Pave Shenker

Pave Shenker was a major politician from the late 24th century. He was the eighth President of the Federated States

Background
Pave Shenker was born to a middle class family on the colony of Vanheim. His father was a civil servant and his mother a local journalist. Pave attended local schools and then attended Jotunheim College where he graduated with a BA in journalism.

Journalist
Pave became a freelance reporter, combining photography with his own style of reporting. He broke several important stories including one about excessive violence used by marines during the corporate war. He became a reporter and then a desk editor for the left wing news site "Advance".

He eventually became the deputy editor at Advance and he was generally supportive of the Progressive Union and the Federalist Party. He was approached by Federalist Senator Alden Haer to do some speech writing which got him started in his political career.

Politics
In 2336 he formally joined the Federalist Party and did work as a speech-writer and press agent for the Party. He was taken onboard for the 2340 Presidential campaign, initially serving as a regional press officer. He was promoted to be Vice Presidential nominee Braer McQaid's communications director at the end of the campaign.

When the Kinnick / McQaid ticket won, Pave turned down a role in the new administration, returning to journalism. However after two years, he returned to politics when Vice Presiden tMcQaid appointed him his Communications Director.

During the 2340 campaign Pave wrote most of the key speeches for the victorious campaign.

The McQaid Administration
President McQaid appointed Pave as communications Director in his administration and Pave was a key adviser alongside Davenport Lee, the chief of staff. Pave, on the left of the Federalist Party, was often a voice for moderation and treating the poor and vulnerable with more care.

Pave left the senior staff in 2349 as he was not supportive of the Federalist nominee going into 2350. Pave was appointed to the chamber of deputies by President McQaid.

The Chamber of Deputies
Pave took up a role in the chamber of deputies where his excellent speeches and fiery rhetoric won him a lot of attention. He found the chamber a very frustrating place as it was nearly impossible to get anything done and he often found himself butting heads with the chairman of the Ways and Means committee.

Pave used the role to build his reputation and enhance his policy knowledge. He began to emerge as a credible voice on the left of the Party. In 2355 election, he was mentioned as a possible Junior cabinet officer to President Rishi but ruled this out.

He began to explore a Senate run in 2360 but decided to, instead, seek the Federalist nomination in 2365.

The 2365 Primaries
Deputy Pave Shenker announced in August of 2364 that he would seek the Federalist nomination. He began to build an organisation and he reached out to the disaffected frontier colonists, though often found himself targeted for violence by radical members of the Universal Party.

Pave competed fiercely with Senator Moses Zinn for the nomination and the two exchanged some harsh comments during the Federalist primaries. Senator Zinn, going into the last leg of the campaign, managed to secure the delegates of Governor Rae Wetherby which gave him a good lead. However neither candidate could secure the nomination going into the convention without the other.

The two met and agreed to form a joint ticket for the sake of Federalist unity.

The 2365 Election
The Zinn / Shenker ticket got underway. Deputy Shenker spent much of his time on the core-worlds but was also a key media personality, often giving rebuttals to the attacks from the Stargher campaign and their allies. Deputy Shenker encouraged the Federalist ticket to reach out to the Universal Party but the talks were fruitless.

When Senator Zinn was nearly killed in the shuttle crash, Deputy Shenker had to become the primary spokesman and standard bearer. Boyd Darrow, the former treasury secretary, became the de-facto VP and the two hit it off, becoming a bit of a political double act.

Deputy Shenker was in favor of suspending the election but his vote did not get counted as he is a member of the chamber of deputies. After the ticket won, Deputy Pave Shenker was sworn in as Vice President.

Vice President of the Federated States
As vice President, Pave Shenker appointed Leah Murdoch as his Chief of Staff. The Vice President played a very active role in the administration, making many of the visits to the frontier and dealing with the Senate. He developed a good working relationship with Prime Minister Reiko Tellar and Senator Cooper Hawthorne.

Vice President Shenker whipped votes for the constitutional amendment which passed which he considered a landmark achievement.

Vice President Shenker was horrified by the results of the Axxelson-Hearst committee. He turned over his campaign finance documents and was largely exonerated.

When President Zinn decided to resign, he only consulted the Vice President a few hours beforehand. Vice President Shenker was forced to give an impromptu acceptance speech but he impressed the gathered journalists with his poise and speech.

President of the Federated States
Pave Shenker was sworn in as President of the Federated States in January of 2368. He was the first vice President to be elevated to President mid-term. Pave appointed Harper Abbot, the former campaign manager of the Federalist ticket and party-chairman, as his new chief of staff.

Initially he announced that the cabinet would continue as they were. However he did begin discussions regarding the cabinet.

President Shenker was in charge of the Federated States during the Third Terran Civil War. It was his policy to try and end the bloodshed but he found resistance from the Senate and even his own Party. He often struggled to rule over Secretary of Defense Remmick who was determined to smash the insurrection.P

President Shenker reluctantly agreed to send the marines in to recapture the USW Worlds. He was horrified by the sheer scale of the loss of life.

His personal leadership was put to the sternest of tests during the JS1E1 outbreak on Earth where he marshaled the evacuation effort and medical recovery effort.

Suffering from exhaustion in 2369, President Shenker began to speak behind the scenes that he would not seek the Federalist nomination in 2370.

President Shenker formally confirmed he wouldn't see the nomination in February of 2370 and endorsed Vice President Cris Manolos. He gave an impassioned speech, calling for liberals to back the Federalist Party at the Federalist convention on Nova Terra. He also campaigned for Vice President Manolos.

Post Presidency
After the election, President Shenker called on the Federalist Party to work with the new President. However he generally kept a low political profile and moved to Whitworth where he wrote his memoirs.

"A Burden, A Gift" was a best-seller and widely praised by the press and the public.

President Shenker began to make guest lecture appearances in 2374 and there were even some rumors of a political comeback.

President Shenker's name was mentioned more than once during the Federalist primaries but in the end he endorsed Senator Hastings for the nomination and campaigned for her. It was rumored she had him in mind as her Envoy to the Galactic Council.

President Shenker offered some criticism of the Axxelson administration and their money taken from PAC;s. He also called for campaign finance reform.

President Shenker stated that he felt that President Axxelson had been foolish by not explaining all the details of his military plan to the Senate. He stopped short of calling for indictment.

In 2379 his name began to be floated by liberals as a possible nominee for President in 2380. President Shenker stated that he felt that there were strong liberals who were younger and could make a better go of a campaign in 2380

President Shenker was very critical of the coup in 2380 and lead protests on Mars. He was briefly arrested for this and then released.

President Shenker was a key ally to the CRD but never a formal member of the group.

President Shenker released another book, "Twilight's Last Gleaming" in 2387 to protest the coup. The Empire banned the book in 2388 and it is a very popular text with revolutionaries and rebels.

President Shenker was investigated twice by IIS in 2390 and 2391. He has remained an outspoken critic of the Empire.

President Shenker died peacefully at his home in 2396. His funeral was not widely attended but copies of Twilights Last Gleaming began to sell for huge amounts at this point.

President Pave Shenker is often spoken of by liberals and democrats in the Empire