Eugene Levi
From IBWiki
| Date of birth: | 17 December, 1946 |
| Date of death: | not applicable |
| Place of birth: | Cape Breton, Alba Nuadh |
| Family: | Katherine Ni'Heara Levi (wife) |
| Profession: | Journalist, Politician |
| Political Party: | Covenant Loyalist |
| Relgious Affiliation: | Jewish |
Eugene Levi (born December 17, 1946) is a member of the NAL Parliament. He is currently Speaker of the House of Deputies in that body since the General Election of 2006.
Levi is the son of a homemaker mother and an automobile plant foreman father. He attended Harvard University on a partial scholarship, then went into television journalism where he achieved considerable success, eventually becoming a well-known anchor and commentator on the Public Broadcasting Network. He left this position in 1990 to run for the House of Deputies on the Whig ticket, and has served in that office ever since.
Politically, Levi has always been something of a moderate. Although extremely liberal in terms of social issues (abortion, gay rights, etc.) he is more of a conservative on economic ones (preferring fewer taxes, a balanced budget, etc.). His support of the Florida War was lukewarm, as indeed has been his relations with all advocates of the so-called "NeoLeft". Ultimately this led him to become the senior-most Whig MP to defect to the new Covenant Loyalist Party in 2006. After the General Election, the Whig-CL coalition put Levi into the Speakership of the House. Initial negotiations were to give him the post of Secretary of State for Internal Affairs (based at least partially on his personal friendship with the Ouda of Cherokee Nation) but Deputies themselves expressed a strong desire to see him as Speaker.
Somewhat controversially, in 2003 Levi married a Cambrian Rite Catholic, his long-time friend, composer/song-writer Katherine Ni'Heara. Given his personal popularity (as a witty commentator much in demand), his mixed-marriage, his faith and his glasses, some pundits have begun comparing him to James Wainwright. Given his position in the new CL party, he is a feasible candidate for General Moderator in 2010.
