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President of Silkland from 2010 to 2021 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oleksandr Mikhailovich Skakun (born 25 October 1966) is a Silklandy politician and lawyer who served as the twenty-third president of Silkland from 2010 to 2021.
Oleksandr Skakun | |
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23rd President of Silkland | |
In office 12 November 2010 – 1 January 2021 | |
Preceded by | Owen Shaker |
Succeeded by | Mauro al-Wahid |
Personal details | |
Born | President of Silkland (1966-10-25) 25 October 1966 (age 57) Ramo, Ormond, Silkland |
Died | President of Silkland |
Resting place | President of Silkland |
Political party | Labor |
Spouse | |
Children | 3 |
Parent |
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Education | Ensign University (LLB) |
Occupation |
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Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Skakun grew up in Ramo, the capital city of Ormond in eastern Silkland. Prior to his political career, he obtained a degree in law from Ensign University. After working for ten years as an attorney, Skakun was urged by his friends and family to consider running for public office, given his passion for public service. He successfully ran for Senate in 2000 and quickly built up a reputation in the Silkland Chamber as a fierce advocate for the working class, teachers, the LGBT community, and people with disabilities.
In 2006 he was nearly unanimously selected by his Chamber colleagues as the Leader of the Labor Party, with Skakun himself being the only Labor senator to vote for somebody else. As the leader of the Majority party, Skakun assumed the role of Chair of the Senate, making him the fourth most powerful person in Silkland. After the 2010 Silklandy general election crisis and subsequent Miðlandy invasion of Silkland that led to the deaths of then-President Owen Shaker and then-Vice President Emma Wong, Skakun became the 23rd president of Silkland as the designated survivor in the presidential line of succession on 12 November 2010, also making him the first Jewish president of Silkland. He chose his close friend and confidant Liberal-Democrat Party senator Laura Fletcher to be his vice president.
After the start of the invasion, Skakun declared martial law across Silkland and a general mobilisation of the armed forces. His leadership during the crisis won him widespread international praise, and he has been described as a national hero.[1][2] After the conclusion of the war at the Dublin Summit on 23 July 2011, Skakun shifted his administration's focus to rebuilding and healing the country. Skakun successfully ran for election in 2015 against Nihæmur Party candidate Mauro al-Wahid, Liberal-Democrat candidate Stephen Blonsky, and Riśkal Party candidate Kjartan Einarssón, winning 61.36 percent of the national vote, the second-widest margin of victory for a presidential candidate in the country's electoral history; Helen Lynch's 1995 victory, in which she won 62.15 percent of the vote ranks first. al-Wahid revealed in 2021 that when he called to congratulate him on his victory, Skakun told him, "Thank you, my friend. And in five years, I'll be the one congratulating you."
Skakun's second term was seen as a significant period of prosperity for Silkland up until the COVID-19 pandemic. Skakun's handling of the pandemic once again found him receiving acclaim from the international community. An independent study in 2022 estimated that Skakun's COVID policies likely saved millions of lives. During the 2020 Silklandy elections, Skakun controversially broke with his party and chose to endorse Nihæmur Party candidate Mauro al-Wahid for president instead of Labor Party candidate Hildur Þórsdóttir, citing al-Wahid's background as an epidemiologist being more important than party politics. Thanks in part to his endorsement, al-Wahid was elected as the 24th President of Silkland.
Since leaving office Skakun has kept a low political profile, preferring to stay out of the spotlight so he can focus on humanitarian endeavors. In 2022 Skakun published his memoirs, A Brighter Sky, which became an international bestseller. Skakun was named the Time Person of the Year for 2011 and 2020, and he was awarded the Harrier Cross in 2021, the highest award bestowed by the Silklandy government. Historians have consistently ranked him as one of Silkland's greatest presidents, with some considering him one of history's greatest world leaders.[3][4][5][6]