Constantinus I

Constantinus I (Colrin Oscarleo Caepacellio Panther; born 16 Dec 1977) is the current Imperator of the Imperium of Caphiria.

Prior to his ascension to Imperator, he already wielded significant political power and influence within the Imperium. Born into the Imperial Family, the House of Panther, Colrin pursued modeling in 1998 as a teenager and had a meteoric rise to tremendous success. Colrin retired from modeling five years later in 2003 to focus on his education, having already worked with the largest fashion houses in Caphiria and having shot with over three dozen magazine and publications. The success of his modeling career helped push Colrin from the average aristocrat to a proper celebrity that the Imperium adores and relates to. He graduated from Fortuna Institute's law program summa cum laude in 2008 and was immediately involved in the political world. He was credited with helping to stabilize a Caphirian colony, Ehios, during a series of violent protests. As a result of his success, he was granted lordship over Ehios in 2010 and was able to peacefully re-assimilate the colony. Colrin also had an impressive record with local politics, proving to be an essential tool in Donato Mongelli's campaign for City Prefect, helping him to two back-to-back landslide elections. During both terms, Mongelli made Colrin the Chief of Staff of his Municipium (city government). After resigning from his Chief of Staff position in 2014 to run for office his own and lose, but by only 5%, the legendary political kingmaker Jean-Yves Touchard took an interest in Colrin. With Touchard's help, Colrin won the 2015 election for City Prefect of Galpina in Veleia.

In 2020, Touchard assisted Colrin once more by getting his name nominated and selected to join the Censorial Assembly, one of the most powerful and influential bodies within Caphiria as they are responsible for upholding public morality, protecting the Constitution and administering the official Public Census every lustrum. At age 37, Colrin held the highly distinguished title of Quinticeps Censoria (Fifth Censor) and became the youngest person in modern history to join the Censorial Assembly. As a member of the Censorial Assembly, Colrin was known to be vocal on "helping shape Caphiria to be a leader for the people of the future and not a leader of yesterday". He was influential on bringing about topics such as abortion, income inequality, and shaping the international perception of Caphiria.

During the last several years of Imperator Arieri IV's reign, his health had quickly deteriorated to the point where a succession plan needed to be put into place. Colrin's name had quickly risen to the top of the list of successors and several senators and Consuls had already begun using their influence to sway the public opinion in his favor. During the summer of 2023, Colrin and Imperator Arieri IV had numerous talks at length, with the Imperator inviting Colrin to stay with him at his summer residence in Escal. After the summer ended, Arieri IV was satisfied with his vetting and proclaimed Colrin to be his successor upon his death or the next lustrum, whichever occurred first. Coincidentally, Arieri IV lived long enough to abdicate the Imperatorship to Colrin on Jan 1, 2025, though he died six months later. This marked the first time that an abdication occurred in modern history. During his Ascension ceremony and coronation, he chose the regnal name Constantinus for its Latin meaning of "constant, steadfast".

As Imperator, Constantinus' foreign policy has been striking a balance between projecting a more nationalistic and assertive Caphiria while finding a way to cultivate stronger ties with its long-time ally/foe Urcea as part of a larger plan to become more friendly with Levantia in an effort to shape the international negative perception of Caphiria. His economic policy stresses privatization of public economic sectors and services. Constantinus has stated that his main economic goal is to facilitate free trade and freedom of movement, erode national protectionism and limit national subsidies and while some privatizations were welcomed, the majority of them were criticized for not being in the people's best interests.

Early Life
Colrin Oscarleo Caepacellio Panther was born in Venceia, Caphiria. His parents were Haladino and Ileana Panther of the House of Panther, a relatively new Imperial House, and has two elder brothers and a younger sister. At age four he began music lessons and under the tutelage of Vetustimusicu Dominus (Grand Musician) Detar Corbajram had shown a passion for a variety of instruments, ranging from the traditional piano, violin and flute to the more abstract cithara (guitar) and tympanum (drums).

After graduating primary school three semesters early, he used his free time to travel around the Imperium to explore. During an early stop in Carnuntum at a hotel in Celeia, Colrin met famed fashion designer Christiana Vaccarella who offered him a modeling job upon meeting him. Colrin eagerly agreed and signed a six-month contract with Vaccarella and her fashion line, Vevame Atelier.

Modeling Career
At age fifteen, Colrin already had the charisma and charm of some of the top pop singers and celebrities. The fact that he was a noble as well only elevated him further and publications gave him the moniker Princeps Lepore or the Prince of Charm. His modeling debut at Septimana Modio Caphiria (Caphiria Fashion Week) could not have gone better for the teenage noble; over a half dozen other fashion houses wanted Colrin to model for them as well, in addition to shooting over three dozen magazine and publication photoshoots. Over the duration of his initial six-month modeling stint, Colrin modeled for: Zecialla Fashion, Disere, Incordo Clothing, Ellitata Atelier, Rigun Fashion, Azal, Resevain and Adhia.

His breakthrough, though, was with Vevame Atelier for their Vevame Aize line in which Colrin was the centerpiece of. The ad campaign saw over 22 million unique visitors online as well as a fifty-foot billboard in downtown Venceia with smaller fifteen-foot billboards in other cities. Colrin's ability to draw millions of viewers as a successful model and a member of a noble family allowed him to be named in the top five Sexiest Men Alive in Caphiria as well as being included on the 500 Most Influential People list, all before he was 21 years old.

After five years of being one of the most sought-after faces in fashion, Colrin announced an early retirement so that he could focus on his education. While his retirement was a shock to those within the fashion industry, he had gained massive mainstream support and popularity as people loved the fact that this young aristocrat wasn't going to simply coast through life like the rest of the wealthy elites. Even in his post-retirement, Colrin is still active in the fashion industry as a brand ambassador (and principal investor) for Vevame Atelier, Azal and Resevain and occasionally endorses products as a spokesperson for clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, perfume and cosmetics manufacturers, hair stylists, exercise promoters, and spa and recreation companies. To date, Colrin has earned an estimated $150 million from product endorsements, product launches, brand deals, and investments since he started when he was 15 years old, not only making him one of the most successful models of all time, but also making him one of the wealthiest people under 30 in Caphiria.

Political Career
While modeling may have done wonders for Colrin and his public image as far as making him a fashion icon and public figure, his political career will have cemented his name above others in the House of Panther as one of the greatest politicians in the family, if not in modern Caphiria. From challenging foreign policies from his dorm room at the Fortuna Institute to overhauling local governments and sweeping out corruption, Colrin's positive impact on Caphirian politics cannot be overlooked or dwarfed by his modeling achievements.

After he graduated from the Fortuna Institute, Colrin immediately got involved in local politics and joined the campaign of a Donato Mongelli, a politician running for Praefecti Urborum (City Prefect) of Vesunna. Colrin was essential in Mongelli's campaign, as he had ran previously and lost in a landslide. With Colrin's help, things were different the second time around as Colrin repackaged Mongelli's campaign into something much more user-friendly and called in the assistance of his fashion industry contacts to turn Vesunna into a textile manufacturing city; Vesunna is now the number one textile manufacturing city in Caphiria, producing over 40% of the Imperium's textiles. With Mongelli as City Prefect and ever grateful for his contributions, Mongelli made Colrin the Chief of Staff of his Municipium (Township Ministry). With Colrin as Mongelli's second in command, Colrin was able to learn first hand how Caphirian politics worked, in comparison to the dozens of theory classes he took in school. Mongelli became something of a mentor to Colrin, giving him advice, wisdom and insight into the complex political process.

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Colrin during his tenure as Praefecti Urborum

The two became very close and to this day, Mongelli is one of Colrin's closest friends outside of his noble circle and has Mongelli as his personal Advisor. Colrin would see that Mongelli would remain Praefecti Urborum for an additional term before resigning as Chief of Staff to run for office on his own. Identifying with the National Advancement Party, Colrin would run against his friend Mongelli and would lose, by only 6% in the polls. His campaign was solid and the biggest issue voters had with him was that he was untested and unproven as a politician; being an assistant to one was not insurance enough for the people of Vesunna.

Despite not winning the election, Colrin's spirits did not dwindle; in fact, they increased. Weeks before his birthday, he traveled to Valentia in the province of Eryx for a meeting with famed politician Jean-Yves Touchard. Touchard offered to mentor Colrin and help shape him into a brilliant politician, enjoying his fervor and desire to truly want to make Caphiria better for the people, not just himself. They spent the weeks leading up to his birthday perfecting his campaign, prepping speeches and crafting his persona. And so, during his twenty-third birthday, moments before his cake was cut, he announced he was running for Praefecti Urborum of Valentia, the fashion capital of Caphiria. His announcement was met with universal praise and within a month had national coverage and hundreds of thousands of supporters and donations.

With Touchard guiding the ambitious young nobleman, he would dominate the polls and win by a landslide. Colrin Panther entered the history books for the first time as a politician, as the youngest elected Praefecti Urborum in Valentia and the second youngest in Caphiria, only seven months older than the first. As Praefecti Urborum la Valentia, Colrin quickly and effectively ended the political corruption in the city, enacting city memorials and parks in addition to working heavily with the fashion and modeling industries to create international events that would ultimately push Valentia into the spotlight as Sarpedon's foremost fashion haven, with Valentian designers and fashion shows leading the way for the years fashion trends. Colrin was a brilliant orater and was able to get right to the pertinent details of a situation, disecting it meticulously and analyzing it objectively; the antithesis of what Caphiraian politicians were at the time.

Economic policy
As Imperator, Constantinus' economic policy stresses privatization of public economic sectors or services, the deregulation of private corporations, sharp increase of government debt and reduction of spending on public works. Constantinus himself has dubbed his economic ideology "neoteric-capitalism", to which both supports and detractors have commonly refered to it as Neotericism. Economists in favor of the policy have said "it is a political philosophy which seeks to liberate the processes of capital accumulation" and detractors of the policy have called it "capitalism with the gloves off". Many economists have likened the policy to neoliberalism, but others have pointed out a key differential: Neotericism views the market as the greatest information processor superior to any human being. It is hence considered as the arbiter of truth. Neotericism is distinct from liberalism insofar as it does not advocate laissez-faire economic policy but instead is highly constructivist and advocates a strong state to bring about market-like reforms in every aspect of society.

Constantinus has stated that his main economic goal is to facilitate free trade and freedom of movement, erode national protectionism and limit national subsidies and while some privatizations were welcomed, the majority of them were criticized for not being in the people's best interests. Along with an increased labor market flexibility, the result of this plan so far has been an unemployment rate of 8.3% and 15% of people living under the poverty line.

Foreign Policy
The foreign policy of Caphiria under Imperator Constantinus is characterized by a hard-line on security issues as well as foreign affairs, projecting a more nationalistic and assertive Caphiria on the global stage. Constantinus understands that the global perspective of Caphiria has shifted considerably to the negative side, between human rights accusations and fear of the resurgence of the once hyper-military state that Caphiria was during the Great War, and has taken steps to attempt to change what and how the world reacts to the Imperium.

Constantinus has cultivated stronger ties with its long-time ally/foe Urcea as part of a larger plan to become more friendly with Levantia in general. Most recently, Constantinus and Michael Witte reached an agreement in August 2034 to settle a centuries-long dispute over territorial boundaries on Ecinis. This agreement effectively ended the Occidental Cold War, a conflict itself almost a century old. Interestingly, as Urceo-Caphirian relations reach a modern high, the relationship between Caphiria and Burgundie have slowly begun to unravel and there is fear among the global community that a second cold war might erupt. Constantinus sees Burgundie as a direct threat to Caphirian interests, primarily in the Burgundiane dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, its innovations in nuclear energy, and its growing global cultural influence. Constantinus has taken steps to try and keep Burgundie off of the global power table by taking advantage of his close relationship to Quicksilver Industries CEO Alexandus Venio II and assisting in the acquisition of one of Burgundie's largest naval architecture and standardized container shipping firm, O’Shea Container Shipping as well as most of its assets and sister companies in 2007. This allowed Quicksilver Industries to expand its operations into Levantia easily as well as force a pragmatic way to ease tensions. Constantinus has also indirectly spoken out critically on Burgundie's influence on maritime trade and its influence in Punth, a critical component to another part of Constantinus' policy plan.

Personal Life
Known for his outgoing personality and his background as a successful model paired with the weight that his family name carries, Colrin has become a celebrity in his own right. He is frequently partying with other celebrities and noble families, throwing lavish events to further cement the Panther name in Caphirian politics; he has also invested heavily in the technology and energy industries, both domestically and internationally.