1st Duke of Goldstream
His Grace, the 1st Duke of Goldstream, Stefan Winkler (29 January 1969 - 15 January 2023) was a member of the Peerage of Westarctica and served as Foreign Minister on the Royal Council from February 2018 to February 2021. He was also the Captain of the Goldstream Guards. The Duke's title came from Goldstream Peak in the La Gorce Mountains of Westarctica.
| His Grace The 1st Duke of Goldstream | |
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| 1st Viscount Grier Knight Grand Commander of the Snowflake
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| In Office | February 2018 - February 2021 |
| Preceded by | Lady Thurston As Minister of Affairs |
| Successor | Baron of Dorrel |
| In Office | January 2020 - 15 January 2023 |
| Preceded by | Himself as Count of Goldstream |
| Successor | 2nd Duke of Goldstream |
| Issue | None |
| Father | Matthias Winkler |
| Mother | Ingrid Winkler |
| Born | 29 January 1969 |
His death in 2023 marked only the second passing of a Westarctican peer in the 22 year history of the nation.
Service with German military
His Grace served as a front line officer in the Bosnian and Afghanistan wars and was awarded the Gold Cross of Honour from the German Army, as well the US Army commendation and the US Army achievement medal. He also held the German army achievement medal in gold with 5 successive repeats.
As Foreign Minister
In his capacity as Westarctica's Foreign Minister, the Duke was extremely active and helped inspire the international members of the Honorary Consular Corps. With Royal Decree RD-2021-001, Grand Duke Travis gave the Foreign Minister nearly autonomous authority over his office to help speed activities without waiting for approval from the Crown.
In early February of 2021, Prime Minister Farmer learned that the Foreign Minister had been signing treaties of mutual recognition with other micronations. The Prime Minister pointed out that, moving forward, these needed legislative review, as required by the constitution. The Foreign Minister responded that he felt this review undermined executive authority and that he would not submit to it, saying he did not think the constitution actually granted such review authority in a way he was bound to. After several attempts to resolve the issue, the Prime Minister filed documents with the Grand Ducal Court to halt all treaty negotiation, and to get a copy of existing treaties that he felt were in violation of the law, to review and approve and bring in line what he saw as the required processes.
On 11 February 2021, the Duke of Goldstream resigned from his position as Foreign Minister in protest to the Prime Minister's actions. Right before he resigned, he attempted to completely disband the Honorary Consular Corps. This caused a minor crisis that led to an injunction from the Grand Ducal Court staying the dismissal of consuls while Grand Duke Travis was consulted. This whole affair was the first time the entire bench of the Grand Ducal Court was needed for anything. After resigning, the Duke became a private citizen of Westarctica and did not engage with the community again until his passing almost two years later.
Viscount Grier
On 13 July 2018, the Duke was granted the subordinate title "Viscount Grier" in recognition for his work with the Honorary Consular Corps. It was named for Mount Grier, which is situated directly to the west of Goldstream Peak.
Titles
Upon the duke's passing, both the title of Viscount Grier and Duke of Goldstream were placed in abeyance for lack of a suitable legal heir.
On 2 November 2023, as part of the Anniversary Honors, Grand Duke Travis bestowed these titles upon two members of Westarctica's diplomatic staff who were especially close with the duke. Sterling MacLeod became the 2nd Duke of Goldstream.
Candidate for Prime Minister
The Duke's candidacy for Prime Minister of Westarctica in the 2019 election was announced on 9 January of that year. His Grace received 26.5% of the popular vote.
Awards and honors
Knight Grand Commander in the Order of the Snowflake, 2020- Honored Diplomat of Westarctica, 2020
- Knight Commander in the Order of the Snowflake, 2018
