Marshall Leon

Imperator Marshall Leon succeeded Erin Toi. He was the Senator of Reisse taking office in 2787 and leaving in 2793. In 2793 Leon was appointed as the Diplomatic Secretary of the United Empire of Earth and served in this role until his successful campaign to become Imperator in 2800.

"In 2793, Imperator Toi met with a young, ambitious Senator named Marshall Leon and asked him to help repair Humanity's interspecies relationships by accepting the position of Diplomatic Secretary. Imperator Toi believed a first-term Senator who never had to navigate Messer-infected political waters would be seen as an envoy of Humanity's future, not its past.

Knowing the enormity and complexity of the task at hand, Secretary Leon immediately scheduled meetings with Xi'an and Banu diplomats. He acknowledged that the repair of relationships would take time, delicacy and — most importantly — trust, but also knew that his words and promises, or even those of the Imperator, would not be enough to mend the damage done. Only a bold act of diplomacy and peace could convince the entire universe that Humanity had truly changed its ways.

It was with that grand goal in mind that Secretary Leon conceived of The Ark.

...

It was only after Imperator Toi brought her political might to bear that the project got back online."

Marshall Leon would later succeed Toi to become the next Imperator and The Ark would be considered his legacy.

Imperator
"In 2800, Secretary Leon won a contentious election to become the next Imperator. Encouraged to run and endorsed by Erin Toi, Secretary Leon highlighted his work on the Ark during his campaign, claiming it proved he was a consensus builder who could also repair Humanity's relationship with other species."