Kovrov Stoyanovich

Kovrov Stoyanovich, born Elieser Stojanović Kovrov, was a -born Sierran politician who served as the 17th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra from 1969 until 1974, when he became the first and only prime minister in Sierran history to be. He had previously served as the 37th Minister of Defense under the Schlieffen Ministry, and as the 16th President of the University of Sierra's Board of Regents. He was the fifth out of the eight Gongrong period prime ministers to have served under King Lewis III, and was His Imperial Majesty's shortest-serving one. Stoyanovich was the first citizen to hold the office of the Prime Minister, the only prime minister known to openly have no religious affiliation (self-identified ), the longest-lived prime minister in Sierran history, and enjoyed the longest post-ministry timespan (33 years) after his impeachment.

Stoyanovich was born in, to a first-generation Slavic immigrant family, and was a graduate from. He and his family immigrated to Salsipuedes, Pacífico Norte as refugees in 1934 to escape Colombia's politically terse environment. In 1941, he enlisted into the Royal Army, and served in the as an. After Stoyanovich was wounded in battle, he was honorably discharged and awarded the Distinguished Service and White Rose medals for his service. He resumed his studies at Mulholland University, and graduated with a in. Stoyanovich taught cultural anthropology and at the University of Gold Coast, Porciúncula from 1950 to 1957, until he was appointed by the University of Sierra to serve as president of the Board of Regents. During his tenure as an educator, he served as an adviser on several military intelligence and foreign relations committee, and founded the World Link Initiative, a special program educating Sierrans and international students interested in foreign service. He also served as the University of Sierra's official liaison to the Conference of American States, and was a key figure in Sierra's decision to join and transition into the Conference of American States as a full member.

In 1963, he was nominated by Prime Minister Alfred von Schlieffen to become Minister of Defense, replacing outgoing Franklin Ramos. The Senate confirmed Stoyanovich unanimously, and he assumed office on January 3, 1963. As Minister of Defense, he rigorously supported escalation of the, and adopted a hardline approach against. He accomplished various political achievements during his tenure, which included formulating the long-term goal of achieving, updating the structure of the Royal Armed Forces, formulating the establishment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and improved the standing of the Royal Intelligence Agency with Parliament.

In 1968, he openly expressed interest in running for Prime Minister in the upcoming election, to replace Prime Minister Schlieffen, who would not seek a third term. He narrowly secured the Royalist nomination from Sen. Nathaniel Griffon (R-PL). In the general election, he ran against Democratic-Republican challenger Gov. Hugh Richardson. He defeated Richardson by a 0.7% margin, winning by 62,918 votes, the narrowest in Sierran prime ministerial electoral history. After a contentious battle over recount, Stoyanovich was confirmed the 17th Prime Minister of Sierra.

Stoyanovich successfully deescalated Anglo-American involvement in Vietnam, and ended the controversial military draft. Under his ministry, domestically, he increased funding towards education and defense, and imposed banking and air quality regulations. He also helped resolved the Salt Lake question, and forced the Deseret government to comply with anti-discrimination laws in regards to Canaanites, and oversaw the creation of the Executive Council to improve cooperation between the federal government and the provinces. On foreign policy, he backed the South Vietnamese government with over $25 billion in military and financial aid, negotiated the eventual independence of the Sierran territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (which finalized after his impeachment), and maintained continued support for the Republic of China.

Less than a year after reelection in 1973, Stoyanovich was implicated in the Blue Bridges scandal, and the Democratic-Republican-controlled House of Commons voted to impeach the prime minister. He was accused of using his position as Minister of Defense to illegally solicit and use funds from his organization, the World Link Initiative, and other sources to help fund his own campaign and the Royalist Party National Convention. He was also accused of when he attempted to cover up evidence of his complicity. After three months of a formal investigation conducted by the Senate, he was found culpable in 5 of the 11 charges made against him, and was impeached. After he was impeached, he was stripped of nearly all of his honorary achievements and titles, with the exception of his awards in military service. He was tried as a civilian under the criminal legal system, and pleaded guilty to several counts including, , , and. Under mandatory sentencing laws at the time, he was originally supposed to serve 75 years in prison, but through, he was able to serve only 11 years in prison. He was released on in 1986. He spent the years immediately after his release seeking to restore his image and to attain atonement through published books, televised interviews, and speeches.

In his later years, Stoyanovich devoted his time supporting humanitarian projects in Latin America, South Asia, and Africa, and co-founded the Foundation for Academic Empowerment, which promotes affordable, quality education in developing countries around the world. He traveled extensively as an informal spokesperson for Sierra, and presided over peace negotiations, national elections, and campaigns to improve human rights and quality-of-life. Although most of the honors Stoyanovich gained prior to his impeachment were never restored, he was named Person of the Year by the Sierran Secular and Humanist Society in 2005 for his efforts, and one of the 20 League of Nations Peace Heralds in 2006. He died in 2007 at the age of 91, and was buried at the Sawtelle National Cemetery.

In retrospect, contemporary historians have consistently ranked Stoyanovich in the upper second quartile, or lower first quartile in prime ministerial success rankings. During his prime ministry, Stoyanovich had a 56% approval rating, which plummeted to just 8% during his impeachment trial. During his imprisonment, he was named the worst prime minister in Sierran history, and failed to exceed 15% in popularity polls. After he returned into civilian life from prison, favorability of the former politician steadily rose, until his death, when 77% of Sierrans viewed his favorably. Reasons for the relapsed favorability were attributed to Stoyanovich's achievements during his prime ministry and prior as Minister of Defense, and as an academic leader, as well as his humanitarian-centered career in his later years. In 2017, nearly 10 years after his death, Prime Minister Daniel McComb proposed posthumously restoring Stoyanovich's political honors and titles he had held prior to impeachment.

Early life, education, marriage, and military career
Elieser Stojanović Kovrov was born June 6, 1916, in an apartment of a four-story condominium in, , , the eldest child of five children. His father was Stojan Georgiev Kovrov, a immigrant, who worked as a butcher. In Bulgaria, Stojan hailed from a family of ethnic Russians in Bulgaria from the port city of and worked as a factory worker. Stojan left his homeland during the offset of the, and traveled to Colombia as a on a cargo ship en route to San Francisco City, his original point of destination. When his ship passed the newly completed, it made a brief excursion to the port city of ,. Stojan mistakenly took the place for Sierra, and disembarked the ship. Speaking nothing but his native tongue,, and grade-level , he happened upon a guild of merchants who could speak Russian. The guild offered him work, and gave him an apartment lot in the city of Medellín. Stojan quickly learned, and met Stoyanovich's mother, Diana Sokolov, a Russian student who was studying abroad at the. The two fell in love and married, and had Stoyanovich as their first child.

Stoyanovich had two younger brothers and two younger sisters (Aleks, Nikolai, Oksana, and Nadya respectively). In school, Stoyanovich was timid and quiet, and had few friends. His thick accent and surname was the subject of much ridicule. Despite growing up with no religious background, he was sent to San Jose de Nazareth, a local Catholic parochial school, at the age of 12, who wanted him to grow up "disciplined and honorable". His experience there was negative, and he complained to his parents about the establishment's rigidity and strictness. His time here helped influence his attitudes towards religion in his adult life as an. After only 3 years at San Jose de Nazareth, he transferred to Fidel Cano Gutiérrez High School, a public school closer to Stoyanovich's home. He excelled academically and graduated there in 1934, and was accepted into the University of Antioquia, where his mother worked as a lecturer.

While Stoyanovich and his siblings were still attending school, their father became heavily involved in local politics. His father was a member of the, and worked part-time as a party recruiter and event organizer. Stoyanovich recalled nights when his father returned home bruised and battered, due to fistfights with political opponents, and rivals within the Party. After receiving several death threats from sympathizers and fellow Liberals, Stoyanovich's parents made the decision to leave Colombia, and emigrate to Sierra. Allured by the booming job market there, Stoyanovich's father sold all their property, and used the money to purchase a boat trip to the Sierran territory of Pacífico Norte in 1936.

After arriving in the city of Salsipuedes, Stoyanovich and his family surrendered themselves to immigrations and customs officials to be processed. His father formally applied themselves as political refugees, and they were subsequently granted permanent residency status. During the process, Stoyanovich, who was now an adult, was able to choose his legal name. He switched the order of his patronymic name (Stojanović) with his surname (Kovrov), and his surname with his first name (Elieser), and altered the spelling of Stojanović to Stoyanovich, legally changing his name to Kovrov Elieser Stoyanovich. Despite the objection of his parents, his name was formally approved by a notary public. When Stoyanovich delivered his inaugural address as Prime Minister in 1969, he mused:

Stoyanovich spent two years at Salsipuedes Junior College, where he pursued anthropology and language. He spent his time there learning English and French, and aspired to attend a university in mainland Sierra. After graduating the junior college, he was admitted to Mulholland University in the Gold Coast in 1938. He attended the university for free, and lived in the student village nearby.

In 1941, Stoyanovich voluntarily enlisted the Sierran Royal Army, and joined the Overseas Military Students program. He was recruited as private first class and was deployed in Hawaii.