Vincentius I, Emperor of Klatenia [WIP]

Vincentius I of Klatenia

---

Vincentius I (Vincentius Perdana Adinegoro; born 1 February 1981) is Emperor of Klatenia, Prince-Elector of Bukit Hijau, and was the Grand Regent of Klatenia from 2014 to 2023. He is the son of the former Elector of Bukit Hijau, Antonius I, and Electress Lucia. In 2013, Vincentius married the Hungarian Italian linguist, teacher, and old friend Catherine Ferencz, with whom he has two children, Konstantin (heir apparent) and Maria. As Emperor, Vincentius is the head of state and government and the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Klatenian Armed Forces, holding the highest military rank of three of its branches.

Upon his father's abdication, Vincentius ascended as Elector of Bukit Hijau on 18 April 2012. Although Vincentius was effectively the supreme sovereign of Klatenia upon his election and confirmation following the death of Emperor Gandhi I in 2014, he was not formally proclaimed Emperor of Klatenia until 3 May 2023 due to a possibility of a legitimacy crisis at the time. His reign has been marked by relative stability, with the Klatenia's successes in unifying the Malayan Archipelago, ending the Years of Living Dangerously, and the beginning of the Pax Klatenia era. According to the results of the general poll conducted in 2022, Vincentius has a high approval rating and immense public support for his accession to the imperial throne.

Early life and family

---

Vincentius was born on 1 February 1981 in a small local birthing clinic in North Denpasar District, a part of the larger City of Denpasar, then part of the Bali province of Indonesia. He began in humble origins; Vincentius was the only child of Antonius I and Lucia, Javanese-ethnic transmigrants who had emigrated to Bali two years prior. He was baptized at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Denpasar with the full name Vincentius Perdana Adinegoro. He later suffered from tuberculosis at the age of three and had a relatively late development in motoric and speaking skills. Born into a devout Catholic family, Vincentius was put into a Catholic school in his early years. However, due to social frictions, he was later moved to a private school, where he was able to adapt to various people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as his ability to pick up English at a relatively young age. An avid reader, Antonius influenced a similar habit in his young son, which significantly helped him catch up to the skills of his peers.

Upon the beginning of the Indonesian Civil War in 1988, his father, Antonius I, was drafted to Central Java, leaving Vincentius and his mother, Lucia, in Bali. Upon finishing his elementary education, Vincentius and his mother followed his father to Yogyakarta, where Antonius had been posted years prior, and continued his education at the Jesuit-managed De Britto College. There, he was introduced to the majority of his fellow future Klatenian compatriots, such as Eusebius of Trimulyo, Aloysius of Budsman, Amadeus of Kayen, as well as his teacher, mentor, and later emperor, Gandhi Prastowo. An English teacher, Gandhi was astonished by his speech and negotiating capabilities and became one of his proteges. Vincentius was also introduced to Nova Utomo, his social studies teacher and a lecturer candidate at the time, who admired Vincentius' fondness for history and socio-political studies and became his loyal tutor and later advisor during Vincentius' rise to power.

Rise and career

---

Formation period
As the war continued, Vincentius and his colleagues were drafted upon entering their legal years in 1996. They continued their study at the Indonesian Military Academy in Magelang for six months and immediately entered service. During his short year in the war, he was posted as an AMX-13 tank gunner partaking in defense of Yogyakarta as part of the Operation Mahkota following the declaration of secession of the Yogyakarta Sultanate on behalf of the Republicans. During this engagement, he was awarded the Satyalancana Gerakan Operasi Militer X, which was given to all active military personnel partaking in Operation Mahkota, and the Satyalancana Penegak II for active service in defense of national ideology against subversive elements. Following the assassination of President Malik in 1997 and the capture of Jakarta by the Islamic government, Vincentius joined his father in rallying the military remnants and locals in mustering for the defense of the northern Sleman area. Assisting his father during the early formation of the Bukit Hijau settlement, he became an adept negotiator and organizer. He, along with his compatriots, would help to form the progenitor of the eight founding settlements of Klatenia.

As the settlements began to flourish, a need for extensive defense arose. Vincentius was among the negotiators that took part in the agreement between the eight settlements and the Komhandamara on 16 July 2004. Following the formation of the Joint Cooperative Army (Pasgagoro), Vincentius was assigned to lead the offensive to the Depok district with the 2nd Cavalry Battalion as part of the Southern Expansion. With universities concentrated within the district, the capture of the area provides for the reprovision of high-level education for the settlements in negotiation for the reopening of these institutions.

Post-formation career
In the years following the proclamation of the Klatenian Federation in 2006, Vincentius enrolled in the University of Gadjah Mada to study political science with a focus on international relations, where he obtained a bachelor of arts degree in 2009. His enrollment years also allowed him to enroll at the University of Leeds for a year, where he also helped in the Klatenian diplomatic mission to Britain for international recognition and support. His opportunity to set foot on European soil also fascinated the young Vincentius with the splendor and sophistication of European culture and his heightened religious zeal for Catholicism. During this period, Vincentius was introduced to Catherine Ferencz, a student from Hungary undergoing her degree in the Italian language. Although they became close friends, their romantic relationship began upon Vincentius' master's study at the Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary, in 2010. The two grew closer upon Catherine's appointment as the mission's diplomatic translator during his assignment in Italy and Hungary.

Upon Vincentius' return to Klatenia in 2011, he managed the European diplomatic sector at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Concurrent with an internal discussion surrounding the coming proclamation of Gandhi Prastowo's accession and the preparation for the imperial government underway, Antonius I prepared for his abdication and retirement as leader of Bukit Hijau in favor of Vincentius. And so, as Gandhi I officially ascended as Emperor of Klatenia on 18 April 2012, Vincentius was proclaimed Elector of Bukit Hijau and was made Duke of Ngaglik as part of its subsidiary title. Following the formation of the first imperial government, Vincentius was appointed the new Realm Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Early imperial period
While the early years of the imperial period were marked mainly by Gandhi's ambition to unify the lost lands of Indonesia, Vincentius spent most of this period abroad, approaching various countries in brokering trade deals and aid negotiations. In 2013, Vincentius married Catherine Ferencz. As per Javanese custom, the marriage procession was conducted at the bride's hometown of Budapest before a reception ceremony was conducted at the groom's hometown of Yogyanagaran. Following the union, Emperor Gandhi bestowed Catherine's father, Gyula Ferencz, the peerage title Count Ferencz as a gift.

An Indonesian restorationist, Vincentius helped establish Klatenia's image as the sole heir of the old country. Focusing his foreign policies on reunifying the archipelago, he immensely contributed to forging close relations with surrounding successor states of Indonesia and their eventual unification applications. Such policies came in bear fruit, as shown by the signing of the Denpasar Accord in 2013 and the peaceful annexation of his home island Bali and the Nusa Tenggara islands. He also became one of the key advisors in Emperor Gandhi's final publishment of the Sumpah Nusantara declaration and the chief architect behind the adoption of the Mataram monarchical traditions in the Klatenian title and peerage system as well as imperial symbolization. Remaining an active military commander, Vincentius was also responsible for the Klatenian campaign in Sumatra. However, during the Bukittinggi Offensive of March 2013, he was wounded in action after having most of his left elbow crushed by artillery shrapnel, permanently paralyzing most of his left hand. He was subsequently awarded the Satyalencana Bhakti (wound medal) but had to be removed from field duty and the frontline altogether.

As Emperor Gandhi grew older and remained childless and widowed, the question of succession became a growing concern to the new empire. The Electorate Council was summoned on 2 June 2013 to discuss the empire's future, with all seven prince-electors participating in the meeting. Proven by his contributions to the expansion and maintenance of the realm as well as his promising capabilities in leadership, it was said that Gandhi I made a personal proposal for the appointment of Vincentius as his successor, which was received positively by the other six electors. Nevertheless, a formal proclamation was never made, and by the time of Emperor Gandhi's premature death on 27 June 2014 at 02.52, a legitimacy crisis was seen as a probable issue. To circumvent the possibility, an emergency cabinet meeting was held at 03.40 to discuss the Great Instrument proposal and an immediate solution. By 08.20, the Great Instrument was presented to the Imperial Diet, and a formal proclamation of the accession of Vincentius I as Grand Regent was made before the conclusion of the meeting.

---

Template by The Free Republic of Ponderosa
Template may be found here.