Nicolas Martin
| Nicolas Martin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 21st Prime Minister of Laeral | |
| Assuming office June 4, 2019 | |
| President | Liu Mei-han |
| Succeeding | Tanvi Misra |
| General Assembly Delegate | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2018 Serving with Stephen Delorme | |
| Constituency | Meridoc Province |
| Representative in the Assembly of Commons | |
| In office January 8, 2003 – December 14, 2018 | |
| Parliamentary group | Conservative Party (Laeral) |
| Member of the Meridoc Provincial Assembly | |
| In office January 8, 1995 – October 31, 2002 | |
| Constituency | Marnoît Township |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 3, 1963 Antoluire, Meridoc, Laeral |
| Nationality | Laeralian |
| Political party | New Democratic Alliance (Laeral) (2017-Present) Conservative Party (1981-2017) |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-Anne Martin |
| Children | Lucas Martin, Camille Martin-Durant |
| Parents | Richard Martin, Mathilde Martin |
| Alma mater | Meridoc Provincial University |
| Occupation | Politician, Journalist |
Nicolas Martin (born May 3rd, 1963) is a Laeralian politician and currently the Prime Minister of Laeral under President Liu Mei-han. He retains his seat in the General Assembly as the junior Delegate from Meridoc Province, and as leader of the New Democratic Alliance in the General Assembly. Martin was formerly a member of the Conservative Party in the Assembly of Commons before defecting to the New Democratic Alliance in 2017, allegedly over ideological differences with party leadership. As Prime Minister, Martin has been seen as favoring a lower-profile leadership style than many of his predecessors; a 2019 survey found that only 62% of Laeralian adults knew his name from memory.
Early Life & Education[edit | edit source]
Martin was born to Richard and Mathilde Martin, shopkeepers, in rural Meridoc province in 1963. Martin attended Meridoc Provincial University, majoring in Journalism and English, as well as becoming a member of the Conservative Party at 18.
Early Career and Meridoc Provincial Assembly[edit | edit source]
After leaving university, Martin became a journalist for several publications, including Le Pays and Aujourd'hui. In 1992, Martin became a communications adviser to Pascal Goulard, the Conservative then-Minister for Education. In 1994, Martin returned to Marnoît Township, in Meridoc, to run for the Provincial Assembly as a Conservative. Martin easily won election, becoming one of four Conservative MPAs elected from the township. In 1998, he won reelection comfortably, as the third on the Conservative list for Marnoît Township. During his time in the Provincial Assembly, he was known for his strong stance against human trafficking, authoring several successful bills aimed at enforcing anti-trafficking laws and mandating harsher penalties for those convicted on sex trafficking charges. He became an annual delegate to the Conservative National Committee beginning in 1999, a role he continued until 2015.
In 2002, while running for a third term as an MPA, he also petitioned the Meridoc Conservative party to be added to the Assembly of Commons list for the party; at the time, the Conservative party maintained quotas on the list to ensure its caucus in the Commons would contain a balance of representatives from provinces in accordance with their number of Conservative voters.
Assembly of Commons[edit | edit source]
In the Assembly of Commons, Martin was known for his service on the Public Health committee, where he sponsored legislation focusing on targeting elder abuse at senior care homes. He was a strong supporter of the fishing industry, yet also backed legislation to create marine sanctuaries in Laeralian waters. He was also an early proponent of internet expansion in rural areas. Within the Assembly of Commons, Martin had a reputation as a quiet yet diligent backbencher. In 2017, he was passed over within the Conservative caucus for a position as Deputy Whip, and in early 2018 announced he was joining the New Democratic Alliance. He became a chief spokesperson for the New Democratic caucus in the Commons for the remainder of 2018, but did not run for re-election on the New Democratic list as he announced his candidacy for the General Assembly from Meridoc, challenging the People's Party's Stephen Delorme and the Socialists' Andrieu Lefort. Martin was elected junior delegate in December 2018.
General Assembly[edit | edit source]
Within the General Assembly, Martin's office has prided itself on its constituent services, purporting to have the fastest average return time to constituent calls and emails of any delegate's office north of the Zhongshui river. Martin was at the center of coalition negotiations from the beginning, chosen as one of the main New Democratic negotiators alongside Rep. Jeremie Naudeau. Since being named prime minister, Martin has taken a lesser role in the affairs of the General Assembly.