Greenberg Prefecture

Greenberg Prefecture (from Dutch Groenberg, meaning green mountain; Spanish: Monteverde; abbreviated as GB) is the northernmost prefecture of Enderron. It is bordered by Longshan Prefecture to the southwest and Sierra Prefecture to the southeast, as well as the Batavian Republic to the east. Its capital and largest city is Van Buren. Greenberg was created in 1979 from the northernmost three counties of Sierra Prefecture as a result of the 1978 secession referendum.

Greenberg is Enderron's least populated prefecture, with a population of 128,845, fewer than half as many people as Sierra, the next least-populated prefecture. It is also the most centralised prefecture, with more than 90 percent of its population living in the Greater Van Buren metropolitan area. Its economy, dominated by forestry, mining, and agriculture, is the smallest of all prefectures. Greenberg suffers from poor urban infrastructure and lower-than-average education and health levels, mostly due to its geographical isolation and sparse population. It has the second-highest poverty rate in Enderron after New Colorado. On the other hand, Greenberg leads in the country in environmental protection laws and natural beauty, with a large proportion of its eastern interior designated as national parkland. It also has the lowest levels of air and light pollution, which, combined with its minimal urban development and rugged natural landscape, make it a popular destination for outdoor recreation, ecotourism and music festivals.

Etymology
Greenberg is an anglicisation of the Dutch groenberg, meaning green mountain, itself a calque, or direct translation, of the Spanish monteverde. The name is derived from the highest mountain in the prefecture, today known in English as Green Mountain, named for its colour. The area was known as the Greenberg Region prior to becoming its own prefecture.

History
TBA

Government
Greenberg has a semi-presidential political system, with the Governor of Greenberg Prefecture (currently Ron Mertens of the Liberal Party of Enderron) as the head of state, and the Premier of Greenberg Prefecture (currently Missy Harrelson of the Liberal Party of Enderron) as the head of government. Its unicameral parliament consists of the 25-member Greenberg Prefectural Assembly, with elections held every four years, using full preferential voting.

Federal representation
Greenberg elects a single Member of Parliament to the Enderronian Parliament.

Political culture
Greenberg is traditionally a conservative prefecture, owing to its low population density, lack of urban development and rural culture. The Greenberg Prefectural Assembly has been controlled by a right-leaning party for all but eight years since Greenberg became a prefecture in 1979. At the federal level, Greenberg politics is even more lopsided; the Social Democrats have only represented Greenberg for four years since Enderronian independence in 1946, and not at all since 1974.

Today, Greenberg prefectural politics is dominated by the Liberal Party, which is strongest in the Van Buren metropolitan area. The Social Democrats maintains strongholds in Van Buren's city centre, inner suburbs and outer eastern suburbs. The Enderron National Party's vote is concentrated in the prefecture's eastern interior.

A unique aspect of Greenberg politics is that the Liberals are the major conservative force at the prefectural level, but the National Party is dominant at the federal level, despite having never held more than five seats in the Prefectural Assembly and only winning gubernatorial election in the prefecture's history.

Demographics
Greenberg's population as of October 2018 is 128,845, making it the least populous prefecture in Enderron. Van Buren is by far the largest urban area and the only major city, dwarfing all other population centres in the prefecture; Northport, the second largest centre, has a population of 6,356, equal to just 4.9 percent of the prefecture's population.