Gerry Joules

Gerry Joules
President of the Federation Commission of Martinesia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2013 (2013-01-05)
Vice President	Dean Filbert
Preceded by	William Bentley
President of the Republic of Pollaya
In office January 20, 2002 (2002-01-20) – January 20, 2012 (2012-01-20)
Preceded by	Marie Lois
Succeeded by	Ligo Montoya
Minister of Defense for Pollaya
In office July 16, 1993 (1993-07-16) – January 15, 2001 (2001-01-15)
Preceded by	Isaac Giles
Succeeded by	Rodney Fleu
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Pollaya
In office January 20, 1982 (1982-01-20) – January 20, 1992 (1992-01-20)
Preceded by	Paul Bartoleme
Succeeded by	Louisa Fey
Personal details
Born	Gerry Francois Joules (1951-09-24) September 24, 1951 (age 72) Bodeux, Pollaya
Nationality	Pollayan
Political party	PG-LDA
Spouse(s)	Francis Frising
Children	Henri, Lafayette, Marie, George
Parents	Henri Joules, Theresa Joules (Ames)
Alma mater	Baptiste University
Profession	Military officer Businessman Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Republic of Pollaya
Service/branch	Pollaya Land Army
Years of service	1970-1978
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Technical and Supply Unit

Gerry Francois Joules (born September 25, 1951) is the 6th and current President of the Federation Commission of Martinesia. Born in Bodeux, Pollaya, he is the first Pollayan to hold the office of President of the Federation Commission. He grew up in an affluent family but after it fell apart, he had to work his way to college where he got a degree in economics and enlisted in the Pollayan Land Army to get his school paid for. In the Land Army, he was in charge of equipment distribution and there he met his wife. After retiring from the military, he became the head of Pollayan armes Fabricant Nationale and served two terms in the Legislative Assembly of Pollaya before being defeated by a right-wing candidate. He then was appointed as Minister of Defense by President Marie Lois but after she decided to not run for reelection in 2001, Gerry Joules got involved in a fierce campaign against Louis Royal who was the former Vice-President and after a runoff election, Joules narrowly won. He went on to win an easy reelection campaign in 2006 but after the economy began to tank, he decided against another run in 2011, stepping down and getting selected as President of the Federation Commission for Martinesia in 2012.

Early Life, Education, and Career

Gerry Joules was born to Henri and Theresa Joules in Bodeux, Pollaya. His father, Henri, was a retired army captain and a businessman while his mother was a homemaker. Gerry attended private schooling academies and was awarded with a private tutor but when he was 12, his father died and left them with an inheritance which his mother promptly squandered. Gerry was forced to work local jobs to make up the money for their family and had to attend government run schools where he excelled and was placed in line for a scholarship, only to get rejected. He then got a scholarship with the Pollayan Land Army.

He attended Baptiste University and got his Bachelor's degree in economics and joined the Pollayan Land Army. His primary job was serve as a supply officer and he became in charge of coordinating transfers and negotiations with military equipment producers and the army. When he retired, he was appointed to the civilian post of the biggest arms producer in Pollaya, Pollayan armes Fabricant Nationale.

Political Career

Early Years

Gerry Joules first got involved in politics around 1976 when he helped one of his business partners who was campaigning for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Pollaya. In 1981, his friend convinced Gerry to run and after running, he won handily and was sworn in as a member of the Assembly. Gerry served two terms as through his tenure but in 1991, he faced a tough reelection campaign as Louisa Fey of the New Center for Reform launched a vicious campaign against him and pinned some of the economic troubles of Pollaya on him, causing him to lose election.

In 1993, President Marie Lois appointed Gerry to be the Minister of Defense after Isaac Giles, his predecessor, suffered from a debilitating stroke that left him useless politically. Gerry's political and military experience made him fit for the task and on the defense commission, Gerry worked to upgrade and improve the production of Pollayan weapons and encouraged the expansion of their sales to the region.

Presidential Election of 2001

In 2000, President Lois announced that she would not be running for President again in 2001 due to certain scandals that were coming to light in her administration, and Gerry announced his intention to run. However, he faced a heavy challenge from Louis Royal who was the Vice-President and member of the Mouvement Démocratique. Facing also serious opposition from the New Center for Reform candidate Jules Peris as well, Gerry proposed a coalition but Royal refused, giving the same offer to Gerry who turned it down.

Gerry and Royal began a vicious campaign for Royal attacked Gerry Joules, painting him as a moderate liberal who supported a strong military and wanted to cut welfare to pay for increasing costly military research programs. Gerry denied all such claims and pushed that Royal had been involved in some of the corruption scandals of Lois's administration. Jules Peris attacked them both, claiming they were "blood-thirsty" liberals who wanted to turn Pollaya into a "Communist state like Sunlaya." The election results had Royal in the lead with Gerry and Peris almost tying for second place. A runoff election was held between Gerry and Royal and Gerry won by 2%, with many of the conservative backers of Peris backing Gerry instead of Royal.

President of Pollaya

As President, Gerry Joules tried to run a moderate government by pushing for more choice in government services rather than the popular method of enforced services. He also pushed for a stronger Pollayan military and even began expanding Pollaya's diplomatic influence beyond Martinesia to Weselton, Rizealand and Texas. Due to increased foreign investment, the economy began a slow recovery and the recovery helped Gerry secure a second term in 2006. In 2008-2009, the economy had steadied off but as another economic crisis fell on Rizealand and Texas, most of Martinesia began to feel it and by 2010, many foreign investors withdrew, causing the artificial economic bubble to burst and leaving the Pollayan economy in shambles. After evaluating his options and when Ligo Montoya, an radical member of his party announced his intentions to run, Gerry announced he would not be running for a third term and after Montoya won the 2011 election, he stepped down.

President of the Commission of Martinesia

Gerry had no intention to leave politics completely and in early 2012 after he stepped down, he was approached by the heads of the Liberal Democratic Alliance for Martinesia and asked if he would consider becoming the President of the Federation Commission, in light of his excellent foreign relations resume and skill with diplomacy and moderation. He accepted and in November 2012, the Martinesian Parliament nominated him with nine other members as members of the Federation Commission and in December, the Federation Council selected him as President of the Commission.

Gerry Joules appointed himself as the Commissioner of International Security, and since then, he worked on numerous projects including increasing military cooperation between member republics, establishing diplomatic procedures, and trying to increase international awareness of Martinesia as a sovereign political entity.

Personal Life

Gerry Joules grew up Roman Catholic. He met his future spouse, Francis Frising, in the military as she was an officer under his command in charge of distribution of equipment and they got married in 1975. Since then, they have had four children. In his second term as President, rumors were spread that he was having an affair with the Second Vice President and although the rumors were never confirmed, the Second Vice President resigned and further allegations and investigations were silenced by a closed door meeting of the Legislative Assembly.