Frans

Frans
Frans
Physical information
Gender	male
Biographical information
Date of birth	1981 AD
Residence(s)	Patriottenbaai
Nationality	New Batavian
Allegiance(s)	New Batavia
Occupation	Member of the Islamic Diwan of New Batavia

Frans became involved in the Dutch sector of micronationalism in 1999 and was, over the years, involved in several nations. The constitutions he drafted usually featured a strong parliament, a ceremonial head-of-state and a government responsible to parliament.

Frans also drafted the "Dutch Treaty" (Nederlands Verdrag), establishing the Dutch Treaty Organisation, aiming to unite the Dutch sector of micronationalism.

Flanders

Flag of the Republic of Flanders

He became a citizen of the Republic of Flanders in 1999. He was vice-chancellor and minister of information and foreign affairs in the so called "First Republic". He also took the initiative of the Open Flemish Convention in order to boost activity, but this didn't work out. He remained a citizen for several years, also after the establishment of the Second Republic, but never again as an active politician.

Babkha

Around 1999, he was also active in the Kingdom of Babkha, where he briefly held the position of associate justice.

Antverpia

Coat of arms of Antverpia

In 2002 he founded, together with some friends, the short-lived Islamic Republic of Antverpia, where he held the positions of regent and minister-president.

A quote from the nation's website:

"Antverpia calls itself an Islamic Republic because it tries to bring the Islamic teachings according to statecraft and governance into practice. The Antverpian constitution is based on a modern view on Islamic governing. The Islamic Republic of Antverpia tries to prove that Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, harmony and love."

New Batavia

Emblem of New Batavia

In 2007 he founded the United Provinces of the Netherlands. From the very start, the wikiwiki was an important part of the nation's culture and bureaucracy. He first used MediaWiki, but later switched to the more lightweight DokuWiki.

The nation was renamed three times:

• to Republic of the Netherlands in 2008
• to Islamic Internet Republic in 2010
• to Islamic Republic of New Batavia in 2020

He held several positions in these republics and (co-)founded the parties Patriotic Alliance and Islamic Revolutionary Party. He was granted the honorary title "Father of the Nation" (Vader des Vaderlands) in the preamble of the constitution of the Third Republic of the IIR. The IIR died due to internal strife in 2011. He nevertheless kept the memory and the legacy of the nation alive through the Government-in-Exile.

In 2020 he restored the IIR and renamed it to New Batavia.

Kurum Ash-Sharqia

Frans wanted to keep New Batavia relatively "serious", closer to the micronationalism of old. To experiment with more modern ideas of micronationalism and its elaborate invented histories, he started the Sultanate of Kurum Ash-Sharqia in September 2021.

Islam vs. Umraism

On Micras, Islam is usually called "Umraism". In a discussion on the Micras Discord Server, Frans replied on this topic:

"I wasn't sure I wanted to react on this and start a possibly difficult discussion. I decided it may be interesting to clarify my point of view anyway: Many religions get their name from their founder or from the place they originated, e.g. Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, ... These religions have been named by humans. The name of Islam was revealed  by God in the Holy Quran. Who am I to rename it? That's why I refuse to use "Umraism" for Islam. People in the Micras sector are very creative in inventing new names for languages and religions, that's fine and it makes our sector colorful. On the other hand, I don't think it's necessary to do so. We are earthlings IRL and Earth will always be our main point of reference." (June 1, 2023)

Awards

• New Batavia received a 2020 FNORD Award in the category "Tis but a Fleshwound" for "returning to Micras, with an unbroken history, after so many many years"
• Frans received the 2021 FNORD Award for Conflict resolution for organising the Barikalus sanctions as a rare sane, or at least reasoned, response to the conduct of a rogue state on Micras.
• Kurum Ash-Sharqia received the 2021 FNORD Award for Best New Country for "being the best new country that is not a resurrection – with an interesting and well-developed backstory and an active presence in the diplomatic world".

Fictional characters

Frans operated these fictional characters:

• Xander †, Grand Vizier of the Islamic Internet Republic
• Soufiane Khan †, Grand Vizier of the Government-in-Exile of the Islamic Internet Republic
• Hamit Abdul †, Grand Vizier of the Government-in-Exile of the Islamic Internet Republic
• Zakaria Bennani †, Grand Vizier of the Government-in-Exile of the Islamic Internet Republic
• Redouan van Lucerne, Grand Vizier of New Batavia
• Faisal Van Looveren, leader of the opposition in New Batavia, founding father of Kurum Ash-Sharqia
• Mehmet Arslan, president of New Batavia
• Fairouz Farhani, acting president of New Batavia and Grand Vizier of New Batavia

Preceded by: office created	Stadtholder of the Vitual United Provinces 2007-03-23 - 2008-06-13	Succeeded by Frans as acting President
Preceded by: Frans as Stadtholder	President of the Republic of the Netherlands Acting 2008-06-14 - 2009-01-31	Succeeded by Calvin Klein
Preceded by: Jeroen van Veen	Prime Minister of the Republic of the Netherlands 2009-04-19 - 2009-05-31	Succeeded by Nihill Romez
Preceded by: Jef Vermussen	Prime Minister of the Republic of the Netherlands 2010-05-24 - 2010-06-30	Succeeded by Jef Vermussen as Grand Vizier of the IIR
Preceded by: Xander	Grand Vizier of the Islamic Internet Republic in exile 2013-09-21 - 2014-12-10	Succeeded by Soufiane Khan