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The '''Federation''', formerly the '''Federation of Star Systems''', is a [[:Category:Galactic Superpower|galactic superpower]] and representative democracy. It is the oldest and largest of the three major [[:Category:Factions|factions]] in the galaxy.<ref name=":5">[https://www.elitedangerous.com/en/story/galactic-superpowers Galactic Superpowers - Story - Elite Dangerous]</ref> Planet [[Sol/Earth|Earth]] ([[Sol]]), birthplace of humankind, is the historic former capital of the Federation and regarded as the centre of human-inhabited space. The Federation loosely lies between the [[Alliance]] and the [[Empire]] on the [[Galaxy Map]]. The Federation's current capital is [[Olympus Village]] on [[Mars]]. Several branches of the federal government are in Olympus Village such as the [[Federal Congress]] and the [[President of the Federation|President]] in the [[White House]].
The Federation arose from the ashes of [[World War III]] in the mid 21st century. The war caused tremendous devastation across the planet, decimating the population.<ref name=":7">[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5597abc79657bab1445913c2 GalNet: The Founding of the Federation
The Federation has densely settled star systems with trillions of people.<ref name=":9" /> The Federal economy has a huge gross domestic product which funds a large, well-equipped [[Federal Navy]]. In Federal society people can freely move between social classes which are only determined by the haves and have-nots. There is poverty but also conspicuous wealth. Corruption is not unusual in the Federation. Every citizen has rights and freedoms that are enshrined in the Constitution.<ref name=":3" /> Some things are illegal such as [[Slaves|slavery]], [[cloning]] and certain [[narcotics]].<ref name=":6" /> A key tenet of the Federation's founding was the protection of xeno-culture and lifeforms, but it is sometimes claimed that the Federation uses this as a pretext for military action against its adversaries, such as the [[Empire]].<ref name=":8" />
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===Consolidation on Earth===
[[File:Earth-3302-Elite-Dangerous.png|thumb|250px|Earth in 3302]]
''Mankind's first ventures into space were tentative and gradual. The early part of the 21st century saw the first manned spaceflights beyond the moon, but it took major population and economic problems to stimulate enough commercial commitment to start settlements beyond Earth.''<ref name=":2">Tourist Spot 0165,
''The [[World War III|Third World War]] saw this exploration expenditure dragged back again and it wasn't until the very end of the 21st century that colonies on Mars and the Moon became truly permanent and viable.''<ref name=":2" />
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===Space colonization===
Many different factors changed humanity's outlook after that. The rise of the corporations, the discovery of the first fossils on Mars, and the explosive exploration triggered by the invention of the [[hyperdrive]] by [[Li Qin Jao]] and others in the 22nd century, first by unmanned probes, then with manned craft, overtaking the generation ships sent in the previous decades. Despite the huge dangers involved, a massive land-grab followed, fuelled by the voracious corporations.<ref name="
It wasn’t until some of the ecological excesses of these early colonists became apparent over a century later that Earth took its first steps, founding the Federation and becoming the colossal entity it is now, creating some order in what had become an unruly free-for-all.<ref name="
===The Federal Accord===
In 2242, the [[Federal Accord]] was created outlining certain rights and responsibilities for members, uniting many of the new colonies, by force in some cases. After a short conflict the Taylor Colony in [[Tau Ceti]] (which had been ignoring Earth's demands to stop killing the native wildlife to near extinction levels over a period of approximately 20 years) became the first signatory outside the Sol system. Sol and Tau Ceti were soon joined by [[Delta Pavonis]], [[Altair]], and [[Beta Hydri]], and these five systems are today regarded as the founding members of the Federation. The name of the Federation was also changed at this time to the "[[Federation of Star Systems]]", but the name didn’t stick and quickly returned to just the Federation.<ref name="
From that point the Federation provided a stable framework to facilitate the further expansion of humanity to ever more distant star systems but not all colonies wanted a part of this. A distant early colony, formed by a band of political idealists as far from Earth as they could manage, in the system of [[Achenar]] would eventually spark another defining moment for the Federation and indeed humanity as a whole: the [[Battle of Achenar]].<ref name="
The Federation has always seen itself as the<span style="font-weight:normal;"> major power in the galaxy. From the very beginning, long before the Empire or Alliance existed, it took upon itself the task of policing the galaxy and being the peacekeepers. While sometimes not in the best interests of minor factions involved, the decisions made by the Federation are usually made for the benefit of its citizens.</span>
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=== The Birthright Wars ===
[[File:Federation-Federal-Navy-Fleet-1.png|thumb|250px|Federal Navy First Fleet]]
Between 2621 and 2735, Federal member systems underwent a period of societal change. The original colonial charters of many settlements granted hereditary land and position to families descended from their original settlers. Many of these birthright claims extended across vast areas of land and encompassed massive resources. The old charters became a hindrance especially to corporations who wanted access to these assets and gradually more and more pressure came to bear on the presidential administration to take action against this 'stifling anachronism'.<ref name=":0">Tourist
The [[Birthright Wars]] were the name given to a series of conflicts that resulted in the forced acquisition or redistribution of hereditary rights (depending on your viewpoint) from colonial pioneers to corporations who had necessary technology to exploit these regions. It was generally blamed on corporate greed at the time, but notably the Federal Navy stood by.<ref name=":0" />
The commercial race in starship innovation together with increased funding from the Birthright Wars allowed the Federation to renew and centralise its military power. In the past, mobilising a fleet had required mustering resources from each member system, but generous corporate charters authorised different corporations to build and maintain centralised fleets. The first of this was commissioned and trained at Anlave in 2702, providing a much needed new purpose for the ruined agricultural system. These could be deployed much more efficiently against the Federation's enemies.<ref name=":1">Tourist
Anlave was the site for the final act in the Birthright Wars. Exiled descendants of displaced original colonists, invaded the system in 2708, and bombarded the Naval Academy at Anderton, obliterating it. A battlefleet of privateers descended on the system, but were beaten back by a spirited and shrewd tactician; Admiral Ghenkis B'nami. It was believed at the time that Imperial finance had sponsored the coup, but no link was ever proven, and this is now seen as scaremongering.<ref name=":1" />
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On June 13, 3303, a Federal fleet was wiped out in an apparent attack by [[Thargoids]]. On June 19, President Hudson responded to the attack and discovery that the Thargoids were tied to the recent spate of alien encounters by starship pilots, saying that the Federal military had been expanding in recent months in preparation for a possible conflict with a hostile alien species.
The Federation's shift of focus to the Thargoids was demonstrated by the completion of the Blackmount Orbital [[Asteroid Base]] in HIP 17692 on July 7, 3303, and the announcement on the same day of a campaign to gather the resources for the construction of a survey outpost in the system to monitor Thargoid activity.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/595e07ff82824f10a91fc919 GalNet: Galactic News: New Superpower Bases in the Pleiades]</ref><ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/595e51e1478524147370660a GalNet: Community Goal: New Federal Outpost]</ref> The campaign proved successful and the outpost, Blackmount Habitation, was established on HIP 17962 A 1.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/596791606336076f0c53eb23 GalNet: Galactic News: Federal Outpost Campaign Concludes]</ref>
By September 3303, speculation was rife that tensions between the Federation and Empire were thawing and the cold war was ending after the three superpowers set aside their differences to sponsor the creation of [[Aegis]]. Commentators opined that because neither the Federation nor the Empire had succeeded in establishing a monopoly over Meta-Alloys, both sides wanted to back down and save face.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59a92dbb2b36fd286819e7e5 GalNet: Galactic News: Cold War Thawing?]</ref> This development was soon followed by the withdrawal of the Federal blockade of Professor [[Ishmael Palin]] on [[Maia]] A 3 A.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59b265cafee03f60465ee584 GalNet: Galactic News: Federal Blockade Ends]</ref>
On September 15, 3303, Chief of Federal Security Admiral [[Aden Tanner]] announced that another Thargoid attack had recently occurred which resulted in the destruction of multiple Federal vessels, including one Farragut-Class Battle Cruiser. While the motives for this attack were unknown, Admiral Tanner confirmed that the Thargoids were now officially considered enemies of the Federation. President Hudson gave Tanner full authority over the [[Federal Navy]] to deal with the Thargoid threat.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59bb9793d5777560b7216455 GalNet: Galactic News: Federal Capital Ship Destroyed by Thargoids]</ref> Amid speculation that Federal forces had provoked the attack, the Federation insisted that black box data from the wreckage indicated no provocation on their part; this was confirmed by Aegis, which had also analyzed data from the attack.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59c3a0e02468d745a72f97a0 GalNet: Galactic News: Federation Addresses Rumours]</ref> The incident spurred the Federation and the other two superpowers to widen Aegis' remit to focus on both research and defence on September 21st. The organization's budget was dramatically increased, and it recruited the [[Engineers]] [[Liz Ryder]] and [[Professor Palin]] to produce a new anti-Thargoid weapon and a scanner for Thargoid ships, respectively.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59c3a108ced3ff7f807f54b7 GalNet: Galactic News: Aegis to Widen Remit]</ref><ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59c3cb9dffff1a05c9770bdd GalNet: Community Goal: Engineers Appeal for Thargoid Material]</ref>
On October 6, 3303, authorities in the Pleiades Nebula reported that the Federation had completely withdrawn its ships from the region, likely marking the end of the Federal-Imperial cold war over meta-alloys. The Empire was expected to follow suit in the coming days. Political commentators suggested that the attitude of cooperation brought about by the joint formation of Aegis, as well as escalating Thargoid attacks in the Pleiades, had been the catalyst for the withdrawal.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59d7526d8101dd5da464f2fa GalNet: Galactic News: Federation Withdraws from Pleiades]</ref> The Empire's own withdrawal was confirmed by regional authorities on October 11.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/59ddfbc6122be924b4645a7d GalNet: Galactic News: Empire Pulls Out of Pleiades]</ref>
Relations between the Federation and the Empire appeared poised to continue warming on June 22, 3304, when Princess [[Aisling Duval]] of the Empire announced her engagement to Federal Ambassador [[Jordan Rochester]].<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5b2a5313ac998e5aec013c6b GalNet: Aisling Duval Announces Marriage to Federal Ambassador]</ref> The planned marriage proved controversial not only among Federal citizens, but also in Imperial circles.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5b335f4b308c8b18a33feb05 GalNet: Galaxy Reacts to Federal-Imperial Betrothal]</ref> However, days before the ceremony was scheduled to occur in August 3304, anti-slavery activist [[Jarl Toredo]] revealed to the public that he had been in a secret relationship with Aisling, and Jordan's mother, [[Isolde Rochester]], cancelled the wedding.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5b742ce2563afa25f241db2f GalNet: Aisling Duval's Secret Relationship Revealed]</ref><ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5b7d48ec3cc7f7442d0414e4 GalNet: Aisling Duval Wedding Cancelled]</ref>
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==Society==
[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Federation-City.png|thumb|250px|A Federation city]]
In this modern age it's hard for us to imagine that before the Federation, humanity existed on just a single world, bar a few small colonies on Mars and the Moon. Even stranger to our current experience was the fact that so many disparate tribal groupings, or "[[Country|countries]]" existed on one world.<ref
=== Hierarchy and Commerce ===
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The efficient exploitation of human space has made the Federation very powerful and influential. The prevailing capitalist attitude of the Federal economy has made trade a competitive business, but one can discover near limitless opportunity if they know how to exploit the system.
The [[Federal Grand Lottery]] is the largest lottery in the [[galaxy]]. It regularly hands out millions of [[credits]] to winners. The annual Galactic Jackpot is by far the most popular lottery game.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5b4713372b87a4631072cf29 GalNet: Search for Lottery Winner
=== Culture ===
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The media drives a culture of celebrity. Top ranking politicians, social commentators, entertainers and super-rich all command a great deal of media attention. This provides a sizable distraction for the populace, to the extent that foreign wars conducted by the Federation on their behalf get little media attention. This has ensued for many hundreds of years, and there is no sign of it changing.<ref name=":3" />
[[WorldCraft]] in [[Epsilon Eridani]] has been the Federation's favourite tourist resort for more than 300 years.<ref>Tourist
=== Technology ===
[[Robotics]] such as [[robot]]s and [[android]]s as well as advanced software are used extensively in Federal society. They do certain type of work so that people don't need to do the same. [[Cloning|Clones]] and [[slaves]] are illegal in Federal space.<ref name=":3" /><ref>[http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Empire Elite Wiki: Empire]</ref>
Between 3290 - 3300 CE, the [[Achilles Corporation]] sold over 20 million robots throughout the Federation, including nearly 300,000 [[PA912]] models.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/5bb743009e3c56256957f431 GalNet: Further Surveillance Robots Discovered
Animal cloning is legal in Federal space. Such as in 3302, the [[Starship Enterprises Corporation]] cloned hundreds of [[Earth]] animals inside special ''in vitro'' chambers.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/585bf70a9657ba5e182dbb5b GalNet: Galactic News: Wildlife Reserve Campaign Concludes]
The Federation's [[Farragut-Class Battle Cruiser]] [[Capital Ships|capital ships]], supplied by [[Core Dynamics]], are robust, practical war machines inside and out.<ref>Official The Art of Elite Dangerous art book, August 17 2016</ref>
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|Once every four or eight years
|[[Inauguration Day]]
|The day after a Federal election when a new president-elect takes the oath and is sworn into office as the [[President of the Federation]].<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/uid/556ddd259657ba047533fa1c GalNet: Zachary Hudson Becomes the New President of the Federation]
</ref>
|-
| 12 February
| Abraham Lincoln Starport Celebration
| Annual remembrance of Abraham Lincoln Starport's namesake, President Abraham Lincoln.<ref>[http://galnetarchive.blogspot.com/2015/02/celebration-at-abraham-lincoln-starport.html GalNet: Celebration at Abraham Lincoln Starport in Earth Orbit
|}
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=== Population ===
The Federation is the most populous of the three superpowers, and has an estimated population of 1,944,378,037,821 as of April 3306.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/g641q3/demographic_changes_in_the_galaxy_2020/
As of January 3308, the Federation controls 3,730 systems, of which the ten most populous are:<ref name="EDDB">Data gathered from [https://eddb.io/system EDDB] on January 31, 2022</ref>
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When the leader of one of the Federation's two main political parties, the Liberal Party and the Republican Party, is elected President, then the leader of the other party automatically becomes [[Shadow President]]. The Shadow President has no authority in the sitting President's administration, but he or she is often at the top of their party's list to run for the Presidency during an election. The current Shadow President is [[Felicia Winters]].
The [[White House]] on [[Mars]] is the official residence and workplace of the President.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/03-SEP-3302 GalNet: Galactic News: Galactic Leaders Respond to Discovery]</ref>
===Federal Congress===
[[Federal Congress]] is made up of 500 [[Congressmen]] (the term for both men and women). They sit in Congress, in [[Olympus Village]] on Mars – which replaced its location in Washington DC early in the 3rd millennium. Congressmen are expected to attend in person to vote.<ref name="FedGovt">[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/
Anyone can run for election to Federal Congress. They do not need to be backed by a political party or minor faction, but it helps. There are two major parties: the Liberals and the Republicans. Corporations generally do push (and fund) their chosen candidates or parties (e.g. Hudson), as do other special interest groups. Like the President, Congressmen are elected for an eight year term by the citizens of the Federation, with a "vote of no confidence" after four years.<ref name=":5" /> If the vote of no confidence succeeds then a full election takes place. A Congressman (or President) cannot serve multiple consecutive terms, though a Congressman can (and often does) become President immediately after a term as a Congressman.<ref name="FedGovt" />
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Congressmen do not change when their system's controlling minor faction changes, and serve until their term is up, but their life could become difficult, so they might resign, triggering a local election.<ref name="FedGovt" />
Federal colonies continued to mature into Congressional members and became accepted as Federal States throughout the next two centuries. However, the ratification of each colonial charter and approval of membership made the governing body of the Federation more and more unwieldy. This meant getting decisions made became more and more of a laborious and time consuming process, increasingly relying on Presidential Influence. Eventually in 2594, Congress passed an Act reducing the total number of congressmen dramatically at the subsequent election round, amid much controversy.<ref name=":4">Tourist
In parallel, the President's fixed four year term was extended to a single eight year term, with a Vote of Confidence by the people after four years. This was to address the problem that increasingly the Presidents were serving two consecutive terms (their limit - a historical limit dating back to pre-Federation days), and few credible candidates would stand against them in what increasingly were referred to as the 'mid-term' election.<ref
=== Government agencies ===
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==Federal Law==
[[File:Mars_Terraformed.jpg|thumb|250px|Mars terraformed, 3300]]
The Federation is an interstellar representative democracy. Every [[Federal Citizen|Federal citizen]] has rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution such as the right to vote in elections. Each adult citizen has one vote per election within their star system or state to elect Congressmen and the [[President of the Federation]]. Anyone of the Federation is free to run for election to Federal Congress and in Presidential elections.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9">[https://www.edrpg.co.uk/what-s-in-the-books The Federation Sourcebook, ''EDRPG'']</ref>
=== Constitution ===
Federal law is based on an agreed constitution known as the [[Federal Accord]], also simply called the Constitution, which was derived from the laws and principles of the [[United States of the Americas]], the other former [[Country|countries]] of [[Earth]], and the ancient Constitution of the United States, but was also greatly simplified.<ref>[https://archive.is/r1cmc
People have rights and freedoms, enshrined by this agreement. A great many things are illegal, like [[Slaves|slavery]], [[cloning]] and certain [[narcotics]]. Local 'State' law prohibits other trafficking to a greater or lesser degree. Things like ship-based weapons, personal weapons, other milder drugs and alcohol are banned in some systems.<ref name=":6">Tourist
==Key systems==
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==Trivia==
*Originally, the Federation government was intended to feature three main political parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. By the time ''[[Elite Dangerous]]'' launched, this had been changed to just two political parties,
== Videos ==
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