Arnaud Laframboise

Arnaud Laframboise was the President of the unrecognised Republic of Túsenland. Along with Jochum Houtzagers, he was a commanding figure in the Vilzland Civil War.

Selection as President
As tensions began to spill and the air of war came to be, French delegates began the process of choosing the first President of the Republic to lead them into the battle. At this point, Laframboise was an MP from Epienne, but had made his voice known. For years beforehand, he was a vocal republican, and the decision for the King not to fire Houtzagers had made his voice much more popular.

When the Republic was founded, Laframboise was an easy decision. He was a committed socialist democrat and a staunch republican, as well as having an air for violence. Laframboise took on the position with enthusiasm and discipline, and stated he would be committed to its future and survival. Laframboise was sworn in by a Congress.

Style of Leadership
Throughout the Civil War, Laframboise made it clear that he did not need a Congress to govern, governing more like a Premier than a President. When Congress was convened, it was to discuss things that would occur after a success in the Civil War, which Laframboise called his War for Independence. Such ideas included an electoral political system, with a two-stage voting system for Presidential elections and a PR vote for the makeup of Congress.

On other topics, such as policy in relation to the Civil War, Laframboise did little to consult his Congress, and made declarations from the balcony of the government building. These declarations were issued as Presidential decrees, and included anywhere from military policy to economic policy. On the occasion, defecting Congressmen described Laframboise as 'the socialist monarch', for he ruled more like an Emperor than he did a President.

Economic Collapse
Laframboise's economic policies ramped up the country's economy from 1882 to 1883, but his economic policies proved damaging for the final year of the republic's existence. Redistributed wealth caused anger amongst the aristocracy of the area, and military defections became common. With Laframboise's policies becoming more and more unpopular, Congress began to lose faith in him.

The final blow came from the defection of Silvain Vaugrenard, who relayed Laframboise's battle plans to the Houtzagers government. The ensuing invasion of Epienne left Laframboise in a difficult position, and he declared a national emergency. The Congress left him out in the dust, and Vaugrenard came knocking on his door. Laframboise was arrested and detained and brought before the Prime Minister in Ljochstad.

Prisoner of War
Laframboise was detained for a total of two months, before Prime Minister Houtzagers declared that he would be sentenced to death. During this detainment, he began writing a book, 'Túsenland: The Battle for Independence', which was unfinished at the time of his sentencing. Guards described Laframboise as 'sombre and cold' throughout his imprisonment, and he often refused to eat as a result of this depression.

He was frequently sent letters from Túsenland loyalists, wishing him well and justice, but he always refused to respond. These letters were often burned in a fireplace in his cell.

Execution
In November 1884, Laframboise was brought before the Prime Minister in a court in Ljochstad. There, the Prime Minister declared that the decision had been made for Laframboise to die a villain on grounds of 'treason to the crown', a decision that was accepted by King Robrecht I. Laframboise was offered to speak on his sentencing, but only shouted "Free Túsenland!" before he was reportedly dragged away by guards.

The next day, prison guards brought him to the courtyard, and he was shot by a firing squad. The government accepted the calls from his family to bury his body in Epienne. A plaque was erected at his birth place, and his gravestone sits in the cemetery down the road from it.

Left Wing Populism
Laframboise has often been cited as a left wing populist, given his strong socialist agenda. He is economically left wing and socially libertarian, advocating for equal rights and civil liberties. He was however cited as a French nationalist and in some cases a Hobbesian-Machiavellian style leader, given his monarchic style of rule rather than Presidential. Modern historians satirically described Laframboise as the 'Model Soviet Premier', as well as the 'Vozhd of the South'.

Political Party
Laframboise intended for there to be Congressional and Presidential elections after the independence of Túsenland. In 1883, he announced the establishment of the Túsenland Jacobin Party, however they never came officially to fruition as the state collapsed a year later. The TJP, according to a mock manifesto made after the announcement, advocated for social-democracy and modelled itself partially on the French Revolution. Political scientists linked the mock manifesto to the Communist Manifesto, and some political jokes were made that Laframboise was simply the 'French Marx' given how similar the manifestos actually were.