Christopher Rioux

    

His Excellency Christopher Rioux OM ORS KON
Rioux, c. 1936
22nd Prime Minister of Sierra
In office September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1939
Monarch	Louis II
Preceded by	Poncio Salinas
Succeeded by	Poncio Salinas
Leader of the Opposition
In office July 8, 1927 – September 10, 1934
Preceded by	Poncio Salinas
Succeeded by	Poncio Salinas
Leader of the Royalist Party
In office July 8, 1927 – July 4, 1939
Preceded by	Earle Coburn
Succeeded by	D. D. Rolph
Member of Parliament for Green River
In office September 10, 1904 – July 4, 1939
Preceded by	Andrew Kalloch
Succeeded by	John Mascone
Personal details
Born	Christophe Dominique Picard-Rioux August 5, 1856 Huntington Beach, Orange, K.S.
Died	January 2, 1942(1942-01-02) (aged 85) Cachalot-by-the-Sea, Channel Islands
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	Lacy Washington Cemetery St. Anne, Orange, K.S.
Political party	Royalist
Spouse(s)	Marie Baudelaire (m. 1874⁠–⁠1956)
Children	6
Education	King Charles University (BA) USS Marshall School of Law (JD)
Profession	Politician lawyer
Religion	Avignonese Catholic
Military service
Allegiance	Sierra
Branch/service	Sierran Royal Army
Years of service	1874–1877 1898–1910
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Battles/wars	Sierran Civil War Sierran Indian Wars Spanish–American War Tondolese–Sierran War
Awards	TBD
Cabinet offices held Minister of Foreign Affairs (1925–1927) Shadow Minister of Commerce and Labor (1924–1925) Minister without portfolio (1911–1912) Leadership offices held Leader of the Royalist Party (1927–1939) Parliamentary offices held Member of the Parliament of Sierra for Green River (1904–1939)

Christophe Dominique Picard-Rioux, anglicized as Christopher Rioux (August 5, 1856 − January 2, 1942), was a Sierran military officer, lawyer, and statesman who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Sierra from 1934 to 1939, during the the Great War. He is best known for his wartime leadership as Prime Minister, although he was also a distinguished military officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel who fought in the Sierran Civil War, Spanish–American War, and Tondolese–Sierran War. He also served as a long-serving member of Parliament for Green River and was a judge advocate in the Sierran Royal Army. Rioux was a lifelong Royalist who was an economic liberal and an imperialist, and was the party's longest-serving leader from 1927 to 1939.

Born in Huntington Beach, Orange to a wealthy French Sierran family, Rioux voluntarily enlisted the Sierran Royal Army in 1874 during the Sierran Civil War. After he distinguished himself twice in battle during the Folly at Tejon Pass and Battle of Ridgecrest, Rioux was commissioned as a military officer with the rank of captain. He saw action again during the Sierran Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, and the Tondolese–Sierran War, after which he became a lieutenant colonel and served as a judge advocate. After resigning from his military post, Rioux entered politics following his election in 1904 during Robert Landon's first ministry. During the Gage ministry, he served as a minister without portfolio. During the twelve years of the Royalists' effective lockout in the House between 1912 and 1924, Rioux rose in prominence as a member of the Opposition. He was a vocal critic of the ministries of Hiram Johnson and as a staunch anti-Landonist, sharply criticized the government's failure to prevent the rise of the Continentalists in the United Commonwealth. He was also a leading instigator of the First Crimson Scare, widely accusing political opponents and private citizens of connections or sympathies towards Landonism or republicanism, and backed the expansion of the Purple Shirts. In 1925, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Earle Coburn's government, strengthening ties with Astoria and Superior, as well as China. He became the leader of the Royalists and the Leader of the Opposition during Poncio Salinas's first government and took the lead initially in critiquing Salinas's handling of domestic policy, and then Salinas's handling of the war effort following the outbreak of the Great War. Rioux, whose military experience was well-known, oversaw Sierran involvement in the Entente Impériale's war effort against the Triple Alliance and the Landonist International during the war. With Sierra's colonies in the Pacific lost to Japan and Sierra's Anglo-American neighbors under Continental occupation, Sierra and the Entente Impériale were defeated. Nonetheless, Rioux prevented a successful Continental invasion of the Sierran homeland, securing the primary objective of defense. After the war, Rioux retired from politics after he was defeated in 1939 by his predecessor Salinas. Within three years of retirement, Rioux died due to declining health and advanced age.

Rioux is widely regarded for his wartime leadership during the First Great War, seen as a figure who was able to prevent the collapse of the Kingdom of Sierra, threatened by Japanese militarism and Continentalism. His domestic policies have been viewed with mixed reactions, seen as mimicking a "lighter version" of the ones adopted by his rival Salinas. He has been criticized however for his support of the more controversial aspects of the Sierran Cultural Revolution and his imperialist beliefs. Rioux saw personal action in the wars and genocide against Sierran Indians, as well as Sierra's colonization of Tondo, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands.

Prime Minister

Main article: Premiership of Christopher Rioux

Leadership during the Great War

Further information: Kingdom of Sierra during the Great War

See also

• First Crimson Scare