abstract
| - Prior to his election to Parliament in 3263, Guillaume d'Estaing was an economist. After Carl Prinzhorn announced his intention to stand down as leader of the Liberal Party of Rutania, d'Estaing immediately became a frontrunner for the position. Elected leader on the fifth ballot, d'Estaing quickly received the overwhelming support of his caucus. Despite his election to the leadership, d'Estaing did not become Prime Minister. After Prinzhorn's election to the presidency, he named Marius Villadsen to serve as Prime Minister. With Villadsen as Prime Minister, d'Estaing had to sit on the front benches of the government without any ability to govern. In 3267, Prinzhorn was reelected President and the Liberals won the most parliamentary seats. Most had predicted that d'Estaing would become Prime Minister following the elections. Instead he announced that Deputy Leader Wendy Miyagi would challenge Prinzhorn for the presidential nomination. Miyagi defeated Prinzhorn and d'Estaing finally had the power he needed to effectively rule the party. In 3271, Miyagi was elected President but the Liberals lost their plurality in Parliament. Soon after the election, d'Estaing realized that he would never become Prime Minister. Having realized that if he took office his caucus would likely lack organization and structure, d'Estaing opted to remain the parliamentary and national leader of the party and not hold a ministry. In 3275, Miyagi was defeated in her bid to be reelected. The party also lost over a quarter of it's parliamentary caucus. Following the 3275 elections, d'Estaing was pressured to resign but ultimately announced that he would step down before the 3279 elections. In 3278, he resigned as leader and as an MP. He served in Parliament for 15 years and for 14 of those years he served as leader. d'Estaing died in 3280 at the age of 76 and was given a state funeral, a rare honor for someone who never served as President or Prime Minister.
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