Steven Hong

Steven Hong (born Yila Steven Hong, : 홍일아; September 19, 1967) is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra. Born in, Gold Coast, Hong studied at  and received a  in 1994. From 1996 to 2000, Hong represented the Gold Coast's 12th Senate District as state senator. He was elected as Governor of the Gold Coast in 2004 and tackled on policies ranging from transportation to public services. He ran for Prime Minister in the 2007-08 prime ministerial election on a Democratic-Republican platform and received 56.2% of the popular vote.

As Prime Minister, he successfully steered Sierra out of the 2008 economic crisis, introduced reforms to education and healthcare, cracked down on domestic terrorist organizations, and continued support for military intervention in the Middle East. In foreign policy, Hong has continued to foster strong ties with the United States and other members of the TPAC- coalition. He has been a leading figuring in and has taken a cautious, limited military approach in the  in response to the  and the domestic Army of God. In 2014, Hong made the decision to severe diplomatic ties with Mexico in response to the Baja California crisis and the state's invasion of Central America.

Early life
Hong was born on September 19, 1967, at the in, Gold Coast. Both of his parents met and married in Korea in the 1950s. In 1961, the Hongs immigrated to Sierra in 1961 in response to the political turmoil their homeland experienced. His father, Hong Eun-Sik opened a convenience store in the city of while Hong's mother, Yuk Myeong-Sun, ran a  near her husband's convenience store. Hong was the eldest of the two; his brother Alan born in 1971.

From kindergarten to high school, Hong and his brother attended schools in the local district. Because Hong's parents knew little English, Hong learned English at school through an program hosted by the district. Hong noted how "difficult" it was growing up as a young child living with first-generation parents who did had little English comprehension. He made friends with other Korean Sierran children at school and church where he learned Sierran customs and improved his English.

In high school, Hong excelled in his academics and graduated his class as the. In addition, he participated actively in extracurricular activities including becoming treasurer of the, an officer in several other clubs, and a player in the tennis team. In 1985, Hong was accepted to and attended its. In 1989, Hong graduated with an.

Military service
While studying for his master's degree in business, Hong enlisted into the Santa Clara National Guard in the spring of 1986. He began active training the fall that year. After two-and-a-half years of service, Hong was assigned to the 126th Human Resources Company at Camp Sheraton in San Jose in 1988. After briefly serving as the assistant tactician to the company officer, Hong was reassigned to the 177th Brigade Support Battalion. After graduating from Stanford, Hong continued active service while searching for a job. In 1991, Hong was promoted to of the battalion and was distinguished among his company for his dedication and leadership skills.

Early political career
Hong first developed an interest in politics while attending Stanford. There, Hong became an officer of the local campus chapter of the Collegiate Progressives of Sierra. After graduating, Hong co-founded the Bay Area Progress Foundation, a advocacy group dedicated to  and assisting the local economically disadvantaged in 1992. That same year, Hong assisted in the management and organization of Melinda Peters' successful prime ministerial campaign. Peters won with 52% of the votes and was re-elected again in 1996.

Gold Coast Senate
Moving back to his home province in 1995, the Gold Coast, Hong expressed his interest in running in the upcoming 1996 election for the Gold Coast 12th Senatorial District (covering the cities of, , , and ). He ran in the Democratic-Republican primary and defeated opponents Adrian Lamar and Carl Parker whom he labeled as "career politicians". Securing his party's nomination, Hong faced off Royalist incumbent Brian Atkins. Challenging Atkins' history of serving corporate interests and capitalizing on one of Atkins' secretaries' scandal, Hong defeated Atkins with 59% of the vote.

Sworn in on October 16, 1996, Hong was assigned to the Senate Committees on Health and Human Services; Education; Labor and Industrial Relations; and Public Employment and Retirement. The first bill he proposed was subsidizing local construction companies to match up with the growing demand for infrastructure development. The bill received support from his party and the Royalists and was enacted into law the following year. In addition, he introduced a bill that would limit the size of public classrooms to 35 students, a proposal that was ultimately adopted in 1998. He sponsored and supported various bills that promoted economic growth, welfare reform, and tax relief for lower-income families.

Governor of the Gold Coast
His charisma, leadership, and successful tenure in the state senate garnered attention and impressed Gold Coast Democratic-Republicans. As early as 1997, there were talks within the party to select Hong as the party's nominee for the upcoming 2000 gubernatorial election. In 1998, Hong commissioned a research committee to investigate and explore the possibility of governorship.

In January 1999, Hong declared his intention to run in the Gold Coast gubernatorial election as a candidate. He defeated Los Angeles mayor Martin Santiago in the Democratic-Republican primary. Facing against Royalist nominee Robert Alvarez, Hong built his platform around promoting economic growth, championing education, and assisting the working and middle classes. Alvarez in turn attacked Hong labeling him as "inexperienced" and "naive" citing the fact that Hong, who was only 33 at the time, served only one term in the state senate whereas Alvarez had served as the mayor of Los Angeles for 12 years. In what was considered a close race, Hong narrowly won by 11,393 votes ahead of Alvarez.

On October 16, 2000, Hong was sworn in as governor of the Gold Coast and became the first Korean Sierran to hold such a position in the province. Entering the office with a Democratic-Republican-dominated legislature, he nonetheless filled his cabinet with individuals based on managerial capabilities as opposed to partisan ideologies.

In his first term, he faced a legislature divided between a Democratic-dominated Senate and Royalist assembly. He led a bipartisan campaign for government accountability and was dedicated toward increasing spending towards education and transportation. In 2002, he and mayors from across the province supported a bill in the Senate that would increase spending for homeless services. Hong outlined the "Ending Homelessness Pledge" which was focused on improving homeless shelters, providing more employment opportunities for the unemployed, and special attention towards the young and disabled.

Opposed to the death penalty, Hong supported and signed a 2003 bill that abolished the use of capital punishment in the Gold Coast justice system. Considering a "victory", he advocated sweeping prison reform focused on, especially for juvenile offenders, and addressing the Gold Coast's "chronic" rates.

In 2004, Hong ran again for a second term and won the Democratic-Republican primary, defeating Mike Oshburn, a former Gold Coast Attorney General. In the general election, he ran against Royalist challenger Beatrice Gates and Libertarian Louis Garthaus, and won with 43.5% of the provincial vote.