Raul "Proxmire" Santorini was the Federal Congressman and Governor of Tau Ceti from 3022 to 3098. Nicknamed "Proxmire" after an obscure historical reference, he was one of the few local Federal politicians who managed to achieve international fame and influence.[1]
Biography[]
Raul Santorini was elevated to political office through his corporate connections, but he secured his popularity among his constituents with his first act: wresting a significant tax rebate for Tau Ceti from Federal Congress. From then on he fostered a broader reputation as a fiscal conservative by pushing for long-term budget cuts for the Federal Navy and tightening funding for several departments of Tau Ceti's government. Notably, he was singlehandedly responsible for stymying the Federation's plans to terraform and colonise the Cemiess system in 3031 and 3055, resulting in the Empire moving to colonise the system in 3080 practically unopposed. He also blocked Federal attempts to interfere with the Imperial colonisation of Exioce. While Santorini was praised for helping to keep the Federation's budget under control through these actions, he garnered an equal measure of criticism for taking stances that benefitted the Empire and hindered Federal expansion.[2]
Santorini was assassinated in 3098, and his killer was never identified. Imperial media publicly mourned Santorini as a "rare, effective Federal official", and insinuated that the Federation was responsible for his death.[2] Federal media responded by accusing the Empire of killing the governor, citing several anti-Imperial quotes in his speeches that could have made him a target; unusally, this drew a personal rebuttal from Emperor Atticus Obellan Duval.[3] Tensions between the superpowers reached a boiling point in 3101, when the first Imperial colonists landed on the planet Emerald in Cemiess under the cover of an Imperial battle fleet and commemorated Santorini at the colony's ground-breaking ceremony. Seeing the landing as a provocation, the Federation sent its own fleet to the system under Admiral O'Brien, instigating a conflict that lasted three decades before concluding in an Imperial victory.[2]
In the 3140s, Federal President Varian Scott ended Santorini's military budget restrictions and embarked on a project to expand and modernise the Federal Navy.[2]