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Ambassador to the Commonwealth

Overview

Cyrus12292.jpg
Cyrus, of Ebon's Hall, Ambassador to the Commonwealth

Despite being commissioned in Summer 379YE, the Commonwealth embassy was not completed until shortly before the Spring Equinox 380YE. This followed several months of growing tension between the powerful south-eastern nation and the Empire, including a number of tariffs imposed by the Commonwealth government on Imperial imports and exports.

The Ambassador to the Commonwealth is an Imperial title. It is an Imperial position appointed by the Imperial Senate.

Prior to the Winter Solstice 387YE, the Ambassador was able to purchase goods from merchants and those seeking favour. This was changed, along with the rest of the ambassadors, when the Senate voted to amend the embassies to end the practice, removing mercantile support and the upkeep costs at the same time.

Responsibilities

The ambassador is expected to represent the Empire in relations with the Commonwealth. They have all the responsibilities common to an Imperial ambassador. As such they are responsible for representing the Empire to the Commonwealth, and to a degree vice versa. They are presented as the primary contact for any official Imperial business relating to the Commonwealth, so their letters carry much greater weight and importance than anyone bar the Throne. They are expected to conduct or oversee any treaty negotiations with that nation, and receive official delegations. The civil service will direct representatives and citizens of the foreign power to the ambassador wherever appropriate.

Commonwealth

Powers

Imperial Ambassador

The title has all the common powers of an ambassador: they can receive a formal delegation, are responsible for official communication with the Commonwealth, and may present a treaty.

Stipend

The Ambassador receives a stipend of four thrones each season

Appointment

The Ambassador to the Commonwealth is an Imperial position appointed by the Senate. Any Imperial citizen can hold this title, and the ambassador serves for a year. They can be revoked by the General Assembly and by the Assembly of the Nine.

SummitNationElected
Spring Equinox 388YEHighguardCyrus, of Ebon's Hall
Spring Equinox 387YEWintermarkFinn Pridetalker
Spring Equinox 386YEThe LeagueLucia Sanguineo Rezia di Tassato
Spring Equinox 385YEThe LeagueLucia Sanguineo Rezia di Tassato
Spring Equinox 384YEThe LeagueLucia Sanguineo Rezia di Tassato
Spring Equinox 383YEThe LeagueLucia Sanguineo di Tassato
Summer Solstice 382YEThe LeagueLucia Sanguineo di Tassato
Summer Solstice 381YENavarrCael Splitroot
Spring Equinox 380YEThe LeagueBeatrix Amalia De Rondell zu Holberg

Recent Elections

This title is currently held by Cyrus, of Ebon's Hall; it will be reelected at Spring Equinox 389YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

Ambassadorial Lore

The Diplomatenschloss

Originally, the Commonwealth embassy stood in Siroc in Madruga, far away on the Brass Coast. In 385YE however it was destroyed along with the city by an alliance of Grendel and Asavean forces (as recounted in the A beacon of smoke wind of fortune). The garrison there, along with several of the Commonwealth diplomats, fought bravely alongside their Freeborn neighbours, and paid a harsh blood price for doing so.

Almost a year later in Summer 386YE, the Commonwealth ambassador to the Empire Militärattache Ludkhannah, proposed a new embassy be built. Rather than a simple bureaucratic office, she suggested the Empire might work with the Commonwealth to establish a diplomatenschloss. The Senate accepted, and work began almost immediately.

A diplomatenschloss is a specialised embassy built to also serve as a schloss, a Commonwealth fortification. Similar to the Lyceum Schloss, but built on a much larger scale, it houses all the embassy staff but is also sufficiently fortified that it provides an effective defence to the entire territory where it is built. Indeed the Commonwealth have sent a detachment of soldiers - the Diplomatenschloss guard - to garrison it at their own expense (meaning there is not additional upkeep beyond that for a traditional embassy). The guard, resplendent in traditional uniforms, not only protect their own staff, but stand ready to help their hosts defend should Necropolis ever be endangered.

Work on the Hedrossan diplomatenschloss was overseen by Poldi Hellebrant, a respected Commonwealth siege engineer. She was initially pleased both with the land set aside for the construction and the modernity of the docks at Hedra compared to the more traditional facilities of Crown's Quay. Almost immediately however she expressed concern over the proximity of the Jarmish embassy across the river in Cargo. The close location of the two embassies means that that Jarmish and Commonwealth vessels are both travelling along the Couros river and Poldi several times pointed out that given relationships between the two nations this might cause problems down the line.

Obviously building the diplomatenschloss meant giving control of a powerful fortification to the Commonwealth, but the benefits were judged to outweigh the potential disadvantages. Should relationships with the Commonwealth collapse, it would represent an armed force within Imperial borders that could potentially prove to be a problem.

As to the Imperial embassy to the Commonwealth, the port of Leerdam is home to a palatial estate that has been made available for the use of Imperial civil servants. One of the oldest, and arguably richest, cities of the Commonwealth Leerdam, is a major trade hub. The staff of the embassy are often busy sorting out permits and opportunities for visiting Imperial merchants or fielding queries from Commonwealth traders eager to seek profit in the Empire.

(The diplomatenschloss is a rank one fortification. The bastion stands in Hedrossan, and the garrison is made up of Commonwealth soldiers. There is no additional upkeep to the Empire to maintain these troops.)

WingedMessenger.png
Militärattache Otto Fuchsbach, die Stahlhalle, Volkavaar, Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Ambassador

Their ambassador to the Empire is Militärattache Ludkhannah Schöningen, of Die Stahlhalle in the port-city of Volkavaar, a veteran soldier who reports to the generals who hold the reins of political power in their nation. An old campaigner, they generally speak plainly and as honestly as any politician can when dealing with their Imperial counterpart.

Ambassadorial Briefings

As discussed in the 388YE Autumn Equinox wind of fortune So little I wanted, so little I got, the civil service have recently reinstituted Ambassadorial briefings. At least in the short term, the civil service have resumed furnishing Imperial ambassadors who are supported by embassy staff with individual briefings where necessary and appropriate. To maintain transparency and preserve continuity, the briefings are made available to those who wish to review them after the summit where they are delivered, in a similar way to which historical research is made public. Only those elements of a briefing that are specifically personal to the ambassador may be removed, and only where they are clearly not of interest to the Empire. At the end of the year, this procedure will be reviewed again, to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

Commonwealth Further Reading

About the Commonwealth

Winds of Fortune

Titles Associated with the Commonwealth


Click Expand to see a summary of various pages related to the Commonwealth.

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