ERAM - The Sebiestor Tribe announced that Karin Midular passed away in the early morning after emergency attempts to remove tumors from her brain had failed.
A council of Sebiestor Tribal elders released a statement declaring a week of mourning for Midular, an often-controversial leader who had seen a resurgence in popularity over the recent years. "Karin Midular was not only the Chief of the Sebiestor Tribe," the statement read, "but she was also a Ray of Matar for all the Minmatar people. She stood as a bright beacon through dark times and saw us through to where we can become stronger than ever. Her loss is a horrible tragedy to all Minmatar and she will be deeply mourned."
Midular, a former Prime Minister and the Tribal Chief of the Sebiestor Tribe, was shot in the head during a gunman's rampage on April 11th at a Minmatar cultural festival in Luminaire which left 59 dead and 303 wounded. Midular was the most high-profile victim of the shooter, about whom details remain scarce as the Gallente Federation continues to hold him in high security as a matter of national security. Repeated requests by the Minmatar Republic to extradite the shooter have been denied.
Elected to the office of Prime Minister in YC 102, Midular was a source of much political conflict within the Republic. Her moderate views and stance of appeasement toward the Amarr won her few sympathies with the more radical elements within the Minmatar Freedom Fighter movement and often brought her into conflict with more aggressive politicians such as Maleatu Shakor. She controversially ordered the assassination of Karishal Muritor, a Republic Fleet Admiral who had gone rogue and began leading his fleet in attacks on the Bleak Lands, in YC 109, which led to the notorious Ushra'Khan alliance placing a symbolic 1 ISK bounty on her head.
In YC 110, Shakor initiated a Parliamentary vote of no confidence in Midular, which passed. In response, Midular dissolved Parliament and called for new elections. Before they could begin, however, the Elder Fleet invaded the Amarr Empire and retrieved millions of enslaved Minmatar. Following these events, the Republic government dissolved entirely, Maleatu Shakor was named Sanmatar, and a drawn-out process to establish a new Tribal Assembly was put into place.
Despite her ouster, Midular remained in the position of Sebiestor Tribal Chief, which she ascended to in YC 97. Exceptionally young for a Tribal Chief, Midular was nonetheless known for her charisma and personal diplomacy, often intervening in inter-clan disputes to maintain the stability of the Tribe. Her popularity within the Sebiestor Tribe, which never waned, swept her into the office of Prime Minister and kept her there despite strong opposition from the Brutor and Krusual tribes.
Midular was born a slave-child in YC 56 and was smuggled out by her parents soon after. She did not know her parents, who remained in captivity, but was raised communally by the Tribe. At age 16, she underwent the Voluval ritual and received the Ray of Matar mark. The mark is the rarest and most revered of all Voluval marks among the Minmatar. The Minmatar believed it marked her for greatness and it is credited with aiding her in her rise to Prime Minister and enduring popularity.