267 on the Avalon Colony in the capital city of New Tintagel. He was born to middle class parents who raised him with a good work ethic. He was a bright student with a high aptitude for math and attended Tintagel College, graduating in 2289 with a B.A in Business Management.

He then studied his J.D at the Wenham Law School where he was a very successful student at the moot court, attending the colonial moot court competition. He was part of the colonial college team that attended the Moot Court competition, sponsored by West-Corp, on Mars where he was well placed.

He graduated from Law School in 2292 with his J.D and was offered a place by prestigious colonial law firm on Avalon, Ruger and Mulholland. He was an associate there for two years before he was poached away for a lucrative role as a corporate lawyer.

Corporate Lawyer
Merrett Fillion worked as a Junior Counsel at West-Corp, initially working out of the Patent Office before moving to the Shipping and Planning Office. He was promoted in 2298 to Lead Counsel for the Shipping and Planning Office.

Merrett was known for being an effective negotiator and excelled at forging relationships. Merrett was often sent to handle colonial politicians.

Merrett was promoted to Deputy Counsel for the Corporation in 2302 and was considered on the fast track to being on the board of directors. However Merrett decided to leave in 2303 to work as a lobbyist for two years.

During this time, back on Avalon, he began to build a political powerbase. He announced in 2309 that he would seek the governorship of Avalon.

Colonial Politician
Merrett's profile on Avalon was good but he was not able to get enough support to make a serious impression in the gubernational race in 2310. He bided his time, building relationships, raising money and working pro-bono as a lawyer to develop a reputation.

In 2313 he again announced that he would seek the governorship. He benefited from an unpopular incumbent. Merrett Fillion was able to build a strong, professional insurgent organisation and he defeated the sitting governor in 2314.

Governor of Avalon
Governor FIllion was sworn in as Governor of the Avalon colony in 2314. He had campaigned on a broad, consensus building platform of tax cuts for the working and middle classes and an expansion to education on Avalon.

He built a cross party administration and worked with all parties in the colonial legislature. He was combative with the Confederate Union, often championing the colonial rights of the planet.

Governor Fillion battled with a probe into corruption in 2317, aimed at the graft and insider dealing, much of which had been inherited from the previous administration. Governor Fillion was largely able to deftly step aside from the blame.

In 2318 he announced he would seek re-election. His popular administration was expected to win and, sure enough, Governor FIllion defeated his challengers to secure a second term. The Karkouri invasion of 2318 was a major crisis and Governor Fillion was forced to accept a Karkouri force arriving to garrison the planet. However there were no major conflicts during the Occupation.

In 2321, he took part in the talks to set up the League but felt that the proposed measures were too intrusive. Governor Fillion proposed a ballot initiative on membership of the League which was narrowly defeated on Avalon.

In 2324 Governor Fillion announced he would not seek a 3rd term as Governor. Instead he set his sights on becoming the Chancellor of the Hansa. The Steering Group liked his proposal and Governor FIllion won the 2325 election to become the second chancellor of the Hansa.

Chancellor of the Hansa
Chancellor Fillion's administration was a broad ranging coalition. He took part in many public events, visiting most of the member colonies of the Hansa and was seen as a popular, likable figure. He was a charismatic public speaker but some critics accused him of not having strong opinions