Ted Mazich

Ted Mazich
Photo of Ted Mazich
Ambassador to Zanzimar
In office 2052–2054
Preceded by	Lucius Walker
Deputy Minister of Defense
In office 2045–2049
Director of the Office of International Incident Coordination
In office 2043–2045
Director of the Bureau of Immigration and Citizenship
In office 2041–2043
Director of the Office of Counterterrorism
In office 2037–2041
Preceded by	Inaugural holder Raphael Sophan (as Chief of Domestic Security)
Director of the Icarisian Stability Service
In office 2027–2036
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Yasin Gunes
Chief of Inter-Governmental Intelligence
In office 2023–2027
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Personal details
Born	Ted Mazich 1976
Died	2054 Gigoda, Zanzimar
Cause of death	Assassinated
Nationality	Icarisian
Political party	Traditionalist Party
Profession	Politician
Military service
Branch/service	Migazan Army
Years of service	1998-2015

Ted Mazich was an Icarisian security and government official who served in various roles within the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of International Relations. He served as the Ambassador to Zanzimar as his last role before his assassination in the country after a violent militia took over the capital of Gigoda, Zanzimar.

Political career

Chief of Inter-Government Intelligence

This role was a standalone role within the Ministry of Defense as a special advisor to the Minister of Defense, coordinating all agencies tasked with an intelligence mission. The role was transitioned into the Bureau of Investigation and Law Enforcement in 2029.

Director of the Icarisian Stability Service (2027-2037)

In 2027, Avi Navon established the Icarisian Stability Service and placed Mazich in the role as its first Director. Mazich established the organization's structure and authorized various operations later deemed unethical. Due to Avi Navon's public persona and reputation, he took most of the criticism and Mazich was shielded despite being in the role for a decade.

Director of the Office of Counterterrorism (2037-2041)

In an effort to streamline the effectiveness of the Ministry, when Minister Dupont was appointed in 2037 he enacted changes Minister Navon sought to accomplish my establishing the Deputy Minister of Global and Domestic Security and within it, the Office of Counterterrorism. New Deputy Minister of Defense Raphael Sophan had worked with Mazich and recommended him to Dupont to fill the role as the Office's first Director.

Director of the Bureau of Immigration and Citizenship (2041-2043)

Having proved himself to be an exceptional leader and senior security expert, Mazich was appointed as the Director of the Bureau of Immigration and Citizenship, shifting his role from primarily security to include more domestic policy and organizational system leadership.

Director of the Office of International Incident Coordination (2043-2045)

In an attempt to set-up an entity that specialized in crafting Icarisian responses to international conflicts, Minister of Defense Eli Dupont convinced President Navon to establish the Office of Incident Coordination; a go-between the MoD and MoIR. Dupont placed Mazich at the helm to be its first director.

Deputy Minister of Defense (2045-2049)

When Eli Dupont was replaced by Clyde Schneider, he recommended Mazich to be the Deputy Minister of Defense. Schneider enthusiastically placed Mazich in the role due to his extensive knowledge of the Icarisian defense structure.

Retirement (2049-2052

Ted Mazich made the decision to retire in 2049 at the age of 73 after serving 29 years as a government official.

Ambassador to Zanzimar

When Lucius Walker resigned the Ambassadorship due to financial corruption allegations and security concerns about Zanzimar, most of the MoIR officials were on the same page on who to name to fill the role. Deputy Minister Harfaz, Deputy Minister Schram, and Director Espinosa all convinced Minister Kielska to appoint Mazich Ambassador. She was intially hesitant because of his age and retirement but Mazich accepted the role.

Gigoda Embassy attack

The Republic of Zanzimar had been struggling with corruption, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities and political instability for decades. Security briefing after security briefing from the Embassy in Zanzimar repeatedly stated the nation was unstable, the government was committing atrocities, and the Icarisian officials were unsafe and required additional protection. From 2050-2054, the situation in Zanzimar was at its worst. Mazich wrote dozens of memos requesting additional security and heavily working with the Office of Strategic Conflict Management, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Office of Ambassador Affairs, and the Deputy Minister of International Integration and Organizations as a whole to resolve the situation either through diplomatic channels or increased security in the region. The calls were left unanswered. On July 26, 2054, a radical minority group seeking to overthrow the incumbant government launched a wide-scale terror attack on the capital city of Gigoda. At 4:01 in the morning, several coordinated bombings occurred at several locations across the capital; locations crucial to infrastructure of the city and its governance. From the initial bombing until just after noon that day, the capital was completely ravaged and siezed by the radical militia. The Icarisian Embassy in the city had been on lockdown all week due to intelligence reports the event may occur. The Embasssy had a security staff of 43 members. At 12:37 PM, the gate of the Embassy was bombed and breached. Security officials attempted to fight off the militias but by the end of the attack, 37 of them had been killed. The militia had taken Ambassador Mazich and the remaining security officials as hostages and leaving the rest of the embassy staff in a second floor office while the embassy caught fire. The building collapsed with the staff inside. The militia began to attempt to negotiate with Icaris, but their calls were unaswered. Minister Kielska made a statement the next day, declaring the government would not respond to their calls nor recognize the illegitimate power they'd taken. That afternoon, President Dupont announced the closure of the embassy. There was nothing said about Ambassador Mazich and the security team hostages. The hostages were all killed the following day.

The incident marked a strategic and general failure of the Minister of International Relations and the President, not acknowledging the situation until it was too late. Once the embassy was closed, President Dupont explained back channels and discussions that were occurring and their response was not public in order to not draw attention to the militia and give them a global platform. The National Parliament conducted an independent investigation of the Icarisian executive branch's response and deemed them primarily at fault for ignoring the security risk and endangering the lives of officials overseas. Following the incident, 12 MoD and MoIR veteran officials resigned their posts, including 3 sitting Ambassadors.

Minister Kielska refused to address failures of her staff officials and there was no one lost their position due to the incident.