Lunette DeGinghs

The Rt. Hon. Lunette DeGinghs, LH,  CEM,  OCR,  ODN,  OD (pronounced de-gin) was the first democratically elected leader of Radilo, and the youngest elected head of government in modern history. Because of her leadership in the Radilan Independence Movement, she is considered to be the "Mother of Radilo."

Born into poverty, Lunette was able to go to law school thanks to the patronage of Jas Lyon Moët-Hennessy. Lunette had met Jas Lyon while working in his vineyards in Cognac. After finishing her degree, she and Jas Lyon went to Montelimar to petition King Louis IX of Montelimar to grant Radilo independence. After several years of protracted debate, Radilo was given independence. Many credit this to the arguments made by Lunette before the Royal Court.

After independence, she was the elected prime minister in 1873, at the age of 25. DeGinghs and her allies in parliament would, over the next ten years, rapidly reform Radilo, building up infrastructure and pouring money into education and social welfare. During this period the economy thrived and Radilan society was harmonious; it has been called the Golden Decade. This ended, however, when economic difficulties caused many whites to begin to feel that they were paying all of the costs for DeGinghs' lofty social programs and not receiving the benefits. Some whites began to protest the government and civil unrest began to creep into the political scene.

To combat this, DeGinghs and her political allies forced a constitutional crisis, to avoid a collapse of the government; it backfired. See the Valmy Affair. Lunette was voted out of office in 1886 by an election that was largely deemed undemocratic by international standards. She would see many of her reforms be repealed by the Apartheid Regime that came to power after her ouster.

While never returning to politics Lunette would remain a vocal advocate for the poor and unrepresented. She died in 1926 of a heart attack. She is considered by historians, and the general populace, to be the greatest leader in Radilo's history. She is entombed at Le-Place-des-Champions.

Early life
Lunette DeGinghs was born on or about February 24, 1848, in Les Tenerdiellers (les tens) the slums of Nouveau Port. Most of her early childhood is unknown; she was living on her own as early as she could remember, and the only record of her birth was her baptism certificate. Until the age of 9 she was a beggar in les tens. She was able to find a job as a factory worker for Perondi, which is where she met Rénee DeGinhs, whom she would eventually marry.

After having their first child, Cossette born in 1864, Lunette and Rénee moved to Cognac to find better work. Both were able to get jobs at the Hennessy Vineyards. While in Cognac, Lunette made friends with Antoinette Moët Hennessy, the daughter of Jas Lyon Moët Hennessy. Jas Lyon, impressed by Lunette's intelligence paid for her to attend the University of Cognac, where she would receive a jurist doctorate.

Participation in the Independence Movement
In her youth Lunette was a member of a small group of pro-independence factory workers. This, however, was little more than a drinking club. When she was in college she was elected president of her school’s students for independence group. Through Jas Lyon, she was introduced to the leaders of the Radilan Independence Movement. She, along with Jas Lyon, eventually became the group’s defacto leaders. Lunette would join with Jas Lyon when he went to Valmy to formally petition King Louis IX for Radilo’s independence.

While in Valmy, Lunette laid out the legal, social, political, and economic arguments for Radilo’s independence to the Monteliman Royal Court. The resulting debate lasted for over three years, in which time Lunette drafted, and the court approved, Radilo’s constitution.

Prime minister
DeGinghs’ tenure as Prime Minister has been called The Golden Decade. During this time the Radilan economy nearly doubled. The elaborate social welfare system that was set up would act as a model for future developed economies. Radilan society was also more stable; the long standing racial tensions that had plagued the country seemed to dissipate. Her tenure ended, however, in chaos.

Political affiliations
When the Dominion was first founded, Lunette led a parliamentary group that consisted of members of the Radilan Independence Movement. This group quickly broke up into ideological factions, as its only unifying issue was independence. The faction that Lunette took the lead of was the Radical Socialist Party. It became the main party of the “left,” along with its allies the Radical Party (which would later merge with the Radical Socialist party to form the modern Radical and Radical Socialist Party) and the Socialist Party. This coalition, or bloc, would be in power during the Golden Decade. The main opposition came from the “right bloc” the Progressive Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.

Policies
During her administration Lunette DeGinghs had very loft policy objectives, and, thanks to her strong support in Parliament, she was able to get the bulk of her agenda passed.

Social policy
DeGinghs’ administration’s main social objective was to secure political rights and social equality for all citizens. This included the codifying of equal rights for Nethians (blacks), women, and the poor. Legislation was passed baring discrimination based on the aforementioned grounds. To help achieve social and economic equality, all schools and universities were made public and tuition free. And to insure the rights of mothers, legislation was passed to guarantee maternity leave.

Welfare policy
Having grown up in extreme poverty, DeGinghs strongly sympathized with the poor and destitute. As a result many of her administration’s objectives were to help the poor. The main part of this welfare policy was the establishment of an extensive welfare state. Unemployment insurance, food stamps, universal healthcare, housing aid, and a national pension fund were all introduced during her tenure. These reforms lifted many out of poverty, and prevented many more from entering it.

These welfare programs were very successful. When she entered office over 50% of all Radilans lived in poverty, and when she left only 20% were.

Economic policy
When DeGinghs took office Radilo was already in the process of moving from an agrarian colony to an independent industrialized nation. While Radilo was still a Monteliman colony industry had been developing in the capital of Nouveau Port, but it had not spread far beyond it. Lunette's administration focused on expanding this industrial base. This was done primordially by investing in an extensive system of rail-lines and highways to connect the whole country. Having worked in a factory herself, DeGinghs was also keenly aware of the hardships faced by industrial workers. To this end, under her policy guidance, laws were passed to protect the workers' right to form unions, create a 40 hour work week, and establish a minimum wage.

In order to fund the massive expansion in public welfare and these expansive infrastructure projects, taxes were raised significantly. A progressive income tax system was introduced, with the tax rate for the highest bracket at over 55%, the highest in Himyar at that time.

Military policy
As per an agreement with King Louis IX of Montelimar and the Monteliman Royal Court, Radilo was to maintain a strong military relationship with Montelimar and to aid in the defence of its mother country if such was necessary. To fulfill this obligation, Radio had a large army and navy relative to its size.

Enlistment in this military, however, largely consisted of white Radilans. And despite DeGings' administration's attempts to encourage more blacks to join, the military remained a mostly white institution.

Cultural depictions
Like many patriotic characters, Lunette DeGinghs is a favorite topic for Radilan artists. She has been depicted in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, theatrical plays, movies, television, and even cartoons.