Ploerio Oquendo

Pepito Juan Oquendo Campo y Aiza (born June 2, 1974) is the current Governor General of Ventora and, as such, the 's. He assumed office on March 6, 2018, after being appointed by Regent Alexandra Guadarrama. Oquendo has been a long-standing member of the Nationalist Party, the largest in the country, holding the largest number of seats in both houses of the Congress, Ventora's.

Early life
Born June 2, 1974, at La Parra, Araujo, Carrizal, Pepito is the third son of Agustín Ramón Oquendo Salamanca, Count of Araujo, and Esther Pía Quintana y Aiza. He is a count (: conde), but as the third son he is unlikely to ascend to the position of ruling Count of Araujo. He rarely uses his noble title.

Pepito's primary education was provided by a private tutor at home. He attended the prestigious Colegio Maraini for his secondary and tertiary years, residing at the school. By all accounts, he was a good student. His first political experiences were at Colegio Maraini where he was elected representative for his class to the student council three years running before winning election to president of the council in his final two years.

After completing his compulsory service in the Ventoran Navy, reaching the rank of corporal (cabo), Oquendo attended university at Maritejo Free University in Yamilla, Carrizal. He earned his Licentura Ciencias Políticas (degree in political sciences) in 1998.

Early political work
While at university, Oquendo joined the Nationalist Party. Initially he worked part time for Clímaco Fabio Sastre y Mingo, a member of the Yamilla Municipal Council. When Sastre was elected to the People's Assembly (lower house of parliament) in 1999, he took Oquendo with him to Plenas, Ventora's to be his chief of staff.

Intelligence career
In 2002, Sastre was appointed chief of the Criminal Intelligence Section in the Directorate General for Intelligence (Dirección General de Inteligencia, DGI), part of the Interior Commission. Once again, Oquendo came with him as his deputy. During this time, he attended the Basic Domestic Course at the Intelligence School. Subsequently, his intellect and diligence soon resulted in appointment as deputy of the Internal Intelligence Bureau in 2004.

Return to politics
Following a change in government in 2005, Oquendo decided to return to local politics. He went to work as chief of staff for Graciana Nayara, Mayor of Cocha. In this capacity, he became well known in the community. When Nayara became ill, the National Party nominated Oquendo as their candidate for mayor. He won the election with 54% of the overall vote and more than twice the number of votes of his closest challenger. Oquendo became mayor on January 1, 2008. He handily won reelection in 2012.

Because of his success as mayor of Cocha, Governor General Benjamín Giménez appointed Oquendo to the position of Interior Commissioner. The Grand Council of State confirmed the appointment and Regent Alexandra Guadarrama assented on June 1, 2014. Oquendo assumed office immediately thereafter, serving until becoming Governor General in 2018.

Governor Generalship
In late 2017, Regent Alexandra Guadarrama dismissed Benjamín Giménez from the office of Governor General. Initially, Guadarrama did not have enough votes in the People's Assembly to remove Giménez, but the People's Assembly gave her a majority vote of concurrence on February 23, 2018. Gudarrama then appointed Oquendo as Governor General. The Grand Council of State ratified the Regent's appointment on March 5, 2018, and Oquendo became Governor General the next day.

Oquendo's tenure in office has been rather unremarkable. He has maintained policies largely consistent with the platform espoused by the Nationalist Party. Because of the party's prominence in the politics of Ventora, he enjoys a fair amount of support in the legislature, although popular opinion is less favorable. His conservative style also complements that of Isidro Duarte, the current Regent.

Titles and styles
As Governor General, Oquendo's official style is "His Excellency the Governor General" (Su Excelencia el Gobernador General). His name is usually preceded by the honorific Don and when used with the official style becomes Su Excelencia el Gobernador General Don Oquendo.

Although a Count (conde) of Araujo, in which Conde should supersede Don as part of his style, Oquendo rarely uses his noble title.