Sannlibo

Sannlibo (Sannligs: Sannligbod, from sannligrbiǫð, lit. meaning Fairfields), officially Republic of Sannlibo (Sannligs: Republikken Sannligbod), is a northern country in central Artemia. The country has a population of 8,060,440 people as of 2016 and an area of 203.966 km². The population density measures 39.5 inhabitants per km². Sannlibo is bordered by Gardarike and Ostboland. The capital, as well as the economical and political center of the country, is the city of Eridlo, which lies in the south-west, cornering the Kapenbjergs.

Sannlibo is a parliamentary democracy with a mixture of a representative and plebiscitarian system. The head of state is called the governor general, currently this is Martin Frijlikken (SDP). Prime minister and thereby the head of government is Maria Jansen (PPS), she is also the first female in this position.

Due to the geographical conditions the economy is centered around heavy industry and high technology, complemented with significant mining, fishing and forestry sectors. The economic system is a free market economy with a high emphasis on social welfare. The state also owns parts of key sectors which are considered critical pieces of the infrastructure.

The coastline lies completely at the Boreal Ocean and also marks the northern border of the country. The climate there is mostly rough and cold, even in summers it rarely climbs over 20°C. Also the Boreal Sea at the sannlig coastline is frozen for a third of a year. Generally the winters in Sannlibo are usually considered as quite harsh, especially in the north, while in the southern reaches the winter is more mild and has continental influence. Most parts of the country are covered with large forests, grasslands and lakes. Also the largest share of the country is flat, with the Kapenbjergs mountain range making an exception in the southern flank.

Etymology
The term Sannlibo is the simplified anglic version of the original term Sannligbod, which is derived from the old sannlig word sannligrbiǫð, literally meaning fairfields and referring to the beauty of the country. This came up first in tellings about the arrival of the first settlers, who were supposedly overwhelmed by the countrie's beautiful landscapes or used this term to describe the countryside. Also patriotic tellings used this term to describe the country.

Trough the years the term got simplified into sannligbod, and was later used as a name for the first state-like organisation on the sannlig territory, the Commonwealth of Sannlibo.

The history of the term and but also the use of it, remained a part of the national heritage as well as patriotic tellings.

Kingdom of Sannlibo
The Kingdom of Sannlibo was founded in 803 by the merger of seven monarchies which previously formed the Commonwealth of Sannlibo, founded in 706. During the latter period the kings of Eridlo placed their sons on three of eight thrones, annexed two states and enacted pressure on the remaining reigners, so they would all agree on merging the commonwealth into a new kingdom.

Ringeriker Dependency and Great Dominion Crisis
At some point between the 9th and the 13th century, the sannlig realm would fall under ringeriker control and become a dependency of the former. With that the Dominion of Sannlibo got the present borders and was a part of the later absolute monarchy of Ringerike. Followed by the beginning of the Nyttmann’s Rebellion in 1673 an independence movement, the so-called Free Sannlig, formed and rose to power. This was the beginning of the 11 year-long Great Dominion Crisis, which resulted in the death of approximately a third of the population. Following the Free Sannlig’s rise to power, independence from Ringerike was declared, which resulted in a 2-year long war between Free Sannlig and the absolute monarchy and ended with Nyttmann coming into power. Latter was allied with the Free Sannlig and both needed each other's good will to succeed with their plans. Sannlibo then could finally secede from Ringerike for the first time. This led to conflicts with neighboring countries, who feared that Sannlibo could become a threat to them. Also there were disputes in their own country, since the Free Sannlig established a centralized and unitarian state, while most regional lords, who also gained power during the revolution, preferred a federal system. Also these regional lords had to sort out territorial disputes with each other, which led to further battles. On the other Hand there were the radicals of the New Sannlig who wanted the Free Sannlig to give more power and rights to the people, which the latter refused. This led to further uprisings and, combined with the overall situation, even resulted in a massive civil war, which would take until 1679. Only with Nyttmann’s support the Free Sannlig was able to retain its power and to win the civil war at great cost. As a consequence they began to turn into a dictatorship and turned in every possible enemy within the state. Victims were the regional lords and their supporters, supporters of the ringeriker monarchy, members of the New Sannligs and their allies, but also key individuals of the norsk ethnicity.

With the re-establishment of the ringeriker monarchy, the Great Dominion Crisis found its end in 1684, after the ringeriker regained control over Sannlibo and drove the Free Sannlig out of office.

New Dependency and Autonomous Region
After the ringeriker monarchy introduced a constitution and re-established its power in Sannlibo, they made the constitution also valid for the sannlig lands. In 1706 Sannlibo was granted a low level of autonomy and got a persistent representative of the ringeriker king, the Governor General of Sannlibo.

Furtherly, the Sannlig Fleet and the Sannlig Brigade were established in 1717 as subordinate units within the ringeriker military, with their soldiers being professionals and volunteers recruited from the sannlig population. In addition the governor general was granted limited command authority over the Sannlig Fleet and the Sannlig Brigade in 1735, but still remained subordinate to the king.

Another major change happened in 1870, when the second constitution of the Kingdom of Ringerike was introduced. It granted Sannlibo the status of an autonomous entity of Ringerike.

The 1870 constitution also reformed the sannlig govenor general's office and introduced legislative, judicative and executive bodies for the Dominion of Sannlibo, though their power has been quite limited.

Steps to Independence and the Treaties of Skagerrak
After the Grand Campaigns Sannlibo and Ringerike were both reigned in a union by the King of Ringerike and Sannlibo as a common state of two autonomous entities, according to the First Treaty of Skagerrak of 1926, with each having a governor general as well legislative, judicative and executive bodies. This so-called Union of Ringerike and Sannlibo itself was reigned by the king, and had also its own parliament, government and high Court.

In 1949 the union then split up and Ringerike and Sannlibo became formally two independent nations. Each one retained its own political bodies, while the political bodies of the Union were dissolved. Only the King maintained his position as head of state for both nations, but his title was reduced back to King of Ringerike.

This went even further with the 3rd Treaty of Skagerrak in 1963, when Ringerike and Sannlibo agreed on Sannlibo to become a republic and the King of Ringerike thereby giving up his position as head of the sannlig state. The Governor General of Sannlibo then became the head of state, which remained until today.

In the following years the already very modern and liberal democracy of Sannlibo was reformed several times. With the First Constitutional Reform of 1970 the parliamentary system was reformed to strengthen the lower house of the Parliament at the expense of the upper house and the prime minister in 1972.

In the 1993 Constitutional Reform the upper house then was completely abolished and the lower house abolished the major vote system and introduced a proportional representation system instead.

Present History
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Geography
According to the Sannlig Central Authority of Statistics, Sannlibo has a land area of 203,966 km² (78,752 sq mi). Situated in northern Artemia, Sannlibo lies north to the Kapenbjergs mountain chain, a range that separates Sannlibo from Gardarike. Ostboland is located to its south-west. It has maritime borders with Ringerike and Thuyiquakliq through the Boreal Sea.

The northern part of Sannlibo is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat region. With that are 25% of the land mass located below sea level. These areas are mostly located in the canton Nordmark, which is located between the Hyggelig River in the south and the Boreal Sea in the north. This northern part is also the coldest of Sannlibo, considering that average temparatures are barely rising above 17°C in summers and are also as low as 22°C in winters.

At 203,966 km² (78,752 sq mi), Sannlibo is the xxth-largest country in Anterra and the x-largest country in Artemia. The highest elevation is the Lukasfjäll at 2,488 m (8,162.73 ft) above sea level.

Geology
The northern half of the country and especially the Nordmark are shaped by the interplay of the Hyggelig River, the Hagerrak Bay and the Boreal Sea, as much of the land mass there is consisting of sediments, but also permafrost can be found. Due to its flatness and the fact that most of the Nordmark is lying below sea level, a system of polders, dykes and canals has been installed trough the centuries. Also a considerable share of the Nordmark's land mass is made by land reclamation from the sea.

The southern part of the country is influenced by the Kapenbergs and former volcanic activity. Here are many of the lakes and forests located and the land mass is penetrated by a vast amount of tinier rivers, streams and creeks. Also moraines can be found here. Kapenbjergs are meanwhile comprised of 2000m - high peaks, with a lot of plateaus, mountain lakes or glaciers. Many of the rivers and streams found northbound the Kapenbjergs, are originating here.

Climate
The northern two thirds of the country are part of the subarctic climate zone with summer time temparatures between 10 and 18°C and winter temparatures from -35 near the Nedermark to -10°C south of the Hyggelig River, while the northernmost part of the country, the Nedermark Peninsula, is even part of the arctic zone with tempartures regularly being around -40°C in wintern and barely climbing above 8°C in summers.

The southern third of the country mostly provides a humid continental climate, with temparatures up to 25°C in summers and rarely below 0°C in winters, but also features a colder climate in the Kapenbjerg mountain chain, with temparatures being between -20 and -10°C in winters and between 15 and 20°C in summers, depending on the height.

Because of Sannlibo's northern location, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. There are short days during the winter with average sunrise coming around 9:45 am and sunset 2:45 pm, as well as long summer days with sunrise at 3:30 am and sunset at 11 pm.

Nature
Due to Sannlibo lying in three climate zones, it has an unusally high biodiversity, estimating over 60,000 plant and animal species in total. The most common biomes are tundra, boreal forests and taigas as well as several types of temperate forests (coniferous, mixed or broadleaf). The Kapenbjergs also feature montane, sub-alpine and alpine biomes.

Flora
Vegetation zones in Sannlibo include forests, bogs, wetlands and heaths. Boreal species are adapted to the long, cold winters but need a growing season of sufficient length and warmth. The predominant coniferous species are spruce and pine, which are also adapted either to the boreal climate in the north or the montane climate in the Kapenbjergs, while the predominant broadleaf species in the north are aspen and several species of the birch family, like the birch itself. In the south oak, beech, alder and others are dominating the mixed or boradleaf forests. In mixed forests also spruce and pine can be found. In the northern parts and in the Kapenbjergs also lichen, mosses, vascular plants and shrubs are playing an important role.

The Nedermark has permafrost and tundra, with both low, middle and high arctic vegetation. 160 species of plants have been found on the peninsula. Only those areas which defrost in the summer have vegetation cover and this accounts for about 30% of the peninsula.

Fauna
According to the National Office of Wildlife Preservation, terrestrial mammals occurring in Sannlibo include the artemian hedgehog, the mole, six species of shrews and eighteen of bats. The artemian rabbit, the artemian hare, the mountain hare, the artemian beaver, the red squirrel, the racoon dog, the mink, the muskrat, the brown rat and the house mouse as well as about fifteen species of smaller rodent occur. Of the ungulates, the wild boar, the wisent, the muskox, the ibex, red deer, the elk, the roe deer and the reindeer are found in the country. Terrestrial carnivores include the brown bear, the artemian wolf, the red fox and, the arctic fox, as well as the artemian lynx, the artemian badger, the artemian otter, the stoat, the least weasel, the artemian polecat, the artemian pine marten and the wolverine.

Also 540 species of birds and nearly 20,000 species of insects are estimated in the country, as well as 180 species of fish and 4,000 species of invertebrates.

Governor General
Sannlibo is a unitarian parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the Governor General (Republikken Statsguvernoren), who only holds representative powers. He is elected for a term of five years by the Great Assembly (Republikken Stortinget), a joint meeting of the National Parliament and the Administrative Councils (Kantonsråtens) of the Cantons (Kantonen).

National Government
The executive power is hold by the National Government (Republikken Ministerrådet), comprised of the National Ministers (Republikken Ministers) and the Prime Minister (Republikken Statsminister), with the latter being the head of government and presiding over the national government. He is elected along with his proposed government by a simple majority of the National Parliament until the next parliamentary election. Current prime minister is Maria Jansen from the PPS. In addition the prime minister is allowed to be elected two times only, according to the 1993 Constitution. According to the constitution, it is also mandatory for the government to have separated ministries for finance, economy, defense, interior and foreign affairs in addition the prime ministers office. It is also forbidden to merge these six offices into one another.

National Parliament
The National Parliament (Republikken Folketinget) is the legislative body of the sannlig state. Since the constitutional reform of 1993 it is an unicameral system, with the members of the parliament being elected every 5 years via a party list proportional representation. The meetings of the parliament are presided by the Parliamentary President (Tingspresident). He is elected by an absolute majority of the parliament until the next general election.

National High Court
At last there is the National High Court (Republikken Hogsterett) as the judicial body. It is divided into three chambers, being responsible either for constitutional, civil or criminal law. Every chamber consists of five justices, one of them being chairman of the chamber. The three chairmen then represent the court's presidency, with one of them being the president and the others being the vice-presidents.

Political Parties
There are currently six major parties, which are also all represented in the Republikken Folketing. The governing parties are currently the two centre-left parties Sannlig Democratic Party (Sannligs Demokradig Partiet, SDP) and Progressive Party of Sannlibo (Progresive Partiet og Sannlibo, PPS). The opposition is currently consisting of the left-populist Socialist Environmental Party (Socialiste Miljopartiet, SMP) and the center-right to right block, consisting of the center-right Conservative People's Party (Konservative Folkepartiet, KFP) and Republican Centre Party (Republikken Centerpartiet, RCP), and the right-wing National-Traditionalist Party (Nationale Traditionspartiet, NTP).

Administrative Divisions
The sannlig administration below the national level is split into 10 cantons (Kantonen). Each of them is governed by a an administrative council (Kantonsråten) and a governor (Kantonsguvernoren). The largest canton by area is Nordmark, the smallest is Metropolitan Eridlo (Stadten-Eridlo). Greater Eridlo (Storten-Eridlo) has meanwhile the largest population, while Nordmark has the smallest.

Foreign Relations
Sannlibo historically shares very good relations with the Kingdom of Ringerike. Despite the formal split of the two countries, they maintained a close relationship and signed several political agreements. Also Sannlibo shares good and healthy relationships with its neighbours Gardarike and Ostboland, with which Sannlibo also has singed trade and other political agreements. In addition Sannlibo is a member of the Northern Coregnancy.

Military
Sannlibo also has a standing military force, the Republic Defense Forces (Sannligs: Republikken Forsvaretsmarkten), mainly consisting of professionals and volunteers. The conscription has been abolished after 75 years in 1989. Peacetime commander in-chief is the minister of defence, in wartimes this duty is taken over by the prime minister. The sannlig military is divided into the following main arms:

Land Forces
The Land Forces (Landvarets) are the most important arm of the sannlig military and responsible for ground based warfare. They are consisting of one mechanized division and three separate brigades. The separate brigades are the airmobile jaeger brigade (Jægerbrigadet), the special forces brigade (Kommandobrigadet) and the Joint Service Support Brigade, latter being tasked with specialized engineering, logistics, signal, EW and NBC missions.

Naval Forces
The Naval Forces (Marinevarets) are the main arm for maritime operations. They currently have 4 light frigates, 5 corvettes, 6 submarines, 4 off-shore patrol vessels, one landing craft and one icebreaker in there inventory. In addition they can also make use of the amphibious and support ships of the ringeriker navy.

Also part of the Marinevarets are the Sannlig Marines (Sannligs Mariniers), who provide a brigade sized force of amphibious troops. In addition there are further units for combat service support and special operations available. All of their operations are conducted with ringeriker support, who provide the necessary auxillary ships.

Air Forces
The Air Forces (Luftvarets) are tasked with aerospace security and aerial force projection, supporting tactical and strategic expeditionary missions and providing joint fire support and long-range ground-based air defence for ground forces. It currently operates 144 fighter jets in six squadrons, 44 tactical transporters, 24 special mission aircraft and a large amount of different helicopters.

24 of the 144 fighter jets are of the ringeriker J.02 type and have been purchased in an effort to provide an additional rotation for the ringeriker aircraft carriers. Thereby, the pilots and jets of the A Squadron, Flying Group, 1st Fighter Wing are able to conduct carrier based operations from the ringeriker Konge-Class carriers in cooperation with the ringeriker navy.



Guard Forces
The Guard Forces (Gardevarets) have very diverse tasks. One part are the Territorial Support Forces, which are battalion-sized reserve forces in each canton. Their task is the territorial defence and assistance of security forces in wartimes and the support of civil protection and disaster relief in peacetimes.

Also the Guard Rangers Regiment (Gardejaeger Regiment) is a part of the Gardevarets. They are the ceremonial unit of the Republic Defence Forces, responsible for the Guard of Honour of the governor general, the prime minister and the minister of defense. Also they coordinate the defence of the capital Eridlo.

At third there is the Mounted Guard (Hastgardet), which has the duties of a military police force.

Basic Information
The sannlig economy is officially based around a free market economy, though there are limitations through high social and ecological standards on the one side and state-owned enterprises in critical sectors on the other, so that mixed economy would make a better term.

Core sectors of the economic system are the high technology and heavy industrial sectors on the one side and the mining industry and the fishing and forestry industry on the other. But also the service sector became increasingly important through the years.

Geographically the economic centers are the cities of Eridlo and Vakkersholm north of the Kapenbjergs and the city of Vakkerak, lying at the mouth of the Vakker River into the Hagerrak Bay. Other centres are the cities of Fageholm and Vindjald which, like Vakkersholm, lie along the Vakker River and are bordering neighboring countries, such as Ostboland.

Also the economy is reliant on international trade, with the manufacturing sector having a large output of export goods, while most parts of grain and fuel need to be imported due to geographical limitations. Additionally fish, seafood and timber are exported in considerable numbers, while the service sector is also offering its services in many other countries too.

State-Owned Enterprises
The sannlig state owns a couple of enterprises in certain sectors, which are considered critical for the security of the country. Currently these are the following:


 * Sannligs Transnet AB (airports, roads, railroads, waterways)
 * Sannligs Energi AB (power production, fuel import, energy grid)
 * Sannligs Telenet AB (internet and communication networks)
 * Sannsystems AB (aerospace, defence, electronics and marine systems)

Also there are companies of which the sannlig state holds shares, after they were privatized:


 * Sannligs Statsbaner AB (railway services, public transit, 40%)
 * SAS - SannligAirShuttle AB (airline company, 40%)
 * SannPost AB (mail and delivery services, 40%)
 * TeleSann AB (telephone and internet provider, 40%)
 * Metallsann AB (metalworking, heavy engineering, 40%)
 * Navalsann AB (marine systems, shipbuilding, 40%)
 * Aerosann AB (aircraft building, engines, 40%)

Also the sannlig state made strategic investments into the following companies:


 * Hyger Gruppen AB (vehicles, powertrains, 20%)
 * Hyger Motors AB (cars, motorcycles, vans, 20%)

Transport Infrastructure
Sannlibo offers a highly developed transport network. It relies mostly on railway infrastructure, but also provides a dense network of streets, especially highways and motorways, while waterways are considered less important. Also Sannlibo provides a fairly large account of airports, as every larger city has one. The largest and most important airport is the Eridlo International Airport, which is also the only international airport of Sannlibo and the only one to provide intercontinental flights. In recent times new railways have been built along already existing motorways, being four tracks wide, so they can feature both high-speed and cargo services at once, without having them to interfere with each other.

The motorways and the newly built railways are sorted along the following axes:


 * North-South (Vakker River): Vakkerak - Vakkersholm with a diversion to Eridlo
 * North-South (Hyggelig River): (Hyggerak - Eridlo)
 * Ellesholm - Holmgard: (Section Vakkersholm - Eridlo and the Kapenbjergstunelen)

In addition to the Axis Ellesholm - Holmgard, there are also international connections connecting Vakkersholm and Vakkerak to the Skagerrak Tunnel. The Kapenbjerg Tunnel (Kapenbjergstunelen) is also the largest and most expensive investment into infrastructure in recent years. This 57 km long tunnel is built as a base tunnel, featuring 4 single track tunnels, 2 for cargo and 2 for high-speed services, and 2 two-lane single-direction street tunnels. It connects Sannlibo with Gardarike by passing through the Kapenbjergs and is part of the Axis Ellesholm - Holmgard. It also directly connects to the Eridlo City Tunnel and the underground Eridlo Main Station, which also opened recently.



Language
The official language of Sannlibo is Sannligs. It is related to ostish and gardic, but also has a strong influence of norsk in it, due to the common history with Ringerike. Latter three languages, gardic, norsk and ostish are also commonly spoken among the sannlig people and are consired recognized languages of the country. Also Sannlibo has one of the highest rates of anglic speakers, which is also emphasized by the educational system.

Ethnicity
Sannlibo's ethnicity is influenced by the history with Ringerike and the neighbourhood to Gardarike and Ostboland. While the sannligs are the most widespread and by far the largest ethnicity, the gardic, norsk and ostban ethnicities still have large influence and a considerable share of people. Though this is not considered problematic, since all these ethnicities are related and share a common culture and history.

Religion
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Art
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Architecture
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Cuisine
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Sport
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Music
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Cinema and Media
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Education
The educational system of Sannlibo is originally divided between elementary and secondary schools as well as professional schools and universities. Additionally there have kindergardens been introduced for children aging from one to six years. At the age of six years children are then introduced into the elementary schools, until the 6th grade. From the 7th grade on, children visit the secondary schools. These are usually ranging until the 10th grade, in which the students aquire first level graduation (Forst Niva Utdanning (FNU)). Some schools also offer the second level graduation (Andra Niva Utdanning (ANU)), which is aquired after three additional years of school and a final exam in the 13th grade. The access to the 11th grade is also bound to the certificate of the 10th, which has to be good enough.

Both FNU and ANU give access to a professional education for a certain profession of one own's choice, e.g. mechanic, nurse or something else. Most of these professional educations are dual, which means that one may spend the one half of his professional education in a professional school and the other at the workplace.

Additionally the ANU gives access to the universities, where one can study politics, medicine or something else to get an academic degree.