Zunea

Zunea
National Flag
National Anthem Republic Anthem: All Reign Zunea
Capital City	Kelowna
Official Language(s)	English, Old Zunean
Established	02/19/2006 (6,634 days old)
Government Type	Republic
Alliance	The Order of the Black Rose
Nation Team	Black
Statistics as of 08/19/2007
Total population	134,791
Literacy Rate	100.00%
Religion	Christianity
Currency	Pound
Infrastructure	7,099.03
Technology	2,102.21
Nation Strength	77,870.748
Nation Rank	59 of 5,242 (1.13%)
Native Resources	, and
Connected Resources	, , , , , , , , , and

Introduction

The Republic of Zunea is a very large and older nation being one of the fifty oldest nations in all the cyberverse. Its largest city is Livingston in the western region of the nation. The current leader of Zunea is The Most Honorable Silas Albertson (picture at right), the sitting Prime Minister. The Republic of Zunea is a long standing member of the international community. It is a former leading nation of The Legion alliance and now is a member of the Order of the Black Rose. Upon joining the Order at the rank of Squire in early 2007, the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Republic, placed the nation under the permanent authority of Her Majesty Queen AterAtra., founder of the OBR.

The Republic of Zunea has officially fought in four wars, but has only provided military support in two, aiding financially in the others. Despite this, the Republic maintains a large and well-trained military complete with the Republic Air Guard, Republic Army, cruise missiles, and a full compliment of 20 nuclear ICBMs.

The Republic is a close ally of the nation of Bann. Zunea has so often supplied Bann with military and humanitarian aid that a statue of The Most Honorable Albertson stands in the square of Bann’s capital city.

Zunean History

Early Zunea & Founding

As early as the thirteenth century there are recordings of groups of people coming together in small areas of what would become the Zunean countryside. Most of them had migrated there from areas of present day SocCarolina, Madison, and other points unknown. The residents of the countryside had remained unorganized until the late 1200’s.

The first recorded date of formal organization was 1322 when representatives from each surrounding community meet in the village of Cooperstown to form the Governing Council. The major function of the Council was to guide growth, development of the communities as well as trade. The Governing Council remained as the guiding force in the area for nearly one-hundred and fifty years.

In 1472 the Governing Council was no longer able to meet the needs of the communities they served because of much growth and development. The Governing Council was then dissolved and communities and their surrounding areas were left to care of their own.

By 1490 it was seen by many that talks needed begin of establishing a formal nation for the general welfare and protection of the citizenry.

Zunean Government

Republic Ministry

The Republic Ministry is the executive branch of Zunea. It is headed by the Prime Minister who is popularly elected from the Republic Assembly. The number two position in the Ministry is the First Minister which is also popularly elected by members of the Assembly.

The current Prime Minister of Zunea is The Most Honorable Silas Albertson (F – Dearborn). The person serving in the position of Prime Minister is always given the title “The Most Honorable”. Albertson has was first elected to the position in 2000.

The Honorable A. Robert Wilson (F - Lacon) serves as the republic’s First Minister. “The Honorable” is the title bestowed upon each that serves as First Minister. Wilson has served as First Minister since 2004.

The third leg of the Republic Ministry is the cabinet. Appointed by the Prime Minister and confirmed by the Assembly, the cabinet is filled with ministers that focus on specific import areas of Zunea. The current cabinet minister are displayed below:

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Henry J. Bird II; Minister of Justice, Karen Vissering; Minister of Finance, Nicole Packard; Minister of War, Alexander Hillseng; Minister of the Interior, Jackson Thompson; Minister of Development, Erica Nethers; Minister of Trade & Commerce, Adam Rolf

Republic Assembly

The Republic Assembly is made up of Assemblymen elected popularly from areas called Areas. Each Assembly area is drawn according to citizen population with each Area containing approximately the same amount of citizens.

Assemblymen serve two year terms with half of the Assembly being elected on even numbered years and half being elected on odd number years. The Assembly is lead by the Prime Minister and the First Minister. Three political parties currently dominate the Republic Assembly: The Republics Party, The Federation Party, and The People’s Party.

The Federation Party (the majority) currently controls the Assembly by a margin of twenty seats. They came to power after a sweep in the 2000 elections. Formally the upper minority, after a new dynamic leadership team took control of the party they have been winning elections left and right. Besides control of the Assembly they also hold the majority of governorships.

The People’s Party (the upper minority) holds the second most seats. They had been in power for twenty years until the 2000 election.

The Republics Party (the lower minority) has held the lowest seats in the Assembly for more than two decades. Many wonder if they will be around after the next two election cycles.

Zunean Culture

Education

Education in Zunea has always been a top priority of the Republic Assembly. Each year the Education Committee of the Assembly put out goals for each grade level and then leaves the duty of fulfilling the goals to the local education areas. After an education area has failed to meet the goals set for three straight years, the area is suspended, reorganized, and placed under control of the province for five years.

Education levels in Zunea general are grouped into sections. Starting School (SS-A, SS-B, SS-C, SS-D) which generally has children ages 4, 5, 6, and 7. Beginning School (BS-A, BS-B, BS-C, BS-D) generally has children ages 8, 9, 10, and 11. Next is Middle School (MS-A, MS-B, MS-C, MS-D) with students aged 12, 13, 14, and 15. Finally the Zunea education system has Finishing School (FS-A, FS-B, FS-C, FS-D) where students are generally ages 16, 17, 18, and 19.

There are sixteen Republic Universities in Zunea, one in each province and one in the Capitol. They are overseen by the Republic University System which was established by the Republic Assembly in 1810. Each province also has their public universities. The general university track is four years although five is becoming more common.

Schools from Starting School up to the University level are mostly funding through republic and province sales tax which is place on every item sold in stores in the republic. A portion of tariffs paid on imported goods also goes into school funding. Since this system of school funding was started in 1975 budget issues have been far and few between. Previously schools were funding through taxes on land.

Ethnicity

At last republic census which is conducted every 10 years the breakdown was 80% Caucasian, 15% Asian, and 5% mixed through several ethnic backgrounds. Despite being a hub for trade and commerce, the majority of the republic has continued to be Caucasian for centuries. The large Asian influence began in 1750 when a major war in the neighboring country of Solim sent its citizens fleeing for safety. That nation was primarily Asian in ethnicity.

Religions

The vast majority of the people pf Zunea are Roman Catholic and recognize Pope Pius XIII of the CN Catholic Church. Other religions can be found in Zunea, but they are mostly in the minority. The faith of the country seemed to be waning for sometime, however after the election of Silas Albertson as Prime Minister, the republic’s faith seems to be returning. The Prime Minister is a devout Roman Catholic, which is often reflected in speeches as well as policy.

Zunean Economy

Natural ups and downs occur in every national economy. Zunea however has been able to maintain a steady average to powerful economy even during times of war. Currently the economy is booming in Zunea, the markets are going up with companies and investors making record profits. This is coupled with a boom in housing and the general growth of the republic citizen base. The Republic Assembly has recently passed the Small Business Growth and Loan Act which allows for people wishing to start a new small business to apply for a low interest loan with the Finance Ministry. The Act has so far been a welcome step in the development of new small businesses across the republic.

Natural Resources

Both Gold and Lumber are abundant throughout the country. Every province has unusually large deposits of gold and as such it the processing of it has become a leading industry. Zunea is also known for its rich forests, which has brought about the lumber industry. After decades of removing trees without replacing them, the country now has strict logging standards and tree replacement programs.

Workforce

The workforce of Zunea has shown to be powerful in both the white and blue collar sectors. During times of war, although a republic draft has never been called, the working people of Zunea sign up for military service in great numbers. Despite this sudden lack of workers, the economy does not suffer because of the united national effort to step up and keep a strong economy.