High Commissioner of Westarctica

The High Commissioner of Westarctica is a council-level position on the Royal Council in the Government of Westarctica.

History of the role

Article Three in the third revision of the 2012 Charter of Westarctica makes a provision for the position of High Commissioner to assist the Grand Duke in his duties as chief executive of Westarctica. In theory, this position was planned to fill the role of Head of Government without any actual authority, allowing the Sovereign to retain absolute authority over affairs of state.

The role remained unoccupied until late 2015, when Paul Rush, a friend of Grand Duke Travis, was appointed as High Commissioner of Westarctica for a period of six months. Rush took no substantial actions and made no contributions during his time as High Commissioner, and his appointment and subsequent dismissal went mostly unnoticed by other Westarcticans.

In November 2021, Grand Duke Travis stepped down as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Westarctica, turning the role over to the Count of Discovery Ridge. At that time, the Count was serving as Minister of Transportation, but he transitioned to the position of High Commissioner after becoming CEO of Westarctica, Inc. His Lordship officially assumed the duties of the role in February 2022.

Duties

While a member of the Royal Council, the High Commissioner is not under the authority of the Prime Minister, and he also has no direct responsibility over other cabinet ministers. The High Commissioner answers directly to the Grand Duke and has a great deal of autonomy. Theoretically, the High Commissioner would have responsibility over the other commissioners on the Royal Council, but in practice, these positions all answer directly to the Grand Duke.