Van Cleef

One of The Twelve Families of the Solar Republic.

The Van Cleefs are a Tier Two family in the Solar Republic and have lost considerable political power in recent years.

The Van Cleefs were once one of the pre-eminent Tier One families with four First Citizens from this family in the late 29th and early 30th Century. It was Lee Van Cleef who ordered the punitive expedition to Romulus in 3070 which ultimately led to the Great Rebellion. The later failure of Grant Van Cleef to make any effort to recover the lost territory, during a period of Venerian weakness, resulted in a whispering campaign regarding their alleged pro-Venerian leanings from which they have never fully recovered.

The Van Cleefs have always blamed the DelMontes and the Ozkoks for their decline and are regularly blamed for political and commercial attacks on these families. The Van Cleef family (under their current senior representative Admiral Anna Van Cleef) make consistent efforts to recover their former status but are known for bad luck and sometimes poor decision making (including continued links to the Venerian Republic).

The Van Cleefs do have excellent relations with senior Venerian political, military and commercial figures. They are also strongly represented in the Admiralty and the Colonial Office. The Van Cleef's corporate interests are often at the scientific cutting edge and they are known to have significant investments in LEXCORP.