Harden Row

Current President of Havl

Assumed Office: January 1, 2021

Vice President: “Colin Fenth” (January 1, 2021-March 20, 2023), Nari Im (March 21, 2023-Present)

Political Party: Sovereign Party

Row’s election campaign aimed to paint the Harleston native as a throwback candidate with ties to popular president Sparky the Dog. With promises of increased international exposure and a populist message of national pride, Row arrived in office with a mandate to return Havl to its “glory days.”

The new administration discovered that President Cousins and her team had largely ignored the day-to-day operations of the office of the president; Row quickly got to work reviewing dusty proposals, legislation, and referenda dating back to 2017. Row made some large scale changes early in his term, such as banning zoos and increasing accessibility building requirements.

Scandal rocked the later part of Row’s term when The Daily Fishwrapper (led by journalist Ksenia Kazlow) exposed Vice President Colin Fenth’s identity; a loose team of university students from North Havl had been using video filters, paid actors, and other obfuscation techniques to create an idealized neutral politician in an effort to demonstrate the inconsequence of the role of vice president. To control the damage of having selected a fictional persona as running mate, Row invited the cabal of students behind the stunt to nominate one of their members to assume the vacated role. Chesterfield University cybersecurity student Nari Im was sworn in as vice president on March 21, 2023, becoming the youngest VP in the nation’s history (aged 18 years, 1 month, 20 days) and the first elected member of the national branch born after Havl’s founding.

Lili Danger Cousins

4th President of Havl

In Office: January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2020

Vice President: Coen Magana

Political Party: Independent Party

As a candidate, Cousins platformed on the wave of pro-business sentiment that remained popular in Havl following the 2012 election. The office of the president had been largely depleted of power by the time she took office, but Cousins aimed to use the position as a marketing and bargaining tool.

Cousins was born and raised in Pointy Pines, an affluent neighborhood in Harleston. She attended the University of Havl for three semesters and earned a bachelor's degree in business from the State School of Savard University. She became the president of her grandmother's soft drink company, Peeby Co., in 2010 and expanded its operations through branding and sponsorships. Cousins started various other side ventures through the Peeby brand. Although her income was limited by her position as president, First International Bank estimated her net worth to be Ң2.2 billion.

As president, Cousins championed the Independent Party's relaxed domestic business and trade policies. Rather than authoring her own legislation, Cousins largely focused on dismantling existing policies and officially repealed Adams's SOCIALISMA legislation in 2018. Cousins drew criticism for remaining in control of Peeby Co. during her presidency, appearing in a number of advertisements for Peeby and her other business ventures while in office. Her oft-quoted tagline, "I am the president and I approve of this product" became a meme and the subject of parody.

Although polls indicated she could win re-election, Cousins returned to the business sphere after her single term, continuing to utilize her political notoriety for personal gain.

Tresa Jane Adams

3rd President of Havl

In Office: January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2016

Vice President: Sabra Deery

Political Party: Public Party

After campaigning on a platform of direct democracy, Adams led a wave of increased public involvement in federal policy to create new programs and incentives for Havl's underserved communities. Although her policies decreased the power of the office of the president, Adams continually argued for the importance of national referenda.

Born in Capital City, Adams graduated from the University of Havl and Savard Law School, where she was editor of the Savard Law Review. Adams was an activist in Capital City after earning her law degree, and she served a term representing Capital City in the senate from 2004 to 2008. In the 2008 presidential election, she defeated former Vice President and National Party nominee Howard Mahoyhoy and was inaugurated as president on January 1, 2009.

As president, Adams signed several high-profile acts, including the Havl Public Works Act of 2009 and the Internal Revenue Review Act of 2010. Adams enacted the controversial Selective Occupation of Certified Industrial Acts Limiting International Methods and Sanctions Act (SOCIALISMA) of 2010, which limited national manufacturing to firms which had been grandfathered under the formation of the Havl nation-state in December 2004. Following the Telegramania scandal, Adams deployed Havl's combined armed forces in the Invasion of the Republic of the Republic of Iowa in 2011 and ordered military sanctions against the former country.

Following the safe return of Havl's combined armed forces (e.g. Captain Steve Dublowski) in late 2011, Adams' public support rose to new heights. In early 2012, Adams repealed the limit on presidential terms put in place by her predecessor and began a re-election campaign that faced disorganized opposition. Adams won reelection in 2012, but her Public Party lost the majority in the senate to the Independent Party, whose push for less government control of business found traction among the electorate.

Following the zombie outbreak in April, 2013, Adams was treated for exposure to the virus. Although the terms of her illness were never disclosed, the president did not make any public appearances for six months. Adams never relinquished her duties as president, and she returned to the public eye following a second zombie outbreak in October of the same year.

In the years following the Public Party's unsuccessful senatorial elections in 2012, Adams relaxed her policy toward domestic business and trade. Limited by her own party's minority status in the senate, Adams stood by as once-popular elements of the SOCIALISMA program were struck down or limited beyond their original intent.

Aris State

2nd President of Havl

In Office: August 30, 2005 - December 31, 2008

Vice President: Howard Mahoyhoy

Political Party: National Party

As Vice President, State was tasked with consoling a grieving nation following his predecessor's assassination. State kept the title "Acting President" during his term as a sign of deference. A respected and acquiescent leader, State's greatest contribution to the office was the introduction of the one term limit for the presidency (which was subsequently reversed by his successor, Tresa Jane Adams).

As president, State introduced key legislation that would shape Havl for the next half decade, including the Workers' Right to End Corporate Kickbacks (WRECK), which limited industries' abilities to seek funding proposals from the federal government. In late 2007, State signed a highly unpopular finance bill that provided over $3 billion for renovations to the Davenport International Circuit racetrack. State, whose son is SuperFormula champion Aris State, Jr., came under fire with accusations of patronage and nepotism.

With his approval ratings at an all-time low, and with the 2008 election just over a year away, State quickly passed the term limit bill, which amended the Havl Constitution to limit the president to one four-year term. Ironically, the move proved very popular for the president, and State saw the highest approval ratings of his term.

Sparky the Dog

1st President of Havl

In Office: January 1, 2005 - August 30, 2005 (Assassination)

Vice President: Aris State

Political Party: National Party

Upon achieving statehood in 2005, Havl elected Sparky the Dog, a standard poodle, as its first president. Although the office was largely considered a ceremonial role at the time, the election of a dog to the young nation's highest position embroiled Havl in a contentious squabble. Less than eight months into office, Sparky was killed by a Haustreland national during the opening ceremony of the inaugural regional soccer tournament. A controversial figure in his time, Sparky is considered a national hero in Havl, and the date of his assassination is a federal holiday.