Age of Expansion (2185-2240)
4. Jonathan Beckett Archer (United Earth)
1 January, 2185 - 31 December, 2192
Species: Human
Council Presidents: Cristofur Thorpe (ACC, 2181-2186), Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: Hravishran th'Zoarhi (2169-2196)
Admiral Archer had been a hero of the Romulan War and was instrumental in the founding of the Federation and reorganizing Starfleet. Although he resigned under a haze following the loss of several exploration ships, he had successfully rehabilitated his image following the publication of his autobiography and several dramatizations of his captaincy during the Romulan War. As such, going into the 2184 election, Archer's name was put forward and easily accepted by all the founding members and many of the colony worlds and additional members for the office. Their was initial reluctance to replace outgoing President Avaran, hugely popular amongst her people and throughout the Federation, but Archer had been Ambassador to Andoria and was considered a war hero amongst their people as well, being instrumental in stopping an Orion conspiracy to dismantle the Andorian government in the mid-2170s following the assassination of the Chancellor. Other candidates for the '84 election, including future President Sardix and the Ithenite Councillor Gaila Klod, dropped out in favor of Archer, leading him to be the first, and only, candidate for the presidency elected without opposition. Archer's first term was fairly uneventful. He put forward a policy to fully implement former President T'Maran's reforms (T'Maran being a political mentor to Archer), which led to the rapid expanse of the Federation to over fifty member states and a hundred colony worlds by 2186. Technological breakthroughs followed, and soon talk emerged of replacing the entirety of the aging Starfleet with new purposefully built ships. The Intrepid class and Columbia class were quickly deemed obsolete, while the Daedalus class and Kumari class were given short, 10-year extensions at the urging of General Shran. During this term, Council President Thorpe contracted a rare space disease (pyrrhoneuritis) and would be dead within four months. A then-little known Vulcan ambassador emerged as the dark horse to succeed Thorpe in an acting capacity. Sutorox is now known as the longest serving Federation Council President, with over 55 years in office under 11 Presidents. The "Age of Expansion" as this era is referred to in some texts may have been planned by T'Maran and Archer, but it was implemented and perfected by Sutorox. Some refer to this lengthy period as the Age of Sutorox. While Archer was elected with token opposition for his requisite second term, his presidency is often considered to be of little activity overall, and after retirement under the al-Rashid precedent, Archer preferred to be referred to as Admiral, and considered his eight years as President to be inconsequential in comparison to the works of Council President Sutorox.
5. Gora bim Gralless (United Planets of Tellar)
1 January, 2193 - 31 December, 2196
Species: Tellarite
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chiefs of Starff: Hravishran th'Zoarhi (2169-2196), T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
Tellar Prime had complained vehemently about their lack of representation in the Federation Council and the offices at large. As the largest civilization in pure numbers, even after the admission of large states such as Arken II and the Rigel Colonies, the Tellarites believed that they should eclipse all other states in membership. The issue of representation was a sticky one for many years, and every election (except for 2184) had a major Tellarite candidate promoting this. With the retirement of Archer, they finally brought out their greatest diplomat, Gora bim Gral, who was considered one of the founding fathers of the Federation and its preceding organization, the Coalition of Planets. However, Gral was an old man by 2192, reaching the end of Tellarite life expectancy, and his memory problems from age led to several gaffes and convoluted arguments in the months preceding the election. Three days prior to an expectant victory, Gral suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and was euthanized by his family, per Tellarite tradition. His son, also named Gora bim Gral, took his place as a candidate with the permission of the UPT government and Gral's closest advisors. The election was closer than expected, but the junior Gral's young age (he was about 50, in the prime of his life for a Tellarite), removed most of the issues regarding his father's qualifications. He won with a massive appeal towards Andoria, with promises of reconciliation for past misdeeds, and Mars, which had a growing Tellarite population. Shortly after the election, but before taking office, Gral II took the name "Gralless" for his professional career, a pun based on the English language that references the loss of his father (the worlds being "Gralless") and his insistence that he was not a replacement, but an homage. On Tellar, he is generally referred to as Gral or Gral II, as the pun does not work in the Tellaran language. The Gralless administration, featuring the first President of Tellarite persuasion, suffered from the expected arguments with his advisors, the Council President, and the Starfleet Chief of Staff. His main accomplishment was finishing the overhaul of the Starfleet, with the retirement of the Kumari and Daedalus classes during the end of his term, being replaced by the Baton Rouge and Einstein classes. He also sent Quadros probes to the farthest quadrants of the galaxy, and some into intergalactic space, expanding the star charts exponentially in the process. Reneging on promises made to Andoria, Gralless found himself completely isolated by the end of his term, politically, and his name wasn't even put forward for the 2196 election.
6. Sardix of Vulcan (Confederacy of Vulcan)
1 January, 2197 - 31 December, 2200
Species: Vulcan
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
With Gralless out, the 2196 election became the most important election, to date, in the history of the Federation. The Tellarites refused to field a candidate in place of Gralless, and candidates from the Alpha Centauri Concordium (the only remaining founding member never to have had a President at this point) failed to gain traction due to the low population of the Concordium and most treating it as an extension of United Earth. It was believed Earth may never have a candidate again, the winds shifting towards external affairs, but this would prove historically inaccurate. Earth candidates still participated, but would not gain a foothold for a couple of cycles. Instead, the election quickly pivoted to two candidates: General Hravishran th'Zoarhi, the long-term Starfleet Chief of Staff from Andoria who retired to run for the Presidency, and Councilor Sardix of Vulcan, who was kin to popular Council President Sutorox. Despite Vulcan's isolationism in this era, they continued to send representatives who, for one reason or another, often sought and obtained positions of high merit in the Federation, an historical oddity covered in many tomes. General Shran attacked Sardix for being a nepotistic appointment. Sardix attacked Shran for his overt militarism. The debates quickly devolved into racial Andorian-Vulcan infighting, prompting many to fear a future rift between the two major powers and perhaps a secession from one or the other from the still-fragile Federation. Shran ended up taking the high road, and Sardix was seen by many as arrogant, and the election ended up being paper-thin. But the results were clear: Hravishran th'Zoarhi won the 2196 election to become the 6th Federation President. Of course, we all know the story of what happened next: Shran and his entourage uncovered evidence of tampering from unknown sources (some say Orion, some say Romulan) in the election results, and Shran made the noble move of resigning before his term was to begin. He would later go to serve many decades on the Federation Council, but never as President. In the modern era, this would've led to a special election, but the law was unclear in the 2190s, and it was agreed that the election still counted, but Shran's votes were invalid. Thus, Sardix was considered the victor and installed as President on 1 January, 2197. Shran's successor as Chief of Staff had been a former colleague on the SS
Enterprise, Ambassador T'Pol, who regained her commission in 2196 to usher in the era of highly advanced starships. The triad of Sardix-Sutorox-T'Pol was the first of two times that the entire Federation government and military was commanded by members of the Confederacy of Vulcan. A triad of United Earth members occurred during al-Rashid's presidency (al-Rashid-Axelrod-Archer), but never again. Sardix continued the Quadros program and the refurbishment of Starfleet, but put a halt to new membership for a time, something that brought strict rebuke from expansionists like Archer and T'Maran and Councilor Shran.
7. Thortathanal th'Valrass (Andorian Empire)
1 January, 2201 - 31 December, 2204
Species: Andorian
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
The "Expansion Question" brought on by the Vulcan control of all the arms of Federation power was a hot topic at the dawn of the 23rd century, and another Andorian, Thortathan or Thortathanal as he was erroneously (initially) referred, rose to prominence to answer it. Gone were the vehement days of Andorians attacking Vulcans. Thortathanal had adopted a Vulcan way of life, in many respects, and was often seen as the more logical, composed figure in comparison to Sardix, a former
v'tosh ka'tur who had issues containing his emotions. Neighboring states, such as Coridan and Qo'noS, were taken back by the Federation's exponential growth in this era, and border wars began propping up. Piracy from the Orions and the Mirak had grown rampant, taking advantage of the anarchic state of things on the Federation's border. Thortathanal argued for "Expansion within Reason" versus Sardix's knee-jerk reaction to stop all membership inquiries and processes (which left many Protectorates and applicants unprotected or quick to join other alliances). Sutorox was a noted proponent of Expansion, and broke with his kinsman's policy adjustment. As Council President, he had more control over admission policies in this era, and expansions quickly resumed despite Sardix's disapproval. This all led to Sardix, already unpopular from 2196, losing his reelection to Thortathanal. Thortathanal worked well with Sutorox and Admiral T'Pol, and the so-called "Age of Expansion" resumed once more without a hitch.
8. Barbara Ann Einicrox (United Earth)
1 January, 2205 - 31 December, 2208
Species: Human
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
Thortathanal didn't believe in reelection. He was against campaigning, and allowed another Andorian to run in his stead. Instead, he opted for a seat on the council with his former superior, Councilor Shran, and later broke his endorsement away from the controversial Andorian chosen and towards Councilor Einicrox of Earth. Barbara Einicrox was still a toddler when the Federation was founded, and had never known the era before. She was the youngest person elected President until Kenneth Wescott. Her term was noted for the expansion of the Einstein program, a slowdown (but not absurdly so) of new membership, and a two-year committee to rewrite the Non-interference Doctrine, later reissued as Starfleet General Order 1. For reasons unclear, Vulcan Administrator T'Pau was against most of Einicrox's policies, and ordered her aides to put a stop to them. It was thought by some that she was pushing for a secession of the isolated Vulcan at this time, but Council President Sutorox and Admiral T'Pol prevented this measure from occurring.
9. Suessor of Vulcan (Confederacy of Vulcan)
1 January, 2209 - 31 December, 2212
Species: Vulcan
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
To continue stopping the growing discord on Vulcan, the Vulcan candidate to replace Einicrox was quickly endorsed by Einicrox herself. T'Pau's plans to secede failed when Vulcan once again retained control over the Federation, making no scapegoat available. President Suessor was in fact the first and only Syrannite elected to the Presidency, and had been bonded to T'Pau from their respective youths, although T'Pau never married, owing to her religious and later political obligations, and Suessor respected this, eventually taking a human wife, Charlene Pasteur, whom he married while President. Suessor continued Einicrox's policy objectives, refining them in concert with his Vulcan colleagues.
10. Todahlahr ch'Azethiq (Andorian Empire)
1 January, 2213 - 31 December, 2216
Species: Andorian
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
For many, the 2212 election was more of the same. Another Andorian quickly rose to take over from another Vulcan. Some editorials bemoaned that the Presidency would quickly descend into an Andorian-Vulcan swap (with occassional Human or Centauran tossed in), and all matters of colonial or even non-founder matters ignored. The presence of Vulcans in the other positions of high importance, now for decades, did not alleviate such concerns. But, as expected, Suessor lost his re-election to an Andorian of minor import, and the cycle continued again. However, Todahlahr would be the last Andorian President (but not the last from Andoria) until the 24th century, with Andoria losing political importance to those colonial and non-founding matters. He did manage to expand Starfleet's exploratory mandate with the introduction of the Ranger class, a precursor to the famous Constitution class starships. Photon torpedoes, based on designs from the Klingon Empire, were developed and issued to all Starfleet vessels, increasing weapons yields and guarding against the continued pirate attacks and border skirmishes.
11. Richard Roe Morvehl (Alpha Centauri Concordium)
1 January, 2217 - 31 December, 2224
Species: Human
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
The Colonial interests had had enough of the major powers of Earth, Tellar, Andoria, and Vulcan simply trading the Presidency, it seems, and formed a united front to find a candidate to replace them. They chose a human from the so-called "Fifth Founder", the Alpha Centauri Concordium, that previously had been represented by the Council President Thorpe. Richard Roe Morvehl was considered by parodical illustrations, to be less intelligent than all his predecessors. But he had a dry wit, and quickly won over his more experienced and more popular opponents. His takedown of President Todahlahr in the one broadcast debate is considered the grandest of political theater, and surprised many with his secret intelligence behind a folksy demeanor. Morvehl brought pride to all those from outside the four founder worlds, and won the Presidency in a landslide, winning even popularly in Tellar Prime and Earth (although many contributed this to unspoken xenophobia). As President, Morvehl pushed for the resignation of Sutorox and the dismissal of T'Pol, but their decades of service had brought a power base that rivaled any other and his efforts were rebuked. Sutorox promoted the "Replacement Debacle" as a power move by the new President, and that he would not be bullied out of office. The public was weary, but general opinion was still in favor of the two Vulcans. Morvehl continued the Archer Mandate (or Sutorox Directive, titles vary) of accepting and expanding the Federation membership, and even removed restrictions put in place by Thortathanal. In his youth, he had argued against the Expansion Question (being a Sardix supporter), but flipped by the time of his presidency. He had a heavy interest, as a semi-colonial, in increasing colony worlds and accepting them for full membership. This conflicted with usual Concordium policy, which generally preferred less colonials, but they did not dare recall him, and his popularity amongst colonials skyrocketed. An early hiccough, of course, was renewed tensions with the Klingon Empire. The destruction of the USS Ranger in 2218 almost erupted into full war, before Admiral T'Pol and Sutorox managed to calm tensions against Morvehl's dictates. After winning reelection in 2220, Morvehl overruled his Starfleet Chief of Staff and ordered and increased militarization along the Klingon border. With a state of intermittent skirmishes with the Romulans coming to an end, the new Klingon Chancellor began worrying about Federation encroachment into his space. Both sides began building up their fleets in preparation for war, and the galactic community was worried as border skirmishes began flaring up in 2223 and 2224.
12. Janissa Kurvannis (United Earth)
1 January, 2225 - 31 December, 2228
Species: Human
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
Morvehl, now seen as a warmonger pushing for War with the Klingons, a War that Sutorox and T'Pol said the Federation would be unprepared for, easily lost his attempt at an unprecedented third term. A notable peacemaker, Councilor Kurvannis, originally from Izar but elected from Earth, was swept in a wave pushing for peace with the Klingons. The Klingons did not heed her call for a peace treaty, responding to diplomats with simple beheadings. Acts of War, or attempted Acts of War, were commonplace during Kurvannis' administration, although the Klingon Empire publicly blamed these on rogue states or Klingon pirates. The Chancellor was, in fact, little more than a figurehead, as the Empire had divided into 20-some odd states ruled by the various Houses on the Klingon High Council. Peace was never an option, because there was no singular state to entreat with. But war was not an option either, outside of the general sense. The border was tightened, to prevent a furthering of atrocities, and the Federation was careful not to set off a galactic war. Kurvannis did stop expanding towards the Klingons (while increasing expansion in the opposite direction), but more importantly, quickly pivoted towards domestic issues. In 2227, she introduced a universal currency, the Federation credit, to be used in place of or in addition to the various economic currencies used by the member states. This evolution of the New World Economy would lead to the eventual dissolution of most currencies within the Federation, to a certain extent.
13. Greshlahrigm blasch Noar (United Planets of Tellar)
1 January, 2229 - 31 December, 2232
Species: Tellarite
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chief of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238)
Kurvannis' closest aide was a Tellarite, Greshlahrigm blasch Noar. Although Noar would be the proper address for her, she preferred to use her given name, Greshlahrigm, in all correspondence, and that is how she is usually categorized. She was referred to colloquially as the "Vice President" to Kurvannis, although no such position existed in the 23rd century, and was her chosen successor. Many were weary of electing another Tellarite, after the disaster of Gralless, but her congenial personality smoothed relations, and she won the election with a sizable percentage. It didn't hurt that Greshlahrigm had been a Starfleet Admiral, and promoted many ideas of keeping up with the Klingons, who continued to raid Federation space and attempted to destroy starbases. One of her first acts was to break the treaty from 2165 and build up heavily militarized Starbases along the border with the Klingon Empire. The Klingons protested, but without a centralized government and many atrocities under their belt, could not stop the escalation. A state of pure Cold War fully existed between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, who pulled back some of their border fighters after Greshlahrigm managed to destroy a few Klingon capital ships. Sutorox and T'Pol are believed to have been instrumental in this new era of Klingon-Federation relations, with the idea of reintroducing the classic "Vulcan Hello" when dealing with an antagonistic Klingon foe.
14. Madza Bral (Trill Symbiosis)
1 January, 2233 - 31 December, 2240
Species: Trill
Council President: Sutorox of Vulcan (CoV, 2186-2240)
Starfleet Chiefs of Staff: T'Pol of Vulcan (2196-2238), Marcus van Diemen (2238-2250)
Although Greshlahrigm's build-up was partially successful in preventing a full state of war from declaring, in addition to T'Pol's "Vulcan Hello" protocol, the colony worlds and border states were still under continuous attack from illicit Klingon raiders. In addition, some Klingon Houses had allied with the Orions, the Kzinti, the Tholians, and many others to prevent anarchic fronts and whittle down the Federation's expansion program. The Colonials strongly felt that the Four Founders, all within interior planets, weren't suffering under these atrocities and were making decisions from "ivory towers." Greshlahrigm received zero colonial support when she announced her reelection efforts, and in fact, would drop out less than a week later due to her sudden unpopularity. The popular candidate was the darkest of dark horses, an unexpected figure not from any of the Four Founders or even Alpha Centauri. She was Madza Bral, Ambassador to the Federation from the Trill Symbiosis. The Trill Symbiosis wasn't even a Federation member (it was a "joint state in coalition with the Federation", an ally member similar to protectorates), but had suffered many losses due to Klingon invasion. Ambassador Bral was noted as a brilliant speaker and vibrant personality, and wowed an audience when promoting a Denevan candidate, who promptly turned the tables and nominated her for the Presidency. Legally speaking, nothing prevented her candidacy, and she took to campaigning with heavy zeal, after an initial confusion, and managed to find herself as the first non-Founder, non-Federation citizen (although she was later granted honorary citizenship), and non-Federation councilor elected to the highest office in the land. Bral was initially hesistant to continue the policies of Sutorox and T'Pol that she believed unnecessarily antagonized the Klingons, but any small appeasement led to disasters such as the attack on Doctari Alpha and increased militarization was the only option. Colonial interests, and especially foreign interests from close allies such as Trill, continued to pressure Bral in maintaining a hard line against the Klingon Houses and their new stable of proxy powers. Although she won reelection by remaining on a war footing, the infamous "Archimedes Incident", a friendly fire accident where a Starfleet armada attacked a Tellarite merchant fleet, followed shortly by the total destruction of the Omus II Colony world by a Klingon task force, led to a reevaluation of the entire Federation ethos. Late in her second term, Bral finally decided to answer the "Expansion Question" and, with the assistance of retiring Council President Sutorox, issued a moratorium on all Federation membership until the Klingon situation resolved. The ending of the Expansion issue may have tied into Admiral T'Pol's retirement in 2238, being replaced by Marcus van Diemen, the first Starfleet officer to earn the rank of Fleet Admiral (for his actions saving Doctari Alpha), as T'Pol was against any form of equivocation towards the Klingons as a sign of weakness. With the stroke of a pen, Madza Bral, the Federation's first non-citizen President, ended all membership ascension in the Federation, including her own world, which was on the docket to become the newest Federation member. She retired upon the completion of her second term, and a complete new triad was in place for the beginning of 2241. But the end of the Expansion era did not solve the Klingon threat, who, as Admiral T'Pol said, smelled weakness. The worst was yet to come, and would culminate in the largest interstellar conflict up to that point.
Coming up next:
Age of Discovery (2241-2260)
