Saber

Saber is a Dogger politician and leader the Liberal Party and leader of the official opposition in the the National Assembly of Doggerland. He formerly served as Prime Minister, Minister of Justice as well as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and held numerous shadow ministerial posts. He previously served as the Mayor of Leestrom between 2008 to 2020. He was the second Liberal Prime Minister after Triangle.

Early life
Saber was born in 1964 in Port Nandels, Brun-Nord to a Korean-English agnostic liberal family. His ancestry dates back to protestant Spanish immigrants in 1500 hence his surname, however, he is only referred to by his first name Saber. He also has part Dutch ancestry. His Korean heritage begins in 1901 when in order to flee Japanese colonialism in Korea his ancestors fled across Asia to Europe and eventually settled in Doggerland.

His family had a strong tradition of working in agriculture with his father briefly working in agriculture in the family cabbage farm. However, his father moved to Port Nandels in the 1930s to become an author, it was there his father met his mother who was working in the civil service. This led to Saber frequently visiting the family farm and gained moderate knowledge of agricultural affairs.

Saber showed early proficiency in debate and politics. He graduated high school in 1982 and attended the University of Carabou obtaining an undergraduate in law graduating in 1985.

Early career
Prosecutorial career

Saber first worked as a prosecutor between 1985 and 1992 when he later chose to become a human rights lawyer. His tenure was noted for being incredibly efficient in closing cases. In 1989, Saber and his team was responsible for taking down a splinter group of the Doggerland Mob alongside federal police, and succeeded in obtaining the maximum possible sentences. His efforts were focused on prosecuting and taking down smaller branches of the mob. When journalists asked him what his task officially was he said "we tidy up the surroundings so the main group can focus on the big guys".

In 1991, he was assigned to assist in investigating the murder of 3 persons in Dråbenfjord and successfully caught the suspect with local police. When asked as to why he was assigned to such a remote case he explained that it was because he fell out of favour of senior officials after being a consistent voice for prosecutorial reform. He also explained that the experience of investigating was his most hellish experience as he was only able to sleep 4 hours a day to go over evidence and profiles, but his success in catching the suspect made it worth it. The trial itself would also go in Saber's favour winning a conviction.

Human rights lawyer

After Saber became a lawyer he worked across not just Doggerland but Europe to help fight for social justice and defend those who couldn't afford counsel. He focused mainly on defending the disenfranchised but at times joined counsel for several businesses which he said was necessary to bolster his finances. A famous case was when he successfully acquitted a police officer who used his firearm to disable a suspect to protect his partner, and another case when he won a sexual harassment conviction for a client who was a victim. He later advocated for labour rights and advocated for anti-corruption measures.

Early political career

In 2001, he once again retired from his profession to pursue a career in politics by first working in various councils and government institutions. He also frequently joined in protests for workers' rights and rallies to fight against legal injustices.

In 2002, he worked primarily in Leestrom. He was invited in 2004 by the central government to help run a panel for legal reforms across the country. He first decided not to join any political party but was closely affiliated with the Liberal Party due to his personal ideologies. His first experience in being elected was when he became a member of the Leestrom city council in 2006 during a by-election, however, he was still an independent although he would caucus with the Liberal Party. His victory in the by-election was considered a major upset as he was a relative newcomer to the city compared to his opponent, however, his oratory skills and reputation made him win by a narrow margin.

First term
Saber retired from his seat in 2008 to run for mayor of Leestrom in the 2008 Leestrom mayoral election, and after being endorsed by the Liberal Party and several independents he won by a narrow 51.41% in the runoff. The election was tense and controversial as Thomas Lloyd the incumbent was popular and was seen as more native to the city, but Saber still ran an expert campaign of portraying himself as a more competent figure and outperformed Lloyd in debates. He also noticeably utilised populist tactics rallying voters to turn against a left-wing mayoral administration.

His tenure as mayor was marked with initial popularity as he improved and increased access to public transport and made the welfare programme more comprehensive for the elderly and youth. Another signature policy was the construction of public housing to curb rising real estate prices. This project was credited with avoiding a potential real estate crisis averting unaffordable prices. Leestrom's debt was also eliminated after major changes to the city's fiscal planning was made. Soon after, in 2011 he undertook a massive redevelopment project across each areas of the city.

One of his greatest projects in his first term was the "Leestrom City Sharing Project" which involved the expanding of Leestrom's infrastructure and technological knowledge to develop other areas. This involved helping invest in agricultural technology in surrounding farms to boost the inflow of agricultural products into Leestrom. Saber subsequently developed close relations with other agrarian groups in the region. He also helped in the creation of agricultural cooperatives across Zuibete.

Second term
In 2012 he ran again and won with an increased majority of 55.11%, however, the Liberals in the city council lost their majority which marked decreased cooperation and productivity. He still remained popular implementing a youth dividend where budget surpluses would be used as dividends for students aged 18 to 22 between 2012-2014. Leestrom Cultural District was also established in 2015 creating a shopping street, department stores, coffeehouses, and restaurants. The district was designated a no-smoking zone in early 2016, and remains a consistently high source of revenue for the city and a tourist attraction for the country's people. This project was credited with being a major boost in Leestrom's tourism. His second term also saw him working closely with local trade unions, working together to draft workplace safety guidelines and negotiating regulations on both businesses and unions.

His most major project, however, was considered the entire restructuring of the public transport system in Leestrom. He created the local Leestrom Transportation Board and oversaw the replacement of old buses with new ones and retrofitting the local trams. He also initiated the partial privatisation of public transport in the city and modelled the city's public transportation after Singapore only maintaining privatisation if efficiency was proven. During this restructuring disability discrimination was also eliminated with every means public transport being required to have disability access. Following on from this his administration ensured every crosswalk and path was made disability friendly in a massive programme to retrofit the city.

He also presided over the first pride parade in 9 years in Leestrom (Leestrom is LGBT-friendly but due to its smaller size rarely held pride parades). Saber declared the city an LGBT-friendly city and said that no matter an individual's orientation they would be welcome.

Third term
In 2016, he was reelected with 56.12% for his last term with the Liberal Party regaining the majority in the city. His last term saw him establishing Leestrom City Hospital and reducing the rate of poverty. His final policies involved funding projects to make the buses in Leestrom fully electric or hybrid. Congestion pricing was also introduced after public transport in the city was given a A- rating. He garnered controversy when he frequently ignored the needs of both left-wing and right-wing protesters never uttering a mention of having attention towards their issues.

A controversial event was when he banned ultra-conservative christian groups from advertising on Leestrom's buses which compared homosexuality to an illness and promoted conversion therapy. The group accused Saber of infringing on freedom of speech, to which Saber simply stated "if I don't want you advertising on our buses how the heck is it infringing on freedom of speech? I don't want to receive money to spread lies".

On 19 October 2017, Saber visited Sadiq Khan in London to discuss increased partnership after taking a notably much more economically liberal stance. He also visited several cities across South Korea and Japan hoping to increase the number of sister cities.

A major boost in popularity came during his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Leestrom. His early action of implementing social distancing rules, mask mandates, and rapidly acquiring test kits led to the city having a relatively low rate of infection compared to the rest of Doggerland and Europe.

By the time he left he had an approval rating of 61%, while his highest was 65% and lowest being 43%.

Joining the Liberal Party
In 2021, Saber joined the Liberal Party after realising his position as a centrist liberal and gained an interest in national politics. He helped draft the social and justice mandates for the Liberal Party manifesto earning a 4th place spot on the party list for the 2021 January election. Saber was subsequently appointed the Shadow Chancellor of the Treasury.

February election
After again drafting the social and justice policy, and newly the Home policy, Saber was once again placed 4th on the list and reelected. He chose not to become a minister due to personal reasons.

2021 February Senate election
On 23 February, Saber announced his official candidacy for the 8th Senate district, subsequently announcing his change to becoming a candidate in the 5th district. He later moved to Abester. He lost the election by one vote to Robert La Follette.

2021 March Liberal Party Deputy Leadership election
After Triangle's death and InsertUsernameHere's resignation, Saber ran for deputy leader handily winning.

Leader of the Liberal Party
Saber assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party after InsertUsernameHere resigned, and subsequently became the official leader after winning with 7 votes against Baveland's 1.

In April 2021, Saber announced his tour across select countries in Europe and Asia to expand his knowledge of foreign policy as his new position as shadow foreign minister. This meant that although he will remain the official leader, Baveland would become the interim leader on any occasion of Saber's absence. In reality the tour was a lore reasoning when in real life Saber had IB exams so he would be more busy than usual.

Minister of Justice
After the April 2021 elections Saber was appointed the Minister of Justice after entering a broad coalition. He was tasked with bringing forth charges to Beady for his electoral misconduct.

Representative of Leestrom
After the 14 May 2021 election was declared to be used under MMP, Saber stood for the Leestrom 1st constituency. He was elected with a landslide of 58.51% of the vote due to his popularity in the city. In the June election Saber was reelected with 59.05%.

Becoming Prime Minister
After lengthy negotiations Saber was appointed Prime Minister with an investiture of 67 to 65.

Prime minister
Saber's premiership has been marked with legislative productivity but also increased hostility and partisanship within Dogger politics. Signature policies included Doggerstat, his personal creation of the DNACF, and establishing a Prime Minister's Question by means of his own bill. His government collapsed after the IDP withdrew from the government leading to a snap election in June, meaning that his government couldn't pass a budget nor pass all of the bills that were in line during his premiership. However, his tenure was marked with high approval with 63.02% approval ratings and despite heightened partisanship his efforts were still acknowledged by some members of the Assembly across the political spectrum.

Return to opposition
After the Liberal Party suffered losses and a new government was formed under Trashman he openly stated his hopes for a peaceful transition and stated he will continue his efforts in opposition. He was subsequently named the leader of the opposition after forming an opposition coalition.

Political views
Saber identifies as socially progressive and pragmatic in economic affairs while maintaining a largely liberal ideology. He supports LGBTQIA+ rights, women's rights, minority rights, and social progressivism. Saber is a supporter of centrism and rejects far-left and far-right approaches to politics. He mostly identifies as centre or centre-left, slightly left on most issues, but maintains a broad centrist approach. Saber is also a secular humanist.

In his campaign for Senate, he described his ideology as "liberalism inspired by social democracy" alluding to his past as being socialist. He personally considers himself to be on the more centrist wing of the party leaning left.

Recently his views have changed leaning more right into a conservative liberal and classical liberal direction.

Previous views
Originally while growing up and learning about other ideologies, Saber had dabbled in various beliefs. Once a strong left-wing nationalist, and briefly a communist, Saber gradually transformed his views after engaging with other centrist and right-leaning ideologies. He still harbours strong social-democratic sentiments which is the strongest cause of him tending to lean left on most issues, or at least is able to understand a left-wing perspective. Saber used to be quite socially conservative and can still be so in certain areas involving crime, but has now fully transitioned to being a progressive liberal.

Personal influences
Saber looks up to figures such as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower of the US, and Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan. He personally holds Lee Kuan Yew's influences close to his heart which made him accept that ruthless pragmatism is necessary in government on many occasions, albeit he does disagree with many of Lee's views. He also feels he has a lot to learn from other political individuals like Angela Merkel and Tony Blair, however, he doesn't look up to all of them and often simply holds simple respect or acknowledgement for their skills in politics.

Social policy
Saber is extremely socially progressive supportive of the rights of all, except religious rights due to his personal opposition to it. Strongly opposed to social conservatism he also has a strong dislike of conservatives in the US, South Korea, and Japan seeing them as "fossils". He also supports the decriminalisation of soft drugs and the sale of such drugs, with his own philosophy being "if cigarettes and alcohol can be legal why not marijuana?"

Originally on the fence regarding LGBTQIA+ rights, after learning further and engaging with members of the community his views have completely changed and remains a strong supporter of the community. He is a stalwart supporter of same-sex marriage and vehemently opposes discrimination.

Saber is also strongly pro-choice believing it is more unethical to force a woman to keep her fetus.

Saber moderately opposes communitarianism believing that if an individual does well then society as a whole does well but does believe certain checks do have to be maintained.

Economic policy
Saber is supportive of unions and the partial democratisation of the economy, however, opposes an entire transfer. A fervent believer in a social market economy akin to that of Germany and the UK. Saber is strongly opposed to both radical right-wing and left-wing policies, favouring moderate and pragmatic practices. His approach can be seen as regulating corporations while liberalising the local economy and preventing corruption to ensure fair practices. He has affection for Taiwan's model where there are a few conglomerates alongside a strong economy from small and medium-sized businesses.

In terms of wealth and taxation Saber believes that it is important to make sure that every corporation pays its workers accordingly, that they don't abuse workers, and eliminating corruption. However, he also believes that it is wrong for a government to take too much of one's wealth whether extremely rich or poor preferring at best a top tax rate of 55% for income taxes and believes that at least for small and medium-sized businesses taxation should be low. As aforementioned he is also supportive of unions deeming them a necessary balance against businesses but thinks that unions gaining too much power against large businesses wouldn't be in the economy's best interest, thinking the same for the reverse.

Saber personally supports a wealth tax but opposes its implementation with his understanding that a wealth tax would simply make the wealthy of the country to leave the country to one that has lower rates of taxation. He also supports inheritance taxation believing that inheritance doesn't count as the money earned by the recipient.

He is also in favour of implementing policy to ensures wage ratios (e.g. so if a company has higher profit then everyone regardless of whether they're CEOs or janitors receive a higher wage. Albeit he hasn't presented any legislation to implement this as of yet. Saber supports expansionary fiscal policy and long-term supply-side policies to increase economic growth and production.

Saber supports a Universal Basic Income, however, he feels that it should only be to substitute the cost of living not take it over and is in favour of the approach that seeks to undo welfare in favour of UBI believing it to be more fiscally responsible. He was well aware of the certain downsides of welfare as it puts limitations on who can receive such funds while those who receive welfare often ended up having an incentive to work.

Foreign policy and immigration
Saber is a soft Eurosceptic and believes the EU should remain in its current state not expanding its powers, but is in favour of joining the union. His views on European federalism has changed recently becoming slightly more favourable but he states that he isn't well-versed enough on the issue to make any great input.

Saber also supports a points-based system for skilled immigrants while only providing visas for manual workers with a potential path to citizenship. It is his opinion that a country can only go so far in handling and receiving immigrants. He is also an assimilationist believing that it is okay for an immigrant to hold on to certain cultural traits from their place of origin but must ultimately be largely assimilated into the society of where they immigrated to.

Saber is also in favour of joining NATO as a commitment to both allies and security. He also opposes becoming too closely affiliated with countries like Russia and China. Saber also supports the Hong Kong protests, and Taiwanese nationalism.

Monarchy
Saber is neither supportive nor opposed to the monarchy, remaining ambivalent. His personal views do favour a republic but feels that it would be a waste of time to change the nation's status.

Religion
Saber is an atheist but does his best to maintain respect for other religions, however, he maintains a strong disdain for Islam and radical Christianity. He has a strong hatred for the two due to their lack of social tolerance and what he deems a roadblock to government affairs. Despite this he does get along with those who are religious, with his own clarification being that he opposes the faith not necessarily the faithful. It is his belief that with a cabinet filled with the religious it only makes it more likely for that cabinet will be intolerant and that it will be an interference in governance.

His views are largely likened to Lee Kuan Yew believing that religion should simply be separate from politics believing that they naturally cannot mix. He believes that if the role of the government is to make people's lives better and that it shouldn't matter whether or not it contradicts an individual's faith. He has acknowledgement for certain christian values and doesn't oppose individuals choosing to become religious, but it is his fervent stance that nobody should choose to become radicalised and not oppose a government for infringing on religious values.

This dislike of faith was born from his experience of reading about religious violence and seeing its impacts in history and the modern day. After he read about the crusades and saw the radical evangelicals of the present opposing LGBT rights he became passionate in opposing religious radicalisation. Similarly with Islam he saw how women are stoned to death for being raped, how spousal rape is tolerated, and how people are executed just for being gay. He is also critical of Islamic States condemning Emmanuel Macron for permitting the Charlie Hebdo drawings believing that it isn't France and other European countries' responsibility to make them more comfortable for Muslims. Saber does oppose the ban on the hijab believing that wearing what one wishes to wear is a personal choice. Albeit he personally finds it farcical that women in western countries fight to wear the hijab while women in middle eastern countries have to wear it under the threat of force, and isn't strongly critical of countries which implement restrictions on islamist customs.

Despite his strong views he famously got along well with most of the religious groups in Leestrom, and famously had moderate knowledge of buddhist, hindu, and muslim traditions. He also had knowledge of bible verses and associated well with the christian communities. He frequently performed customs and traditions while visiting the communities.

When interviewed in 2013, Saber was asked which faith he is most partial to and he responded with Buddhism as he considers it to be more of a way of life and guidance. Saber also said he doesn't believe in an afterlife, personally thinking it's pointless to wish to live further after dying.

Neoliberalism
Saber is opposed to neoliberalism believing that it undoes too much of social security and welfare and considers a humane approach to an economy extremely important viewing over-deregulation as an inefficient way of economic management, while he also believes over-regulation to likewise be inefficient. Complementing his views he opposes austerity in most cases believing that simply cutting a budget isn't the right solution and that it causes more harm than good, but is in favour of austerity if he determines it to be appropriate. He also thinks that the philosophy that a free market solves everything is a fantasy.

Communism and fascism
Saber has sympathy for communism and socialism but has grown distasteful of the ideologies after seeing their consistent failure in implementation and personal evolution of his belief. He understands that a truly communist society would be utopian in that everyone would be able to maintain creative expression, and still hold on to their jobs but disagrees vehemently with the idea that outcome should be the same believing in equality of opportunity instead. He also acknowledges how every communist state is not a perfect representation of what a communist utopia would be, but he believes that the outcome of these countries failing to obtain a communist future to be the indication that it simply isn't possible. His personal justification is that Cuba tried but had to allow some local private business, China tried and had to open special economic zones, and the Soviet Union tried but ultimately ended up failing. Saber has a similar view of fascism seeing it as an ideology that like communism or any other extremist ideology isn't sustainable.

Socialist Reform Bill
Saber has shown staunch opposition to the Socialist Reform Bill, believing its economic and societal impacts will be extremely negative for Doggerland. Despite this, he has moderated his stance and has come to accept certain parts of the bill advocating for modification instead of abolishing it.

Family
Saber is married with 2 sons. He is an only child. He met his wife in 1990 when he was still working as a prosecutor and later married her in 1991. His wife still works as a civil servant. His eldest son runs a cafe in Nandels Port, while his youngest son works as a federal police officer.

Saber frequently visits his mother in Port Nandels, but struggled to do so during the COVID-19 Pandemic. His father had passed in 2012, to this day Saber keeps his father's influence on him close to his heart.

Residence
Saber owns three houses, one in Leestrom, Nandels Port, and Abester, originally residing in Leestrom after moving back from his Senate campaign. After he became Prime Minister, Saber moved to Nandels Port.

Language proficiency
Saber speaks British English and Korean. He is in the process of learning Dutch, however, he struggles only being able to speak in translators.

Relationship with other politicians
Saber like everyone in the server famously clashed with those of opposing views having fierce debate on frequent occasion, particularly with the Communist Party and Doggerland Left. However, like everyone else he has cordial or friendly relations with most other members outside of the political discussion.

Redevelopments and 2011 fight
In March 2011, Saber attended a local fair but got into a fight with protestors who were dissatisfied with certain redevelopment projects. His projects were credited with increasing the city's economy with the majority of the public supporting it but it required the relocation of certain residences. Most of the inhabitants of the residences received compensation and left, however, a few remained in protest of the redevelopment and it also happened to be in the most left-wing district of the city with many accusing him of having a personal agenda.

Although the accusations are unconfirmed with Saber vehemently denying it, it led to him clashing with protestors in the 2011 Leestrom City Fair which led to him getting a broken arm.

Clashes and arguments in Leestrom City Council
Saber during his tenure as mayor had no shortage of clashes with other members of the city council when being questioned even between him and members of the Liberal Party. His responses often had criticism for harsh answers and quickness to shoot down questions.

Difficult relationship with Zuidbete Assembly
Due to Saber presiding over a centrist liberal administration in contrast to the traditional left-wing administration it led to a fractious relationship with the provincial government. Cooperation was frequently severed by the provincial government which led to Saber initiating what was described as hardball techniques in dealing with the leadership. He would rarely heed to requests from the province and distanced Leestrom's economy from intra-provincial trade to increase cooperation with separate domestic and international partners.

Lack of filter
During his tenure as mayor Saber was famous for rarely having a filter when making statements, notably never having a speechwriter. He was consistently harsh towards left-wing members of the city council and criticised anti-capitalist movements in the city. A notable event was in a 2013 interview when he was asked if there were flaws in his approach to economic development and he replied with "of course but what would you have me do, go full commie and ruin this city?". He would frequently be criticised, and he would respond in a speech in 2017 by saying "anyone can accuse me of anything, but I will never be afraid to speak my mind".

Allegations of affair
In the 2016 election controversy over Saber having an affair resurfaced after an actress by the name of Annelies Lempers confirmed the rumours which surfaced in 2010. Saber categorically denied the allegations and asked for evidence with his stance being backed up by his party. Saber openly threatened to press charges for libel but backed off after his staff reportedly advised him not to in order to let the issue die down. Although most voters supported Saber, many found Lempers' interview convincing.