Andrew Keyes

    

Andrew Keyes MP
Keyes in 2019
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office January 27, 2022
Monarch	William II
President	Isaac Dillon
Preceded by	Autumn Hurst
Member of the House of Delegates from Agincourt (New Anjou's 5th district)
Incumbent
Assumed office April 7, 2017
Preceded by	Charles Kenney
Superian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sierra
In office January 5, 2015 – October 6, 2015
Monarch	Christian
President	Alexander Harper
Preceded by	Todd Grey
Succeeded by	David Russel
Assistant Superian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sierra
In office December 5, 2012 – January 5, 2015
Monarch	Christian
President	Alexander Harper
Preceded by	Joseph Smith
Succeeded by	Diane Carter
Personal details
Born	(1969-03-03) March 3, 1969 New Hamburg, Lansing, Superior
Nationality	Superian
Political party	United Conservative Party (2002–Present)
Other political affiliations	United Popular Front (1989–2002)
Spouse(s)	Maria Christina Merkel (m. 2000)
Children	2
Education	University of Saint Denis

Andrew Henry Keyes (born March 3, 1969) is a Superian politician and diplomat serving as Secretary of Foreign Affairs since 2022. A United Conservative, Keyes serves as a member of the House of Delegates, representing a number of rural and suburban communities in New Anjou. Before entering the House of Delegates, Keyes served as the Superian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sierra from January to October 2015, and served as assistant ambassador to Sierra from 2012 to 2015. Keyes was announced to be Isaac Dillon's nominee for Secretary of Foreign Affairs on January 6 just after the 2022 election and appeared before the High Court on January 24 where he was approved to the position three days later on January 27.

Born in New Hamburg, Lansing, Keyes would attend and graduate from the prestigious Durum League University of Saint Denis, obtaining a degree in international affairs. After working for a number of diplomatic-centered publications, Keyes would begin working for the Department of Foreign Affairs. He would work at the Superian consulate in Riverside before becoming assistant ambassador to the Kingdom of Sierra in 2012. Following his superior's resignation, Keyes would become the Superian Ambassador to Sierra in January of 2015. He would serve until October of the same year, where he would resign following the election of Liberal Democrat Jennifer Granholm to the presidency. In 2017, Keyes would be elected to the House of Delegates in a special election. As a House Delegate, Keyes has supported socially conservative and economically liberal legislation, but his main priority has been diplomacy, especially in regards to North American and Asian affairs.

On January 6, 2022, Keyes would be confirmed to be newly-elected President Isaac Dillon's nominee to become Secretary of Foreign Affairs. With his confirmation vote scheduled to occur on January 24, he will be the first Dillon administration nominee to be voted on in the High Council. Keyes was confirmed three days later by a margin of 26–19 and is the second United Conservative to serve as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Politically, Keyes identifies as a social conservative and a economic liberal. Although he is a critic of the conservative populist movement in Superior, he has supported a number of legislation described as conservative populist, and is a personal friend of a number of prominent conservative populists. On social issues, Keyes is an opponent of same-sex marriage and abortion, owing his Christian faith for his beliefs. He is also a supporter of educational reform, though has question the need for more restrictions of voting. On economic issues, Keyes is a staunch opponent of universal healthcare and has opposed the creation of a greater welfare state. On foreign policy, Keyes is a staunch opponent to the normalization of relations with the United Commonwealth and has pledged to reverse progress on relations made by the Granholm administration if confirmed as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He is a supporter of Superior's membership in the Northern Treaty Organization and supports possible ascension to IPTO, believing both organizations will help fight growing Chinese global influence. Keyes is supportive of the Conference of American States on a "defensive" standpoint, but does not support greater federalization.

Political career

House of Delegates

Keyes' House of Delegates portrait, 2017.

Keyes announced his run for the House of Delegates on 2 January 2017 for Agincourt (New Anjou's 5th electoral district) following the resignation of its previous representative, Charles Kenney. Keyes announced his intent to secure the United Conservative nomination and campaigned on a platform of social conservatism and supporting a foreign policy dedicated to spreading religious liberty worldwide and opposing global Landonist influence from the United Commonwealth and its allies. He also ran as an opponent of the Granholm administration, accusing it of supporting a radical agenda. He won the nomination on March 1 and faced off against Michael Ojeda of the Liberal Democratic Party during the general election. He would win the election on April 2, securing 55.6% of the popular vote to Ojeda's 46.3% and was sworn in on April 7 five days later.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Confirmation

Andrew Keyes' nomination to the position as Foreign Secretary was announced on January 6 by then president-elect Isaac Dillon after the 2022 federal election along with other cabinet nominees. Keyes' confirmation hearings to the High Council began on January 24 where he spoke before members of the High Council Foreign Affairs Committee. He primarily spoke on the issue of Superior's relations with the Continental States and his desire to adopt a more aggressive stance in accordance with Dillon's foreign policy agenda.

Tenure

Andrew Keyes was sworn in on January 27 after his confirmation by the High Council. Before being confirmed, Keyes pushed for the International Freedom and Trade Act and continued to advocate for it in the House of Delegates pushing for a boycott of goods from the Continental States and the Andes and to impose sanctions on them and all other OMEAD member states. Following the terror attacks on February 9, Keyes would investigate any potential foreign support for the attacks and later supported the National Security Act of 2022 where he declared domestic terrorism as one of the newest major issues facing Superior and Anglo-America.

See also

• Defend the Caribbean