Reuke Cambrist
Senator to Brentaal

Name: Reuke Ur'Tsyne-Cambrist
Age: 38
Species: Human
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Homeworld: Brentaal
Affiliation: New Republic
Title(s): Senator, Knight, Chairman of the Commerce Council
Relationship Status: Confirmed Bachelor
Languages: Basic, Bocce, High Galactic

Force: None
Weapon: None
Vessel: Eddicus II-class Interstellar Shuttle Vainglory

Information
He has been described as "vain," "arrogant," "pretentious," and his personal favorite, "haughty." Reuke Cambrist is an imperious child of the Brentaal noble houses, and will not hesitate to say so. He was often sickly and unsociable as a youth, but now enjoys playing grav-ball in much the same manner as he plays politics; dirty. It has been said that this sport is the only venue in which he can inflict physical pain on his competitors. An ambitious man, he has been known to ruin the careers of his rivals (and even his siblings) at the slightest provocation or convenience. He is also a "master of mistruth," and privately boasts that he "... has never once told a lie, because it has never been phrased as such."

But despite his flimsy morals, he is regarded as an able public servant (although he more often serves his own interests, rather than the public's). He is, above all, a man of wealth and refinement, with an encyclopedic knowledge of commerce; Brentaal's economic pasttime. His appointment to be the New Republic's Senator to Brentaal was considered by his fellow nobles as an inevitability, and with a reputation that preceded him to the Senate, he made no secret of his ambition to chair the influential Commerce Council and was soon, successfully, appointed to the position. Today, in 20 ABY, he remains an influential Senator, if something of a gadfly.

Politics
Cambrist was known as a vocal critic of Brentaal's Imperial administration (prior to the planet's liberation in 4.5 ABY), but it is unclear whether he objected to the Empire on principle, or rather simply the ineptitude of Admiral Lon Isoto. In either case, he claimed (until the peace of 19 ABY) a populist record of opposition to the Imperial Remnant, even though House Cambrist was among its beneficiaries. He also supports free trade, argues that the New Republic should overrule planetary rules on environment and species protection if necessary for commerce, and is a virulent opponent of smuggling and piracy. He is otherwise regarded as a "classical liberal" on social issues, with a tendency toward fiscal conservatism.

In 11 ABY, Cambrist sponsored a bill to "nationalize" the Bureau of Ships and Services (BoSS), and place it under the authority of the Commrece Council. The measure passed. He also proposed a measure to formally, diplomatically recognize the Smuggler's Alliance, despite his aversion to smuggling, because of the economic benefit to do so. That measure, too, passed. He has voted in favor of measures to expand access to the holonet on the Outer Rim, although he opposed a bill to provide government loans to poor, Outer Rim worlds for defense infrastructure. Since 19 ABY, he has been strongly in favor of the Bastion Accords, which officially made peace with the Imperial Remnant; he was, in fact, closely involved in writing the treaty's provisions opening the Remnant to free commerce.

Controversies
Cambrist is no stranger to controversy. He has been heard on several occasions referring to the Jedi Order as "a cult," and once declared "... [the Jedi] will be the downfall of the New Republic, just like the Old, if we give them some special, holy consideration." He argues that the remark was taken out of context. In 4 ABY, he earned the ire of the New Republic Defense Fleet by denouncing their "incompetence" and "heavy-handedness" during the liberation of his world. In 6 ABY, a rumor (believed to be promoted by Cambrist's office) accused a rival nobleman of infidelity, resulting in his apparent suicide. House Cambrist has also been suspected of profiting from real estate seized from nonhumans by the Empire, although these accusations have not been proven. Cambrist is also a purported member of the secretive Order of the Canted Circle.

He was made a Knight of the New Republic-friendly faction, the Norat Sovereignty, which was destroyed by the Yevetha in 16 ABY; despite this, he continues to refer to himself as "Sir Reuke Cambrist," which some argue is in poor taste.

He has also been the subject of controversy in his tenure in the Senate. In 11 ABY, he referred to the Jedi Academy as "a secretive, unaccountable seminary," to the late Master Yoda as "an insufferable git," and accused the Jedi of "criminal negligence" and "violent, narrow minded, superstitious doctrine." He was involved in the funding of a secular academy for Force sensitive individuals, based on Brentaal; the academy was closed the following year when one of its students overzealously slayed a murder suspect. His crusade against the Jedi continued, however, eventually proposing a measure to ban Force sensitives from public office (a proposal which failed).

Also in 11 ABY, he became a founding member of the so called "Prosperity Alliance," a partnership of mutual, strategic interest between Brentaal, Neimoidia and the Intergalactic Mining Corporation. The Alliance became a focus of controversy when it initiated, in 11 ABY, a blockade of the planet Acherin (including vessels from Brentaal's defense fleet, with Cambrist's consent). Acherin would later join the New Republic and, in 17 ABY, Cambrist was among the members of the Alliance who refused the planet's demand for reparations, for commodities seized during the blockade. By 20 ABY, the Prosperity Alliance remains in operation, but focuses instead on the circumventing of economic and environmental regulations, and currency manipulation.