Kirk Siskind

    

His Excellency Kirk Siskind MP PC EC
Siskind in 1980
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra
In office November 19, 1975 – June 25, 1983
Monarch	Louis III
Deputy	Byron Nichols
Preceded by	Walter Zhou
Succeeded by	Mitchell Ford
Leader of the Opposition
In office February 18, 1972 – November 19, 1975
Prime Minister	Walter Zhou
Preceded by	Keith Zeigler
Succeeded by	Edward J. Gelson
Member of the K.S. House of Commons for Alpine Coast (Shasta's 2nd district)
In office March 13, 1965 – September 27, 2004
Preceded by	Ludwig Roth
Succeeded by	Elaine Clendenen
Majority	4,002 (4.6%)
Leader of the Democratic-Republican Party
In office February 18, 1972 – June 25, 1983
Preceded by	Keith Zeigler
Succeeded by	Mitchell Ford
Personal details
Born	(1927-04-19)April 19, 1927 Apfelhain, Shasta, K.S.
Died	May 13, 2023(2023-05-13) (aged 96) Palm Springs, Inland Empire, K.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Barbara Stone (m. 1951; died 2021)
Children	Emma Siskind Theodore Siskind
Alma mater	University of Sierra, Davis (BA) Stanford Law School (JD)
Religion	Conservative Judaism

Kirk Libi Siskind OM ORS KON PC (April 19, 1927 – May 13, 2023) was a Sierran politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra from 1975 to 1983 and as leader of the Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra from 1972 to 1983. He previously held shadow cabinet positions under Leader of the Opposition Keith Zeigler. Siskind was the Member of Parliament for Alpine Coast (Shasta's 2nd parliamentary district) from 1965 to 2004. After retiring from Parliament, Siskind established the Siskind Foundation to promote human rights and democracy, as well as humanitarian aid and philanthropy.

Siskind was born and raised in Apfelhain, Shasta. He graduated from University of Sierra, Davis and obtained his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. He worked as a law clerk for the Kingdom of Sierra Court of Appeals for the Fifth District and later became an associate at Hill, Rawlins, & Nash. He initially focused on civil rights litigation, which included gender discrimination and LGBTQ discrimination cases. Siskind was later promoted to a partner within the law firm, leading the firm's litigation division. He became an activist for the Democratic-Republican Party and joined the Apfelhain City Attorney's Office as an assistant city attorney.

In 1965, Siskind was elected to Parliament as an MP for Alpine Coast. Siskind held junior party positions under the government of Earl Warren and senior party positions under the shadow ministry of Keith Zeigler. He gained a reputation within Parliament for his exceptional oratory skills and commanding personality, earning him the moniker of "One of Siskind". He stood in the 1972 Democratic-Republican Party leadership election to replace Zeigler and prevailed, becoming the party leader. In 1975, the Democratic-Republicans under Siskind gained control over the House and Siskind became prime minister.

As prime minister, Siskind oversaw the Kingdom of Sierra's exit strategy from the Colombia War and reoriented Sierran foreign policy towards one of measured cooperation and detente with the United Commonwealth-led Eastern Bloc. He forged closer ties with the Conference of American States, supporting the Kingdom of Sierra's further political integration into the supranational union. He sought to deescalate violence and unrest in the Styxie during The Disturbances and supported the civil rights movement for the black and Hispanic Sierran communities. He attempted to secularize the Deseret, which caused backlash from Mormon conservatives there and the general Sierran religious right. In economic policy, Siskind sought to control inflation and rising poverty in Sierra's urban areas. Under Siskind, the power of labor unions was significantly weakened as manufacturing jobs were being outsourced overseas to Sierra's trading partners in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America and unionized establishments were shut down. Influenced by economic liberalism, Siskind supported deregulating and privatizing various sectors of the Sierran economy once held by the state including public utilities, telecommunications, and energy.

After retiring from public office, Siskind remained active in Democratic-Republican politics and was heavily involved in the Siskind Foundation, which he and his wife co-founded. He traveled extensively abroad to raise awareness on issues including child hunger, poverty, and clean water. He also helped provide legal counsel to various nonprofit organizations. Towards the end of his life, he experienced a series of health problems including Parkinson's disease, and died at home on May 13, 2023, at age 96.

Member of Parliament

Elections

Main article: Electoral history of Kirk Siskind

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra

Main article: Premiership of Kirk Siskind

Health and longevity

Death and funeral

Main article: Death and state funeral of Kirk Siskind

On the morning of May 13, 2023, Siskind refused to eat after displaying a night of sleeplessness beforehand. He fell into a deep sleep around midday and when he awoke again during the late evening, his health rapidly deteriorated and died peacefully in the presence of his children and grandchildren at around 7:30 PM local time.

Shortly after his death was publicly announced, Prime Minister Maggie Chan declared a national day of mourning on the order of Queen Elizabeth II and ordered all flags flown throughout the Kingdom of Sierra and its territories to be lowered to half staff for 30 days after his death. Elizabeth II, as head of the other Columbia realms, issued a similar directive to her other governments in Cozumel, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The state funeral of Kirk Siskind was held underneath the Rotunda of Parliament Building, conducted by the Government of the Kingdom of Sierra, while a private funeral was held immediately after at the Sinai Temple, a Conservative Jewish place of worship which Siskind attended for much of his life. His body was laid to rest and interred within the King's Crypt in Parliament Building.