Fritz von Buchholtz
Baron Fritz von Buchholtz, UrN (Frederic A. Buchholtz, b. November 9, 1946, d. January 28, 2020), is a former citizen of Talossa and former Seneschal. He has also served in the Senate and as a justice of the Uppermost Court.
Life Before Citizenship
A prominent figure in the history of Talossa, von Buchholtz ran Napoleon's wargaming store in Shorewood, in the early days of the nation and was familiar with Talossa, as its founder and early citizens were among his regular customers. According to Ben Madison, it was at Napoleon's that he and Ian von Metairia first met Weston Erni, and later Geoffrey Toumayan, Tom Buffone and Jack Schneider in 1984.
Napoleon's opened on September 15th 1979 in the present-day Von Buchholtz Parish, a few months before Talossa's independence, and closed in April 2005. Due to increasing rent, the store moved to Shorewood in 1982. On its closing, it was remarked that Napoleon's was the largest and oldest wargaming shop in Wisconsin.
Fritz did not himself become Talossan, though, until the exodus of 2004 caused then-King Robert I to ask Fritz to bring his many personal connections in the community to bear in the job of Immigration Minister.
Immigration Minister and the Crisis of 2005
Von Buchholtz became a Talossan citizen on 7 December 2004, founding the Conservative Loyalist Party which became the main opposition to the King's own Black Hand party. As the ranks of the CLP grew, becoming a threat to the MN's control of government, the King accused von Buchholtz of artificially inflating the citizenship and voter rolls, an accusation he resented and denied. This dispute grew, widening the divide between the King and von Buchholtz, and soon the King began a series of personal attacks.
All of this was reminiscent to Talossans of the behaviour of the King that had eventually resulted in the renunciation of many prominent Talossans in 2004 to form the Talossan Republic. Vowing to fight the King's abuses of power and limit his control of Talossa to proper constitutional monarchical limits, von Buchholtz and the CLP stood up to Robert I, eventually causing the King to abdicate and renounce his citizenship on 16 August 2005.
Seneschal
When Robert I abdicated and renounced, he was the incumbent Secretary of State. Because an election was Organically mandated to begin soon, a new Secretary of State would need to be appointed by the Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister, Marcus Cantalour had also renounced his citizenship in sympathy with the King. This left Distain Xhorxh Asmour responsible for the running of the government. After some difficulty, Asmour was finally reached at his Portugal residence and instructed to name a Secretary of State, but he failed to do so by the deadline set by the Court. Accordingly, the Court, acting as a Council of Regency for the minor King Louis, appointed von Buchholtz as Prime Minister, to serve through the elections.
Von Buchholtz named a Secretary of State, and the CLP received a majority in the ensuing election, which returned von Buchholtz to office as Prime Minister. As Prime Minister during the 35th Cosa, von Buchholtz presided over a nation holding fast to the Organic Law and struggling to retain its identity after the departure of the King.
The ex-patriate Robert I still hoped to return to Talossa by engineering the downfall of the CLP. Robert worked through agents still holding citizenship (notably Weston Erni) in an attempt to invalidate the election after the fact by nullifying the citizenships of sixteen citizens as being fraudulent (in accord with Robert's pre-abdication accusations). In the landmark case, Erni v. Talossa the Uppermost Court ruled against Erni, finding the accusations of fraud to be baseless. In response, Robert I declared Talossa to be "dead" (though he would later claim to have revived it as a separate Kingdom from that he had left).
Its mandate secured, von Buchholtz's government actively defended the nation as it worked to perfect its constitutional monarchy, passing numerous amendments to Organic Law to reform and limit the nature of the powers of the monarch.
Von Buchholtz was hospitalised for approximately a month, for treatment of complications from a chronic condition during his service as Seneschal, but served energetically otherwise.
He chose not to stand for reappointment as Seneschal, so when the CLP took a majority in the election of the 36th Cosa, von Buchholtz handed the reins of government to his hand-picked successor, Samuhel Tecladeir.
Following his service as Seneschal, von Buchholtz was knighted into the Order for the Nation.
Later Career
Von Buchholtz was instrumental in the abdication of King Louis, in that he telephoned the young King's mother to determine whether she approved of his position in the Kingdom. She (step-daughter of Robert I) did not, and as a result, the Ziu, acting as ward of the King, abdicated the throne on his behalf to honour his mother's wishes for him.
Von Buchholtz preferred that an Old Growth candidate for King could be found, but he himself declined being nominated for the throne, as did other residents of the Greater Talossan Area and long-time citizens. Although he stated many times that his choice for the throne would be Baron Hooligan, von Buchholtz backed the effort of others in the CLP and other parties (such as the DOTT) to leave the throne in the hands of the Council of Regency rather than elect a King with few ties to the geographical Kingdom. This view was not the majority view of the CLP membership, however, who began to defect to the RUMP during Prime Minister Tecladeir's term of office.
In response, von Buchholtz chose to announce the dissolution of the CLP, saying that it had done its duty for Talossa and, having righted the ship, would allow the ship to sail on sturdily as passengers rather than pilots. This surprise announcement left the RUMP the only player in politics, and that party was delivered a majority in the elections to the 37th Cosa.
For his ardent work to defend Talossa against tyranny, and his Washingtonesque relinquisuhing of power, von Buchholtz was first among those of his party inducted into the Order of the Cincinnatus. Later, he was created a baron by King John. As a great fan of the gyros sold at what is now known as Oakland Gyros, at the southwest corner of Oakland and Locust, he chose its city block as his barony.
Following his service as Seneschal, von Buchholtz sat until 2012 as a Puisne Justice on Talossa's Uppermost Court. In 2012, the Senate voted von Buchholtz the Senatorial Medal of Honour, the highest honour of the Talossan legislature.
Personal Life
A proud citizen of Maritiimi-Maxhestic province, and a resident of Thiensville, Wisconsin in the United States, the baron owned and operated Mr. Fritz's bar, which served as the Talossan consulate to the USA in Fredonia, Wisconsin, north of the Kingdom.
Von Buchholtz has three sons, Jason, Franz and Zachary, of which the latter two held Talossan citizenship, and two daughters. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 28, 2020.
Offices
| Preceded by Marcus Cantaloûr |
Seneschal 20 August 2005/XXVI - 15 July 2006/XXVII |
Succeeded by Samuhel Tecladeir |
| Preceded by Sir Trotxâ Betiñéir |
Senator for Vuode 40th Cosa (Clark 3) - Dissolution of 40th Cosa |
Succeeded by Viteu Marcianüs |
| Preceded by Ian von Metairia |
Senator for Atatürk 37th Cosa (Clark 5) - Dissolution of the 37th Cosa |
Succeeded by Bradley Holmes |
| Preceded by Danihel Laurieir |
Senator for Maritiimi-Maxhestic 35th Cosa (Clark 2) - Dissolution of the 36th Cosa |
Succeeded by Alexandreu Davinescu |
| Member of the Assembly of Maritiimi-Maxhestic | 3rd |