Eloise Pritchart

Honorverse Character


name=Eloise Pritchart
race=Human
gender=Female
born=
homeworld=Haven
occupation=Politician
relatives=
affiliation=Republic of Haven
position=President
rank=

Eloise Pritchart is a fictional character in David Weber´s Honorverse series of novels. She was first introduced in the series' sixth novel, "Honor Among Enemies" as a People's Commissioner (political commissar) assigned to watch over a leading Havenite admiral.

A native of the People's Republic of Haven and having lost her sister Estelle to a gang of thugs, she became a high-ranking member of the April Tribunal movement, a terrorist organization that fought the excesses of the Legislaturalist regime, having adopted the war name "Brigade Commander Delta". When the Legislaturalists were toppled, she sided with the Committee of Public Safety which took power, and became a People's Commissioner within the Navy.

She was assigned as Admiral Javier Giscard's Commissioner and, against all regulations, began a romantic affair with him, but managed to fool Oscar Saint-Just and State Security by constantly reporting that she had a really bad working relationship with the admiral ("Honor Among Enemies", "Echoes of Honor", "Ashes of Victory").

After Admiral Theisman's coup, she became the provisional President of Haven, and was then confirmed on the job after winning Haven's first free elections in centuries by a landslide. During her presidential term, the Republic of Haven's original Constitution was restored, the bankrupt Havenite economy was slowly put back on track, and true democracy returned, even though the Republic was plunged into a multi-cornered civil war against the remnants of the old regime.

During the early days of her Presidency, she attained a truce with the Manticoran Alliance, thus ending a destructive ten-year war ("War of Honor"). However, due to the unfortunate interference of Haven's own Secretary of State Arnold Giancola, who was tampering with the correspondence Pritchart was having with Queen Elizabeth in order to force Pritchart to adopt a harder stance against Manticore, the truce ended and hostilities resumed, with Haven launching a devastating first strike against Manticore under direct orders from President Pritchart.

As of the series' eleventh and last-published novel, "At All Costs", she remains as President of the Republic of Haven. However, she has learned of Giancola's underhanded (and disgraceful) activities, and now earnestly wishes to resume negotiations to end the war. Thus far, though, she has been thwarted of that goal by more behind-the-scenes interference (Perpetrated this time by Mesa.).

References