The Speaker of the General Council

The Speaker of the General Council is the most powerful office in Tekniania, in direct control of many of its aspects. As such, the occupant often changes, most not lasting longer than 3 or 4 years, though there is no term length, so a Speaker could, technically, rule for life. In practice, however, The only Speaker to hold office for longer than 10 years was the first one, Selai Vaitayaki.

As a courtesy, when referring to The Speaker with the definite article “The”, it is always capitalised (example: The Speaker inspected a military parade today). When referring to the Speaker with an indefinite article, it is not capitalised (example: Throughout Teknianian history, a Speaker has never been impeached).

The Speaker is the leader of the General Council, where they decide who may speak during debates, what will be debated on that day and initiates votes. Tekniania is, so far, the only country to have the speaker of parliament also be the leader of it. As such, The Speaker is (and must be) apolitical and does not vote on any legislation, only facilitates votes on it. However, The Speaker, as the head of the Special Council, can exercise great control over the Allied States, and therefore is also required to listen to all debates and decide what the best course of action for the nation would be.

For example, during the recent war with Brasilistan, it was listening to the varying opinions of the General Council that pushed The Speaker, Taimane Foai, to choose to send in black ops units instead of a full-on invasion.

As the highest office in Tekniania, The Speaker has a variety of titles. For example, the standard title (the one used in encyclopaedias and articles) is: “The Right Honourable, The Speaker of The General Council [name]”, but, when in a military situation, The Speaker is referred to as “The First Admiral”, “The First Marshal” or “The First General”, depending on the force in question.

After a General Council election, a Speaker election is held, with a 2/3ds majority required for someone to be elected. This has, quite often, led to several rounds of voting before a Speaker is chosen.
After being elected, a week of preparation ensues, after which The Speaker is confirmed in a three-day-long ceremony in the Council Gardens in Tekniania City. This ceremony includes the confirmation (during which The Speaker assumes office), many speeches, various feasts, traditional dances and rituals. This ceremony is observed across the nation, with similar celebrations on every island. The day of the confirmation is a national holiday, with everyone getting the day off.

Indeed, the celebrations and rituals during this ceremony are so grand that they shall be expanded upon in a further Factbook entry.

What every world leader needs is a grand residence, and The Speaker can certainly boast in that department. Takayawa is a small island some 30 kilometres away from Kivoli, 50 km2 in size, and the official residence of The Speaker of the General Council. Here, a large mansion can be found (with a meeting room for the Special Council), alongside a large beach, a small Council Guard base and a speedboat dock for quick transportation to Kivoli.

When referring to The Speaker, Takayawa is often used as a metonym, since most Speakers choose to spend most of their time here, only visiting Kivoli and Tekniania City for General Council meetings.

The Speaker is also the First Guardsman of the Allied and Council Guards (equivalent to Commander-in-Chief in other countries), with considerable control over what these branches do. The Speaker is also the First General of all the National Guards, though with considerably less power over what they do.

Speakers can be removed from power in three ways:
1) Impeachment by the General Council with a 2/3ds majority
2) A referendum with a simple majority
3) Impeachment by the Outer Islands Council with a 70% majority
However, a Speaker has never been impeached (even unsuccessfully), due to the simple fact that getting to the chair is hard enough and that most politicians are not easily corrupted.