Commonwealth Council

Commonwealth Council
Organization Profile
TypeAdvisory body
Parent OrganizationLyran Commonwealth

Nominally an advisory body to the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Council also serves as an intermediary in the Lyran government as well as a collection of the Commonwealth's most powerful figures.

History[edit]

The Commonwealth Council owes its existence to the tenuous position held by Katherine Steiner after the death of her husband, Archon Alistair Marsden. She faced a number of challengers to her position, most notably her late husband's uncle Timothy. The Dukes of Tamar and Skye came to Katherine with a proposition: give them a greater role in the Commonwealth government than they had had under the Marsdens, and they would back her as the legitimate Archon. Katherine accepted and, shortly thereafter, formed the Commonwealth Council, giving both of them permanent seats.[1]

In the centuries since, the Commonwealth Council (or Alliance Council during the time of the Lyran Alliance) has become the middleman of the Commonwealth's upper rungs of power, reviewing and critiquing every bill that comes out of the Estates General. The group also represents a tremendous concentration of power, and wise Archons have learned to convene the body whenever they want to make sure a new goal they have set has broad support.[2]

The power wielded by the body has waxed and waned, sometimes serving as a rubber stamp for the Archon while, at others, it has controlled the entire Lyran state. Though the Commonwealth Council has the power to submit bills of its own directly to the Archon and Estates General, they have typically left the writing of laws to these other bodies and limited themselves to reviewing what was in front of them.[1] Prior to the reign of Michael Steiner II, the council could only convene when the Archon was present. The council successfully convinced the Archon that both he and the council would be more productive if the council was not so closely tied to him, and since then, the Chancellor of the People has had the power to lead the body when the Archon is not present.[3]

Composition[edit]

Membership in the body is a mixture of regional leaders and key government functionaries. In 3025, the Duke of Tamar and the Duke of Skye represented the interests of the Commonwealth's other component states, while the General of the Armies spoke for the army. The Chancellors of the five branches of the Lyran government − Finance, Internal Policy, Foreign Policy, the Lyran Intelligence Corps and the Estates General − also held seats. In 2812, Archon Richard Steiner tried to pack the council with his relatives, which resulted in the imposition of a ban on more than one member of the Steiner dynasty holding a seat on the council. This rule was expanded to all families in 2821, when House Reynolds attempted to place two of their number as Chancellor of Finance and Chancellor of the People.[3]

During the era of the Federated Commonwealth, the policy was revised to allow two Steiners to sit on the council, as removing either Nondi or Ryan Steiner from their positions was seen as unacceptable. The council expanded after the Lyran Alliance's secession from the FedCom. In light of Katherine Steiner-Davion reorganizing the provincial borders, the council now had five provincial leaders with seats. As the Tamar Pact was all but totally gone following the Clan Invasion, the Duke of Tamar was no longer on the council, replaced by planetary leaders of the four provinces into which the Archon had divided the Protectorate of Donegal: Alarion, Bolan, Coventry and Donegal. [4]

Members[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), pp. 86
  2. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 93
  3. 3.0 3.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), pp. 86-87
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 93-94
  5. 5.0 5.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 47: "The Jihad in Review"
  6. Field Manual: 3145, p. 271 - Lyran Commonwealth map
  7. 7.0 7.1 Empire Alone, p. 78: Map of the Free Worlds League and surrounding systems
  8. 8.0 8.1 IlClan, p. 112: "Prize or Punishment?"
  9. Field Manual: 3085, p. 167

Bibliography[edit]