Jerome Smithson

Jerome Luke Smithson is a British-born UNSC politician and was the 59th Secretary-General of the UEG from 2562 to 2565, and leader of the Liberal Party from 2558 to 2565. As Secretary-General, he enacted far-reaching reforms in healthcare and living standards, as well as increasing the rate of the UNSC's post-GW1 rebuilding, which dramtically improved living standards. However, among his actions was a massive military budget cut, diverting the funds to recolonisation and reconstruction efforts, despite ONI's dire warnings of potential threats emerging among the Covenant remnant factions. Initially, this was a popular and indeed neccessary move - the loss of Reach and devastation of Earth left the UNSC in a precarious position, on the verge of economic collapse and heavily dependent on the few remaining colonies for its survival. Over time, however, Smithson's policies would become increasing far-left, questioned even by members of his own party, to the detriment of humanity's attempt at restoring itself - he significantly expanded oversight of surviving colonial territories, an extremely unpopular move by any standards, one that echoed the discontent of the much earlier Insurrectionists against the Colonial Authority, and also expanded government control over assets that had traditionally been the purview of the private sector. The extensive economic oversight and regulation he put in place would leave the UNSC economically stunted. The reduction of the UNSCDF's military capabilities, leaving it stretched across Human frontier space, also left Humanity particularly vulnerable, no matter how much confidence officials expressed at the adherence to treaties signed, and would prove nearly fatal when the Second Great War broke out in 2565. Smithson's government collapsed and he resigned from the Liberal Party in disgrace, and is now living quietly with his family in Canada.

Behind the Scenes

 * Smithson's name and ideology are heavily inspired by a schoolfriend the author knows and has often found himself opposed to. Smithson is also a composite of numerous politicians whom the author does not like, among the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.