(B. 1904)
Keith Jacka Holyoake is the current Prime Minister of the Republic of Mardasia, a position he has held since 1959 after a long career in parliamentary politics. Originally rising through the conservative Reform Party before the consolidation of Mardasia’s modern political blocs, Holyoake distinguished himself during the 1940s as a skilled parliamentarian and pragmatic statesman. He first served as Prime Minister in the turbulent post-war years, where his reputation for moderation and consensus-building allowed him to navigate tensions between Labour-aligned industrial groups and the entrenched agrarian interests that still defined much of Mardasian society. His tenure is marked by a careful balancing act: strengthening ties with the Western Bloc 🦅 while maintaining Mardasia’s independent republican tradition and its fragile domestic cohesion.
Holyoake’s leadership has been tested most visibly by the New Caledonian War, where he authorised the joint Franco-Mardasian intervention against entrenched pirate groups and international smuggling rings. His administration argued that unchecked piracy threatened both Mardasian shipping lanes and the broader stability of Oceanyka, making military action a necessity. The campaign’s success enhanced Holyoake’s authority at home and raised Mardasia’s international profile, though it also deepened tensions with The Oceanykan Federation, which viewed the intervention as an infringement on its sovereignty. Following the Oceanykan Revolution, New Caledonia was once again lost during the South Pacific Crisis, but by then the archipelago's criminal networks had been thoroughly dismantled and the Republic successfully negotiated treaties with its polities to prevent them from rising again. At the same time, Holyoake has pushed for domestic modernisation, encouraging infrastructure development, urban expansion, and the strengthening of higher education to cement Mardasia’s place among the advanced democracies. Although his critics accuse him of being overly cautious and too dependent on American support, Holyoake is widely regarded as a steady hand guiding Mardasia through the uncertainties of the Cold War.