Ignatius Calderon
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History
Ignatius Calderon (b.????, d.????) was Protector durring one of the greatest threats to the liberty of the Taurian Concordat, one that came not from the Inner Sphere or pirates, but from within its own citizenry. Ignatius became Protector in 2842 and ruled until 2884. It was early in his tenure that crime and persistant criminality began to overwhelm the local planetary governments. One of the political parties of this time was the 'Loyal Opposition'. These men and women began espousing a radical position to combat the dishonest/shady buisnesses and criminal gangs; lie detector tests for anyone stopped by the Concordat Constabulary, the presumption of guilt until court costs could be paid and censorship of the media if it interferred with the government. These severe and stifling restictions would seem anathma to the freedom-loving Taurian citizens, if it were not for the truly awful pervaliance of scofflaws and violence. [1]
The Loyal Opposition gained a broad following for effective action 'cleaning up the streets', but extremism leads to more extremism and there is always an equal reaction to any action. The liberal movement/factions began to denouce the curtailing of liberties and harsh sentances for relatively minor crimes. As the 2850's rolled around these liberal groups began to violently protest Loyal Opposition candidates and even going so far as to burn/bomb their offices. This opposition to the Opposition lead an ever spiraling demand for more restrictions and even proposed modification of Richard Calderon's original constitution. Matters came to a head in 2860 when the Constitutional Crisis provoked some of the worst riots since the Reunification War.
But through it all Ignatius kept his unflapable calm. Shortly before the vote on the Constitution he gave one of the most powerful and influencial speeches in modern Concordat history. In it, Ignatius called his people to remember their origins and their ancestors who fought and died to gauranty the freedoms his people now imperiled. He never mentioned the Inner Sphere directly, but he made it clear that without the Constitution, the Taurian Concordat would be as bad off as the Capellan Confederation or Federated Suns. Ignatius's calm declarations moved the citizenry, and they voted down the alteration of the constitution. For the next 24 years Ignatius worked tirelessly to stamp out the crime and corruption infesting his nation, and he succeeded. Never again durring his reign did matters ever arise to trouble the fundimental liberties of the Concordat. Ignatius fought no great military battles nor discovered some fantastic resource/invention, but he is remembered as one of the truly great Protectors of the Realm. [2]
Notes
There are no refences to Ignatius in the HB:MPS; there are no specifics as to who his parents were, how many children (if any) he had, nor who he succeeded as Protector. It might be assumed the end of his reign as Protector was caused by his death because of his vast popularity, but again there are no cannon references to his demise I was able to find.
Succession