De vita Snowum

by ForFutureReference

Or: "About the Life of the Snows". The history of Panem, from its foundation to the Mockingjay Rebellion, as observed through the biographies of the diverse set of individuals who took upon the mantle of "President Snow". Can be read as a standalone unofficial supplemental guide or as a "sequel" to 'Seeds of Panem'.

7. The Overseer

Constantius Snow

Like Valerian, Contantius' reign was relatively short. However, he would also set the course for the next several decades in Panem by codifying the Dynastic Age, as well as expanding power over the districts.

Former Name: Micheal Williams

Reign: September 23, 62 AF–March 8, 70 AF

Birth/Death: February 5, 7 AF–March 8, 70 AF

Personality

Constantius was a sickly person, wracked with severe asthma and polio; while able to walk, he spent most of his life in a wheelchair or bedridden. However, besides the health-related issues, he was extremely confidant and capable of functioning in society. It was said that he compensated for his condition by knowing how to delegate tasks to people physically-stronger than himself and ensuring the tasks get done by employing redundant oversight.

While he was not distrustful of others like his brother, Valerian, he still placed a high value in family.

Early Life

Michael also served in the family business. He became WUBT's head of security, not only being in charge of security operations in the headquarters of the company, but of all operations in the company's branches and subsidiaries. The security program would later be expanded by him into its own standalone company known as PanSec, which was a private contractor firm and a surveillance developer.

With Valerian's ascent into power, William was appointed as Secretary of Security. He would later become President Constantius Snow several days before his brother's death.

Investigations

After the assassination, Constantius put a considerable amount of resources in finding the perpetrators of the attack. He ended up using his connection with PanSec in expediting the process. It turned out that the assassination was a revenge attack funded by disgruntled district governmental officials. This was soon connected towards a greater conspiracy involving several districts wanting to have greater amount of power relative to the federal government and other districts. The deteriorating health of Valerian was tied to this. After the confessions, the convicted conspirators were executed in public via firing squad.

However, Constantius was not satisfied with the result. He believed that there had to be a stronger security presence to prevent such incidents from occurring again. He took the template of his previous company to develop a new security force: the Praetorian Guard. They were a highly-trained specialized force directly answerable to the president and in charge of guarding governmental facilities and officials, as well as the capital city. Besides deference to the president, they did have a great deal of autonomy. People from various districts were allowed to join, but the selection and training process was stringent.

Besides the Guard, there was also a mandate put into effect to increase surveillance throughout the nation. In every major community, video and audio surveillance systems were installed na comprehensive manner. Also, all communications lines were capable of being monitored. This was all done in conjunction with an overhaul of the communications systems.

Death and Passing the Mantle

Constantius died in March 8, 70 AF of respiratory failure. He would be the first president to die while still in office. However, several months beforehand, he found himself unable to lead to full capacity. So he had his daughter, Artemisia, assist him; this served the dual function of grooming her for to take his place, which she did after his death.

Thus had the position of President of Panem become hereditary.