Christian Ferguson: Difference between revisions
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| caption = Dr. Christian Ferguson | | caption = Dr. Christian Ferguson | ||
| order = | | order = | ||
| office = [[ | | office = Secretary-General of the [[Consortium of Independent Nations]] | ||
| term_start = 01 | | term_start = 01 October 2023 | ||
| term_end = | | term_end = | ||
| alongside = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)--> | | alongside = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)--> | ||
| monarch = | | monarch = | ||
| president = | | president = | ||
| governor_general = | | governor_general = | ||
| primeminister = | | primeminister = | ||
| taoiseach = | | taoiseach = | ||
| chancellor = | | chancellor = | ||
| governor = | | governor = | ||
| vicepresident = | | vicepresident = | ||
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| constituency = | | constituency = | ||
| majority = | | majority = | ||
| predecessor = | | predecessor = ''Position established'' | ||
| successor = | | successor = | ||
| prior_term = | | prior_term = | ||
| order2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | | order2 = | ||
| | | office2 = [[Ombudsman (Sanctaria)|Ombudsman of Sanctaria]] | ||
| | | term_start2 = 01 March 2014 | ||
| | | term_end2 = 30 September 2023 | ||
| | | alongside2 = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)--> | ||
| | | monarch2 = | ||
| | | president2 = [[Marion Woodstrom]]<br>[[Katherine Saunders]] | ||
| | | governor_general2 = | ||
| | | primeminister2 = | ||
| | | taoiseach2 = | ||
| | | chancellor2 = {{ublist|[[Mark Kindle]]<br>{{small|as [[Prime Minister of Sanctaria|Prime Minister]]}}|[[Charlene Hendry]]|[[Ethan Ringrose]]}} | ||
| | | governor2 = | ||
| | | vicepresident2 = | ||
| | | viceprimeminister2 = | ||
| | | deputy2 = | ||
| | | lieutenant2 = | ||
| | | succeeding2 = <!--For President-elect or equivalent--> | ||
| | | parliamentarygroup2 = | ||
| | | constituency2 = | ||
| | | majority2 = | ||
| | | predecessor2 = [[Alexandra Maye]] | ||
| | | successor2 = ''Vacant'' | ||
| | | prior_term2 = | ||
| order3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| office3 = [[Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly]] | |||
| term_start3 = 28 January 2011 | |||
| term_end3 = 28 February 2014 | |||
| alongside3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| monarch3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| president3 = {{ublist|[[Helena Robinson]]|[[Marion Woodstrom]]}} | |||
| governor_general3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| primeminister3 = {{ublist|[[Joshua Turner]]|[[Mark Kindle]]}} | |||
| chancellor3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| taoiseach3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| governor3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| vicepresident3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| viceprimeminister3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| deputy3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| lieutenant3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| succeeding3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| predecessor3 = Maria Tonyatova<br/>{{resize|80%|as [[Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly#Minister for the World Assembly|Minister for the World Assembly]]}} | |||
| successor3 = [[Nicholas Carson]] | |||
| parliamentarygroup3= <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| constituency3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| majority3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| prior_term3 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number--> | |||
| pronunciation = | | pronunciation = | ||
| birth_name = Christian Liam Ferguson | | birth_name = Christian Liam Ferguson | ||
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}} | }} | ||
'''Christian Liam Ferguson''' [[Order of the Dove#Commander|CMD]] (born May 11, 1978) is a [[Sanctaria|Sanctarian]] civil servant, diplomat, and political scientist. He is currently the | '''Christian Liam Ferguson''' [[Order of the Dove#Commander|CMD]] (born May 11, 1978) is a [[Sanctaria|Sanctarian]] civil servant, diplomat, and political scientist. He is currently the inaugural Secretary-General of the [[Consortium of Independent Nations]], having previously served as [[Ombudsman of Sanctaria]], and as a Sanctarian foreign policy advisor and [[Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly]]. Ferguson served on the staff of the [[Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sanctaria)|Secretary for Foreign Affairs]] and as Senior Director for Regional Affairs in the [[Department of Foreign Affairs (Sanctaria)|Department of Foreign Affairs]] during [[Prime Minister of Sanctaria|Prime Minister]] [[Joshua Turner]]'s first few years in power. | ||
Ferguson was | Ferguson elected to the position of Secretary-General by the Consortium's first Consortium Governmental Conference on 30 September 2023, and took office the following day. He was Ombudsman from 01 March 2014 to 30 September 2023, and previously served as WA Ambassador from 28 January 2011 to 28 February 2014. | ||
==Early life and education== | ==Early life and education== | ||
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As Ombudsman, Ferguson is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights by government or other public bodies. | As Ombudsman, Ferguson is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights by government or other public bodies. | ||
==Secretary-General of the Consortium== | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
[[Category:Sanctaria]][[Category:People]][[Category:Politics]] | [[Category:Sanctaria]][[Category:People]][[Category:Politics]] | ||
Latest revision as of 06:35, 1 October 2023
| Christian Ferguson CMD | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Christian Ferguson | |
| Secretary-General of the Consortium of Independent Nations | |
| Assumed office 01 October 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Ombudsman of Sanctaria | |
| In office 01 March 2014 – 30 September 2023 | |
| President | Marion Woodstrom Katherine Saunders |
| Chancellor | |
| Preceded by | Alexandra Maye |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly | |
| In office 28 January 2011 – 28 February 2014 | |
| President | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Maria Tonyatova as Minister for the World Assembly |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Carson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christian Liam Ferguson May 11, 1978 |
| Nationality | Sanctarian |
| Occupation | Civil Servant, Diplomat |
Christian Liam Ferguson CMD (born May 11, 1978) is a Sanctarian civil servant, diplomat, and political scientist. He is currently the inaugural Secretary-General of the Consortium of Independent Nations, having previously served as Ombudsman of Sanctaria, and as a Sanctarian foreign policy advisor and Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly. Ferguson served on the staff of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and as Senior Director for Regional Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs during Prime Minister Joshua Turner's first few years in power.
Ferguson elected to the position of Secretary-General by the Consortium's first Consortium Governmental Conference on 30 September 2023, and took office the following day. He was Ombudsman from 01 March 2014 to 30 September 2023, and previously served as WA Ambassador from 28 January 2011 to 28 February 2014.
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Ferguson was born in Tyralston, the principal city in Borough of Batershire. His father, William Ferguson, is an economics lecturer Tyralston City University. His mother, Marie-Louise Rice, is a primary school teacher in the city. He is an only child.
Ferguson is an accomplished track athlete and this earned him a scholarship to the National University of Sanctaria, Sanctus (NUSS) where he graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics. The following year he completed a Master of Science degree in International Politics, again in NUSS and was then accepted into Corpus College of Politics where, in 2003, he was conferred with a Doctorate in Philosophy based on his dissertation titled "Impact of World Assembly Resolutions on International Trade and Development between WA Member States of differing technologies".
Early career[edit | edit source]
In 2003, shortly after receiving his PhD, Ferguson secured a position as foreign policy advisor to wealthy Sanctarian businesswoman and philanthropist, and later Senator, June Warren. He served in this role until 2007.
Early Turner Administration[edit | edit source]
Ferguson was hired as a foreign policy analyst by the new Secretary for Foreign Affairs Robert Smyth shortly after the Sanctarian Conservative Party won a second consecutive term in Government in the 2007 General Election. In this position, Ferguson's responsibility was to seek out international reaction to Sanctarian policies and advise the Secretary of what to do to rectify any possibly negative reactions.
It was such actions that prompted Secretary Smyth to appoint Ferguson to the senior departmental, and thereby Ferguson a civil servant, position of Senior Director for Regional Affairs when it became vacant in mid 2009. Ferguson's sole responsibility here was to direct all regional interaction and report to the Minister for Regional Affairs, a junior minister in the Department. It was Ferguson's recommendation in mid 2010 that led to Sanctaria leaving the geopolitical association of Corporate to join the Eastern Islands of Dharma; many economics have speculated that this region move was economically advantageous for Sanctaria.
Ambassador to the World Assembly[edit | edit source]
On 28 January 2011, Turner appointed Ferguson to the position of Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly. Prior to this, Sanctaria was represented in the World Assembly by a junior minister in the Department of Foreign Affairs. However, Turner merged the Ministry with the Ambassadorial position and abolished all legislative functions. This meant that one no longer needed to be a MP to represent Sanctaria in the WA; criticisms that the WA Minister didn't adequately represent his/her constituents was the main reason for this. Dr. Ferguson is the youngest Sanctarian representative to the WA.
Ferguson was appointed Officer of the Order of the Dove (ORD) on 03 March 2011 and was promoted to Commander (CMD) on 11 June 2012.
Successful Resolutions[edit | edit source]
Repeal "Missing Minors Act"[edit | edit source]
Shortly into his term, Ambassador Ferguson wrote, and successfully passed in the General Assembly, Resolution #133, which repealed a previous resolution which the Sanctarian Government deemed badly written and unneeded. The resolution in question, Missing Minors Act, was believed to have contained various loopholes rendering it ineffective and, according to Ambassador Ferguson, hazardous to the missing children. The Ambassador took the viewpoint that since the resolution failed to restrict access to the database created, those such as child abusers or sex traffickers could potentially access it, leaving the missing children even more vulnerable.
After a short period of drafting, and after a period of time spent in the queue, the proposal was voted upon and passed on 09 February 2011 and designated GA #133. It received 77% of the vote.
Disability Welfare Act[edit | edit source]
The Social Assistance Accord was repealed on the 05 December 2011 with part of the argument being that it tried, and failed, to cover all aspects of social welfare and assistance adequately. While the repeal was at vote, and looking likely to pass, Ferguson joined a group of like-minded Ambassadors whose aim was to replace the resolution with a variety of resolutions each solely dedicated to a piece of social welfare; this was primarily a response to the accusation that one resolution could cover all of these benefits.
The first draft of the then titled Enabling the Disabled was published on 04 December 2011, a day before the repeal was passed. It opened to broad support, however concern at the title was expressed. Some Ambassadors lauded the idea but felt they couldn't vote for such a poorly named Act which was accused of playing to people's emotions rather than focusing on the resolution itself. The title was changed to Disability Welfare Act in the third and final draft.
The proposal received broad support early into its vote which began on 23 December 2011. This trend continued and the resolution, Disability Welfare Act, was passed with 73% of the vote on 27 December 2011. It is referred to as GA #176.
Habeas Corpus[edit | edit source]
On 28 February 2012, the original Habeas Corpus resolution was repealed. This was principally due to the aim of having two separate and comprehensive resolutions on the subjects of habeas corpus and double jeopardy; the intended habeas corpus replacement, however, was divisive and failed at vote on 24 March 2012. Subsequent redrafts of the failed resolution also proved to be contentious with many Ambassadors commenting that they did not address the shortcomings which had caused its original defeat.
Ferguson's first draft of Habeas Corpus was introduced on 21 March 2012 when it was evident that the proposed replacement was not going to be successful. While many Ambassadors preferred this effort to the proposal then at vote, the consensus was that specifically defined time limits, which Ferguson had loosely included in his draft, were not practical. A second draft was put on hold around 24 March 2012 when the author of the failed replacement indicated she would be authoring a redraft; Dr. Ferguson deferred the matter to her.
Drafting soon resumed, however, when it was clear the author did not intend on making substantial changes to her proposal. Ferguson decided to take a more concentrated approach and abandoned trying to dictate specific time limits in certain circumstances. His subsequent redrafts proved popular with most Ambassadors. The proposal was again halted following the passage of the Habeas Corpus Act on 10 April 2012. Again this was divisive and, despite it being passed, was deeply unpopular. It was repealed on 04 May 2012 and Ferguson's drafting resumed.
Although another attempt was made by the original author at passing her version of habeas corpus, it ultimately failed and Ferguson's Habeas Corpus came to vote on 05 June 2012. It passed with 81% of the vote on 09 June 2012 and was designated GA #201.
Prevention of Child Abuse[edit | edit source]
Drafting of Prevention of Child Abuse originally began in June 2012 when Dr. Ferguson was asked by the Mousebumples delegation to write a replacement for the Child Protection Act which they were intending to repeal. Ferguson obliged and published a replacement just minutes after Nikolas Eberhart of the Mousebumplonian delegation posted the wording of their repeal. After a brief debate on both drafts, however, it was evident that Eberhart didn't intend to propose the repeal for a number of weeks; Ferguson then shelved his draft replacement.
Ferguson resumed his drafting in September 2012 when Eberhart notified him of the upcoming submission of the repeal. Wanting to ensure that the World Assembly was not without legislation against child abuse for an unnecessary amount of days, Ferguson produced a number of drafts in rapid procession. It soon became clear that the definition of child would be problematic as there were some nations in the World Assembly who either didn't have children, or didn't recognise age as a factor in determining when one entered adulthood. Ferguson sought the help of his colleagues in determining a solution for this problem (which is longstanding in the annals of the World Assembly) and concluded that "threshold of majority" would be the most agreeable terminology to use. Although there continued to be some resistance to this, the majority of Ambassadors debating the draft agreed to this revision.
Determining what constituted abuse also caused considerable discussion, especially concerning the issue of spanking. Ferguson found himself in a problematic situation; although he abhorred the practice of spanking, the Sanctarian Government did not have an official position on it. It was also evident that a great number of nations present in the debate held the same attitude as his Government. Having preached against the forcing of personal morals on the entire World Assembly in the past, Ferguson reluctantly decided to allow each nation to determine whether or not spanking was a valid form of child abuse; to ensure children remained protected, however, Ferguson settled on criminalising "excessive" physical violence against children.
Although the majority of the final draft was all his own effort, Dr. Ferguson felt compelled to offer a co-authorship to the Mission from Douria due to the helpful recommendations it made during drafting as well as its presence during debate on the draft, both before and during the at-vote stage.
The resolution was passed on 09 October 2012 with 90% of the vote, the largest percentage of any Sanctarian resolution to date. It was given the designation of GA #222.
Ombudsman[edit | edit source]
Ferguson was nominated by Treasury Secretary Jason Reid to be Ombudsman on 29 January 2014. He was officially appointed to the position on 01 March 2014, having vacated his position as WA Ambassador the day prior.
As Ombudsman, Ferguson is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights by government or other public bodies.