Marad ha-Mussafi

Marad ha-Mussafi (born June 21, 1959) is a Haksar politician, statesman and military official who has been serving as the regent general of Haksarad since December 21, 2020. He was also first officer from October 17, 2008, minister of war from June 23, 2005 and an officer on the Chamber of Officers from February 8, 1991, all of which ended upon his inauguration to the office of regent general on December 21, 2020.

Ha-Mussafi was born and raised in Gosir and studied theology and history at Agushad Tashur State University, later returning to complete a master's degree in philosophy. At age 22, he joined the religious paramilitary group Arwad Tanashirin Tashur—which at the time was endorsed by the state and loosely incorporated into the Armed Forces of Haksarad—and he would remain a member for 10 years. In 1991, he was selected by the regent general to become a sitting member of the Chamber of Officers, the upper house of the Haksar legislature, the National Diet. Ha-Mussafi was special liaison to the arwads for 9 years, until the cooperation between the arwads and the central government was drastically reduced by the Arwad Divorce Act of 2000 following a series of controversies surrounding the presence of arwad soldiers in Agarad, thereafter becoming special liaison to the Haksar ruwadhs. He later served as Minister of War for 15 years and was a major advocate for direct Haksar intervention in the 2016 Watanese coup attempt—though he was largely ignored by regent general Bahur Yasteffa—as well as for granting political asylum to top RSP members after the attempt failed. Following the death of the former first officer Rahbad Ghatrami in 2008, ha-Mussafi was selected to replace him.

During his 12 years as first officer, ha-Mussafi frequently functioned as negotiator for the administration when dealing with political opposition in the government, foreign delegates, religious leaders and media outlets. He was crucial in the renegotiation of several trade deals that were considered to be injurious to the Haksar economy, as well as in the procurement of investment in the burgeoning Haksar industry. He also continued to utilize the extensive connections he had built over his long career—particularly those with the ruwadhs, who are closely linked to the Haksar courts—to strengthen his position within the government and to further develop his public image as a bold, resolute and authoritative leader. This coincided with a sharp downturn in the already declining public opinion of Yasteffa. In 2020, shortly after winning reelection, Yasteffa was impeached, making ha-Mussafi the provisional regent general.

Ha-Mussafi, at the head of his newly-formed National Action Party, swept the snap election, winning the regent generalship with 73% of the vote. Much of his first year as regent general was spent wrestling with the entrenched elite, primarily those in the Chamber of Officers, all of whom had been appointed by previous regent generals, many several decades ago. The chamber selected Shafed h'Odrami, a staunch proponent of Yasteffite policy, to be the new first officer. This struggle  ultimately culminated in the regent general's victory in September 2021, when many of ha-Mussafi's political opponents in the government were arrested and removed, causing snap elections in the Chamber of Deputies and allowing him to stack the Chamber of Officers with Mussafists. His tenure as regent general has seen wide-ranging changes to labor laws, trade policy, corruption laws and foreign policy, as well as the introduction of several aimed at increasing the centralization of power around the regent general. Since his inauguration, many experts have begun to evaluate Haksarad as an, whereas the nation had been considered a for nearly a hundred years.

Early life and education
Marad ha-Mussafi was born on June 21, 1959 in Gosir. He is the son of Wadim ha-Mussafi, a factory worker and veteran of the Haksar Civil War who was severely injured during the Second World War, and Lazala ha-Mussafi. The youngest child in a Jarader family, he had three brothers—Baidar, Pashir and Shafed—and two sisters—Jaddah and Qara. Ha-Mussafi and his family lived in Gosir until 1966, when they moved to Kheder to live with his uncle as a result of his father's declining health. Wadim died two years later in 1968.

In 1979, ha-Mussafi started at Agushad Tashur State University as a student of theology and history. During his education at the university, he became increasingly radicalized, and was particularly fond of the writings of Tashrak Khulwat and Drakat Mown. Soon, he began associating with likeminded students and professors who shared his ultranationalist, paternalistic and ultraconservative views on foreign policy, domestic policy and social issues. In 1981, he joined the religiously extremist militia group Arwad Tanashirin Tashur, which was, at the time, attached to the state's armed forces.

Arwad Tanashirin Tashur
After graduating, ha-Mussafi devoted himself full-time to the arwad, deploying with the paramilitary to the Agar Civil War. In 1988, he was promoted to a command position, allowing him regular returns home to visit his wife, who soon gave birth to their first son, Wadir. In his leadership position, ha-Mussafi increased the level of cooperation between the Arwad Tanashirin Tashur and the Armed Forces of Haksarad, and other arwads in Agarad followed suit. His ascension to command closely followed the collapse of the Republican Front into several splinter factions, including the Jarader Forces, which Haksarad soon sought to support, hoping to reconcile the more moderate rebels with the Rukhul Loyalists. While he was already rather prominent in Haksarad and Agarad, it was during the negotiations between Haksarad and the JF that he would first catch the eye of the international public. In a 1988 interview, ha-Mussafi condemned the RF and any foreign nation who supported them as terrorists, specifically naming Riyude as the "instigators and profiteers of the war." Around the same time, he was famously dismissive of questions and criticism regarding the high casualties and supposed abuses by the arwads in Agarad, blaming the international community's concerns on "a delusion that we left war and death behind three decades ago," claiming instead that "war and death are the foundations of peace and life." Ha-Mussafi would remain an influential member of the Arwad Tanashirin Tashur until he was made a member of the Chamber of Officers in 1991, which involved a transfer from the paramilitary organization to the army.

Officer of the National Diet
Ha-Mussafi's effective command of the Arwad Tanashirin Tashur attracted the attention of then regent general Manrak Sharmat, and when a seat on the Chamber of Officers was made vacant in 1991, Sharmat selected him to fill it. In order to make use of his tight bonds with the arwads, ha-Mussafi was made a special liaison to them, operating as the primary representative of the government's interests when negotiating with and directing the holy orders. He performed this function for almost 10 years, until the state distanced itself from the arwads in 2000 with the Arwad Divorce Act. This legislation followed international controversy surrounding the presence of the paramilitaries in Agarad and accusations of human rights abuses, unnecessary casualties and extreme tactics. With this, ha-Mussafi's position as special liaison was done away with, though he was quickly made special liaison to another influential group within the nation: the rawudhs, qualified religious jurists from among whose ranks the judiciary is drawn. He would serve in this position until his appointment as minister of war in 2005.

Minister of war
In 2005, ha-Mussafi was named minister of war by regent general Bahur Yasteffa.