Samuel Salo

Samuel Vincent Salo (October 15, 1913 - January 18, 1986), also known informally as Sam Salo, was an Arolan politician and former military officer who served as the first President of Arola from 1958 to 1966. Salo also became the patriarch of the Salo family.

Salo has became an influential and important historical figure in Arolan history, as he oversaw the rebuilding of Arola as an independent nation and helped to improve the country. He also led to the economic miracle of Arola, the building of the Arolan Freeway System (hence his nickname of " of the Nordics") and the improvement of the quality of living in Arola. Salo has become one of the most famous and best presidents in Arolan history, and has been the centerpiece of most Arolan developments today.

Early life and education
Samuel Vincent Salo was born on October 15, 1913 in Kelvia, British Arola (present day Arola) to a Finnish middle-class family. Salo grew up in a fairly cramped apartment in Kelvia, which he and his family hated but had no choice and had to keep it.

Salo only got education at the age of 8, mainly due to and his parents having to pay bills. Despite these setbacks, Salo managed to be the top student in his class and his teachers were greatly impressed. At the age of 16, he was deemed a child prodigy and attended the University of Kelvia after being persuaded by his teachers.

Pre-World War II
Salo went on to study law in the University of Kelvia in 1929. However, only after a year of attending the University, he was forced to stop his studies at the age of 19 due to the. Salo was devastated and became broke and had to live the rest of his life in a cardboard box. He miraculously survived by finding a bayonet in an alley and went to the Rivomaa Highlands daily to hunt for food before coming back to his box.

While hunting one day in the mid 1930s, he was spotted by the British army, who were at the same time looking for commanders. He was offered to join, and Salo reluctantly accepted. Salo eventually adapted to his life as a military officer, using techniques he learnt in class. He came up with good strategies to keep Arola protected, and the British gradually promoted him.

Post-World War II and rise to power
After World War II ended, Salo remained in the British Army until 1946, when he retired to continue his studies in law as it was his passion in the first place. Salo graduated from the in 1948 with a degree in law and started a political faction known as the Salo Gang along with many post-war Arolan politicians to push for the independence of Arola.

In 1954, the British government announced that it would withdraw troops from Arola due to tensions caused by the and allowed Arola to gain independence. The Salo Gang citied this as an opportunity and began laying the foundations of Arola's self-governance.

First presidency (1958-1962)
On 30th June 1958, the British sent their transport aircraft to carry the last troops in Arola out of the country. On the morning of July 1st, the last British aircraft departed RAF Korvola, officially handing over the entire Arola mainland to the self government led by Salo. That same afternoon, Salo made his first speech as acting president at the Kelvia Central Station (now Kelvia Central intermodal hub), which officially proclaimed independence in Arola.

Salo opted to run for the upcoming 1958 Arolan presidential election, which took place on 29th July 1958. Salo won the election and continued to be Arola's first president. On 20th August 1958, Salo took the presidential oath of office before his inauguration speech, which was a recap of the first speech he spoke after Arolan independence and some new key projects he had in mind, including the Arolan Freeway System.

Salo's visions instantaneously caused a rise in his reputation and popularity and by the end of Salo's first term, most of Salo's visions mentioned in his 1958 speech were realised. For example, the first portion of the Freeway 9 had been completed in late 1962 during Salo's second term and the GDP growth of Arola increased from 0.003% to 7%, a huge leap for Arola's economy at the time. These visions also caused the birth rate in Arola to skyrocket and more international companies settling in Arola.

Second presidency (1962-1966)
Salo ran for president again for the 1962 Arolan presidential election and once again won with 82.3% of votes.

Unlike his first term, Salo began to shift his focus to the future needs of the increasing population in Arola, as education needs would be increasing by the start of the 1970s. Salo first changed the five-day school week to four days in October 1964 with approval by the Arolan Ministry of Education and removed all GCE exams. Just a few months later, Salo removed every remaining standardised examinations and replaced them with bimonthly unweighted tests to ensure the population would be "all-rounded" and not compete with each other.

Salo’s government also saw an increase in substance abuse and homelessness which had persisted since the country’s independence. Salo decided to pass the Controlled Substances Act in April 1965, which criminalised the misuse of substances. Although reactions to the passing of the act was mixed, Salo was later praised both in Arola and internationally as it has substantially decreased homelessness in Arola since.

Salo also enacted a new presidential law in preparation for his successor in June 1965, which ensured that all presidents could only serve for two four-year long terms. Salo left office on 20th August 1966 following the 1966 Arolan presidential election, and was replaced by Labour Party politician Herman Klaus Salmela.

Post-presidential life (1966-1986)
After Salo stepped down as President of Arola in 1966, he travelled on the Arolan Freeway 9 to the town of Muhos in the Kronvik province, where he stayed at the Muhos Kangaspelto Grand Hotel for 6 weeks with his family and wife.

Salo bought a former 2-floor holiday house for his family in Muhos during the 6 week stay and eventually moved in to the residence, where he lived until his death.

Death
In the afternoon of January 18, 1986, Salo was watching television at his holiday house in Muhos when he unexpectedly lost consciousness and fell into a coma for about 6 minutes. Salo was immediately rushed to the Muhos City Hospital at 1.46p.m, where he was pronounced dead by the hospital's cardiologist who also diagnosed the cause of death as a cerebral hemorrhage.

That same evening, the Arolan government began a 30-day mourning period, the longest that has ever taken place in Arola to this day. All flags were flown to half-mast and the Kronvik section of Freeway 9 experienced major congestion due to many people visiting Salo's holiday house to send flowers.

Salo was buried at the newly erected Samuel Salo Presidential Memorial in Rivomaa Highlands, Kronvik on February 19th, a day after the mourning period ended.

Personal life
Salo was a mostly relaxed person outside of his presidential duties, and even watched television for not more than 2 hours a day in his post-presidential life.

During the formation of the Salo Gang, the only female member who joined was Marianne Anttonen. Their relationship grew over time and they eventually married on 27th October 1953. They have four children, Antonio Salo (1955-), Julia Salo (1957-), Lucius Salo (1960-) and Ted Salo (1961-).