Unified Earth Government
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Unified Earth Government | |
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| Government overview | |
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Government branches: |
Colonial Administration Authority
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| Societal overview | |
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Capital: |
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Official language(s): |
English (primary), Spanish, Hungarian, German, Japanese and many others |
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Official religion(s): |
Multi-religious |
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| Historical overview | |
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Formation: |
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Reorganized: |
2170 — Reconstituted into a governing body[2] |
The Unified Earth Government (UEG)[note 1] is the central civilian government that administers Earth and its colonies throughout a portion of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. It encompasses the Colonial Administration Authority (CAA), the United Nations (UN), and the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).[3]
During the Human-Covenant War the UNSC assumed the governing function of the UEG in the face of possible extinction from the overwhelming Covenant threat.[5][3][6] The United Nations Space Command ceased functioning as a governing body following the end of hostilities with the now dissolved, Hierarch-led Covenant; transfer of power back to the civilian authority of the UEG occured on January 8, 2553, although no other notable change in the UNSC's political depth within colonial politics was ceded.[4] Dr. Ruth Charet remains the incumbent President of the Unified Earth Government since her inauguration in January 2553.[7]
History
The Unified Earth Government traces its origins back to the early days of human colonization of the Sol system in the late 21st century. The organization was originally created by the United Nations in 2075 as an assembly of political leaders and brilliant minds and tasked with attempting to avert the crises of the next century by solving governmental unification issues of colonizing non-Earth territories.[1][2]
The UEG was reformed into a full-fledged governing entity in 2170,[2] in response to the destructive Interplanetary War of the 2160s. With numerous Earth governments fighting independent battles against Frieden and Koslovic forces, the United Nations became involved, eventually using the war to absorb most, if not all, terrestrial and extraterrestrial governments into itself; the goal was to form a united governing body to combat the terrorists and stabilize the planet and its off-world colonies.[8] UN-aligned forces won the war in 2170 and the Unified Earth Government was formed, with its primary military, scientific, and exploratory force being the newly established United Nations Space Command.[9]
With the beginning of the Human-Covenant War in February 2525 and the Covenant's systematic annihilation of the Outer Colonies, the UNSC became humanity's greatest protector against the genocidal threat. The UNSC thus overrode the civilian rule of the UEG and established itself as an emergency military government, with the military becoming humanity's primary government.[10] Although the Unified Earth Government was more open to stepping down in this time of crisis, the Colonial Administration Authority resisted the UNSC's drastic rise in power. It was subsequently stripped of its power and influence.[3]
In January 2553 Dr. Ruth Charet took office as the President of the Unified Earth Government. She called for a new era of peace, progressiveness, and rebuilding in the wake of the Covenant War.[7] The UNSC still did not require the approval of the UEG to assign budgets, however, the UEG was slowly beginning to regain its power and the government began to focus on reconstruction.[11] By January 8, 2553, the Unified Earth Government formally regained its power back from the UNSC.[4]
In the years following the war the UEG became involved in a new conflict against irregular Covenant splinter groups, joined in July 2557 by surviving Forerunner Promethean constructs led by the Ur-Didact.[12]
Government and politics
The UEG is headed by a President.[7] A number of other executive offices are known to exist, among them the Minister of Information,[13] the Secretary of Defense,[14] and the Minister for the Colonies; the last position is likely part of the CAA.[7] Inferring from the first and last positions, the UEG would appear to be based around a parliamentary system. Other executive ministries include the Department of the Treasury, under which operates the Internal Revenue Service.[15]
While the UEG is formally a union of independently governed worlds,[16] Earth is in a privileged position over the colonies in the election process, which has been a source of discord with some colonials.[6]
The Colonial Administration Authority is the government branch that administers the various colonies that belong to the UEG. It keeps extensive files on every colony world and city under the UEG, available to UNSC members for planning missions.[17]
Even though it originally formed the UEG, the United Nations has been absorbed into a branch of the Earth government by the 26th century.[3] Its role has been reduced to mediating various administrative tasks between Earth's similarly vestigial governing bodies.[18]
Foreign relations and military
- Main article: United Nations Space Command
Prior to first contact with the Covenant at Harvest in 2525, the Unified Earth Government kept no foreign relations with the exception of battles against Insurrectionists on rebellious colonies, whose independence the UEG did not recognize.[19][20] As of 2553, the UEG maintains its earlier truce with the Covenant faction under the leadership of Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, which serves as the diplomatic face of the Sangheili as a whole. By 2558, Rear Admiral Horatio Temkin was in charge of the diplomatic relations to Sanghelios.[21] However, tensions remain as the UEG must again deal with elements of the weakened Insurrectionist movement, with worlds like Venezia actively seeking to secede.[22]
The United Nations Space Command is the UEG's primary military, exploratory, and scientific arm. The UNSC is intended to protect colonists and colony worlds from attack by pirates, Insurrectionists and other threats, such as the Covenant. It includes various special forces, and militia organizations but is composed primarily of five branches: the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army the Air Force, and the recently formed Spartans. The UNSC also maintains a number of scientific organizations, among them UNSC Astrophysics,[23] while the UNSC Engineering Corps is devoted to surveying viable planets for colonization or terraforming.[24]
The UEG's member nations maintain their own standing militaries. It is unclear how they are maintained in relation to the UNSC. Prospective members of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are drawn from the ranks of national special operations groups as well as from the UNSC's own special forces.[25]
Economy
The UEG uses the United Nations Credit (cR) monetary unit to organize its economic stability by selling or buying military equipment, supplies and costs for shipping, etc.[26] The UN cR was likely implemented by the United Nations at some point before the formation of the Unified Earth Government in 2170. For transporting food and raw materials between colonies, the UEG maintains a merchant navy, run by the Department of Commercial Shipping.[27]
Sphere of influence
Colonies
- Main article: Human colonies
Human-occupied systems are known to encompass a relatively wide radius of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, in various stages of colonization, from the well developed Inner Colonies to the relatively recent and struggling Outer Colonies. By 2490 there were more than 800 worlds under human control, ranging from small outposts and settlements to thriving colonies and military strongholds.[9] Most of the colonies under the influence of the UEG were under the direct governance of the Colonial Administration Authority.[3] Originally military oversight for the colonies was provided chiefly by the Colonial Military Administration, though the UNSC eventually usurped its duties due to widespread corruption in the CMA's ranks.[28]
Influence over these worlds was greatly reduced by the Covenant during the war, with only Earth and a few scattered colonies left mostly intact by the end of the conflict in 2552. Since the end of the conflict the UEG has worked to restore its galactic territories and avoid secessionism and has even recolonized some of its former worlds, including Reach.[29]
Nation-states
There are still numerous national governments on Earth and other planetary bodies that fall under the UEG's power.[25] They appear to maintain a limited degree of independence, although their overall authority is negligible as most governing functions are handled by the UEG.[30] Earth's territorial governments in particular are overseen by the now largely vestigial United Nations.[18]
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Trivia
Both the Unified Earth Government and the United Nations Space Command are references to the human government (United Earth Government) and military (Unified Earth Space Council), respectively, from Bungie's Marathon series.
List of appearances
Note
- ^ The UEG is referred to as the "United Earth Government" in some sources, including the directory sheet accompanying Dr. Halsey's personal journal and the Aft Armory Notice within the Infinity Briefing Packet.
Sources
- ^ a b Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, page 229
- ^ a b c d Halopedia:Letter - RE: Quick clarification - UEG
- ^ a b c d e f Halo Story Page: Frank O'Connor/Robt McLees Interview - August 2008
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction (Query Answer: Human records indicate transition to noncombatant administrative control [ref: UEG] [January 8, 2553]. No notable adjustment in military [bureaucratic tactical] behavior and scope of authority.)
- ^ Bestiarum
- ^ a b YouTube: Halo: From A to Z with Frank O'Connor
- ^ a b c d Halo: Glasslands, page 43
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page 42
- ^ a b Xbox.com/Halo - Timeline
- ^ Halo: Mortal Dictata, page 456
- ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 355
- ^ Halo 4
- ^ Halo 2, Metropolis: Image:Metrosign-8.jpg
- ^ Halo 2, campaign level Metropolis: File:Metrosign-3.jpg
- ^ http://transmit.ilovebees.com/outbound/taxes_suck.wav
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page 43
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 177
- ^ a b Halo Waypoint: Query Answer: Human records indicate that the assembly (ref: United Nations) is a vestigial organization responsible for adjudication of administrative tasks between territorial sectors on Erde-Tyrene.
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest
- ^ Halo: Escalation, Issue #5
- ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 175
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 138
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 123
- ^ a b Bungie.net: Halo 3: ODST Field Guide
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 43
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 24
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page 69 (2011)
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level, Lone Wolf
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 37
