Petros Keane

Petros Keane was a Corinthian politician and military strategist who served as the 12th President of Corinth serving from 2095-2105.

His administration saw the implementation of what became known as the Keane Constitution, which greatly reformed the government of Corinth established under the Kirke Constitution. He also saw the Corinthian economy move from a wartime command economy to a freer, competitive market economy. He also helped found the Development Party of Corinth. While by no means an expert in statecraft, his ability to delegate and his ability to find the right people made him one of the most effective Presidents in Corinthian history.

Early life
Petros Keane was born in New Corinth on Fortress Bay. He was born to the Keane family, a noted military family. His father, Paul Keane, was a general who had served in the South Desert and had been appointed to the Council of Generals by President Samuel Baudoin. Petros was born while his father was serving as Commander of Fortress Bay. His father was loyal to Baudoin during the Corinthian Civil War and after the war was allowed to retire with honor from his post. Despite their loyalty to the Baudoins, the Keane's had the upmost respect for Amadeus Kirke and John Witt Asher and Paul Keane was eventually elected as a Member of Parliament for New Corinth under Kirke and Asher's Alliance Party.

Military service
Keane was educated at Fortress Bay, becoming an officer in 2055 when he was first deployed to the South Desert. However, he was moved to Angel Lake in 2056. He was given his own command by 2065 and was promoted to General by 2066. His commanding officer, Thomas Amber Ross, placed him in charge of the Northern Command and, against all odds, Keane led the Wylie campaign in 2071, an assault directly at Wylie, the capital of Wylie State which had never faced a military attack. During this time, Keane became friends and allies with two young officers Ram Tyler and Oleander Mars. While his invasion was repelled by General Ricker Callum before he could properly take over the city, he was celebrated throughout Corinth as a hero.

The government had recently moved to the Civic Party and President Zebulon Jove decided to move Keane to the South Desert command in order to prevent him from becoming too politically important. Keane obeyed orders and commanded South Desert until President Thomas Amber Ross appointed him to the Council of Generals in 2080.

In 2090, Wallace Crick, now President of Corinth, feared Keane's influence and he once again appointed him to the South Desert campaign. However, with the Invasion of Corinth in 2092, and the defense of the city by Generals Ram Tyler and John Tree, Crick quickly appointed Keane to the Supreme Command of the Erian Front. Keane led the command until 2095 when he resigned his commission to run for President of Corinth.

Political career
Keane's popularity was unrivaled and it was likely that he would defeat the unpopular Wallace Crick. Keane earned the endorsement of Thomas Amber Ross assuring his victory. He defeated Crick soundly in 2095 and became President. He quickly appointed his friend and MP for Corinth J. M. Randolph as his Senior Minister who filled the Cabinet with respected politicians from both the Alliance and Civic Parties. Those who joined the Keane government became known as members of the Development Party. The cabinet included Foreign Minister Alexander Rose, Finance Minister Reuvan Kaye, Defense Minister Oleander Mars, Agriculture Minister Lemuel Dorin, and Infrastructure Minister Isaac Laffey. Keane famously directed Randolph to appoint the first woman to a cabinet office, making Silicia MP Anna Hanson Minister of Culture. He also promoted the first woman to the rank of general, granting Army Engineer Corps commander Elizabeth Kirke the rank in 2098.

As President, Keane led peace talks with Wylie President Hendrick Erle and Rence Cormac, the Lord of Avalon. The three of them drafted the Treaty of Avalon, which established an end to the Erian War in 2100 (to make the war last a clean 500 years) and the creation of the United Front.

In the election of 2100, he ran against perennial candidate Samuel Stainer, who ran a campaign based on opposing the end of the war. In 2101, Keane appointed his greatest rival John Tree to the position of Chief Judge of the High Court of Corinth.

To a great surprise, Keane directed Randolph to make Isaac Laffey the Minister of Internal Security, a traditional stepping stone to the Presidency. This was a surprise as many in the government had expected that Keane would support his acolyte, Ram Tyler, for the Presidency. Tyler, at the time, had become Mayor of New Corinth as a sort of preparation for what he expected would be his ascension to the presidency.

A New Corinth
In 2105, Keane announced that he would be supporting Isaac Laffey as President of Corinth, to the shock of those in and out of government and with great shock to Ram Tyler. The move was made to direct the government away from General Presidents and a move to more economic development minded politicians to the Presidency rather than the unquestioned military support of past administrations. Tyler ran his campaign against Laffey and despite his popularity, Laffey triumphed in the election.

Later in Keane's presidency, he signed legislation disestablishing the nationally funded provincial universities. Many of the universities were privatized, including Islands Provincial University which became Keane University. The university invited Keane to serve as President of his namesake university. Keane accepted and traveled to the Islands Province where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 2111.

Personal life
Keane was married to Ruth Lutor in 2076. They had one son, Antoch, who was born in 2078 and died in 2098, one of the last casualties of the Erian War.