Leif Mizun

President
 President
 Born
 Political party
Independent (2023, 2026-32, 2036-)
 Cabinet

**Leifur Mizuno Hiamovi** (born 10th October 1982), commonly known as **Leif Mizun**, is a Cheyennian politician, statistician, and seismologist who served as the Vice President of the United States from January 2029 to January 2033, and the United States Secretary of Defense under President Quinn Simaitis between November 2022 and January 2029. A political independent, he was formerly the Vice Chair of the Republican Party, as well as the founder of the Cheyenne Native Rights Party and Standing Rock Statistical Institute.

## Early Life and Education

Leif was born in Minot, formerly North Dakota, the son of Birgitta Ragnarsdottir and Viho Hiamovi. His mother was an Icelandic immigrant to the United States, who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1976-78 representing the Minot seat. His father was raised on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, but came to Minot to work as a carpenter and antiques dealer.

Leif attended Minot High School before earning a degree from the University of North Dakota in Natural Resources Management, with a minor in Tribal and Indigenous Studies. Following his graduation, Mizun then received a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from the University of Toronto, before gaining a postgraduate degree in Public Policy from the same university.

## Career

### Early Career

Mizun formally entered politics when he stood as an Independent candidate in the 2010 North Dakota House of Representatives election in the Minot constituency, the same seat his mother had held 32 years earlier. He gained 14% of the vote, with the Republican incumbent emerging victorious. Mizun stood again in 2012, this time as a Republican, and won with 62.3% of votes cast. His legislative work mostly concerned Native Rights and Agricultural Sustainability, as well as the expansion of public transport networks across the state. Mizun did not stand for re-election in 2016, citing his candidacy for the State Senate instead.

### North Dakota Senate

Mizun stood in the 2016 North Dakota Senate election in the 37th District, and won with a 60.9% share of the vote. He then assumed the role of Senate Majority Leader. While still a Senator, Leif also co-founded the Standing Rock Statistical Institute, an independent thinktank and statistical body with a focus on agriculture, demography, and Native American issues. Mizun often faced criticism from peers within the Republican Party for his often liberal policy choices and moderate economic stance. Nevertheless, he passed all legislation he created through the Senate with clear majorities.

#### Break from Politics

In early 2020, Mizun announced he would be taking a break from politics, due to his efforts with the SRSI. In a statement to the Senate, Mizun thanked his colleagues and constituents who had supported him throughout his time in the Legislature, and vowed to return stronger than ever. While working full-time at the Institute, Leif volunteered for Armand Brunsdale's House campaign, which was promptly dissolved in June 2021. Upon its dissolution, he was asked whether he'd consider a run in the United States House of Representatives, to which Mizun replied, "That most certainly looks appealing - I'll keep you updated."

### 2022 House of Representatives Campaign

In the weeks following the suspension of the Brunsdale campaign, Mizun began to form an exploratory committee for the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in the Cheyenne CD-2 constituency. On October 10, he formally announced his candidacy for the seat, with the key campaign slogan "Fighting to Fight for You.". Mizun's campaign drew attention for its multilingual approach, with advertisements in English, German and Spanish. Throughout the campaign, Mizun often engaged in debate with fellow Cheyennian politicians, including Mortimer Marshall and opponent Azerianus Severanus, with whom he narrowly won a debate on CBNNN. On election night, he received support from both Iva Slate and Lucius Anteros, however vote totals failed to live up to expectations. Despite various polls showing a close race between Libertarian candidate Azerianus Severanus and Republican Mizun, the Democratic candidate Alligator pushed Mizun into third place come election night.

In the run-off election that followed, Mizun condemned the inactivity and corruption of Alligator's candidacy, saying in a statement that:

> I say clearly and vehemently, there is only one rightful winner, and that is Mr Severanus. Although he and I have both had our debates and qualms over issues throughout this campaign, he has shown himself to be as committed to fighting for Cheyenne as anyone. Mr Severanus ran a strong campaign, focussed(sic) on the issues at hand, and secured the backing of voters from all parties. None of that can be said for Alligator. (...) Alligator has shown the worst in our democracy. She has stood for nothing, campaigned for nothing, voted on nothing, spoken on nothing, and yet we still see her in a runoff due to party affiliation. Alligator is not a candidate nor a representative - she is a puppet.
>
>

Following the statement, the runoff election showed a resounding victory for Severanus, but also indirectly for Mizun. Soon after the result, a new President Simaitis (after former President Anteros's suicide) approached him regarding a cabinet position - which was accepted. Mizun was sworn into the role of Secretary of Defense later that day.

### Secretary of Defense

With his appointment to the Simaitis Cabinet, Mizun became the highest-ranking Republican since President Trump, as well as the first non-Democrat within that administration (he was later followed by Attorney General Susan Collins).

One of Mizun's first tasks within the role was to work with President Simaitis and the rest of the cabinet to formulate a strategy to tackle the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, which escalated with a nuclear strike on Israeli soil. Speaking in an official statement, Mizun detailed plans to establish an Enforced Neutral Zone in the countries surrounding both Israel and Iran, as well as further co-operation with the governments of such countries to facilitate UN Peacekeeping efforts and reduce economic disturbance. The United States remained adamantly non-interventional, but threatened both sides with major sanctions should they not co-operate with the strategy of the United States. Upon the conclusion of the war, occurring at an American peace summit, Mizun welcomed the news, and noted his pride at no American troops having died.

Secretary Mizun was also key in developing strategy for the 2024 Venezuelan Leadership Crisis, helping the Simaitis Administration to deliver a swift conclusion to conflict there without the influence of China or Russia.

#### Military Budget Handling

In June 2023, the 2023 Federal Budget was signed by President Simaitis, cutting the Department of Defense budget by $266.7billion in one year. This move, as well as the brisk passing thereof, was widely criticized by many in the GOP-Lib Caucus as well as the Democratic caucus itself. Secretary Mizun later released an official statement on the 57% cut to his department, stating that the cuts were expected and were "representative of the changes that had been necessary for some time within our financial expenditure". The statement was later put to the Senate Floor by then-majority leader Addison Jones.

### Cheyenne State Council and RNC

Leif Mizun served from 2021 to 2033 on the state council in the state of Cheyenne; predominantly under the leadership of former Governor Matthew McMullinprior to McMullin's move away from the state. His legislative works have included the Cheyenne Languages Bill and Cheyenne State Bill, both of which passed. As a councillor he also spoke out against President Anteros's Wyoming-Nevada Plan, and presented flag concepts in the Cheyenne Flag Referendum. In 2024, his ballot measures, to legalize the undiscriminated use of Peyote in religion and to instate Luther Standing Bear as Cheyenne State Poet, both passed with majorities.

Within the Republican Party, Leif wrote the Party Constitution and co-organized the 2024 Republican National Convention, including its location election which was won by Philadelphia, Concord. Mizun has stated that he voted for Vermilion, Anchorage, and Hartford, in the regions of South Dakota, Alaska, and Connecticut respectively. Mizun was also influential in the votes to expel former RNC chair Alvin Harold, as well as the expulsion of Harold's disciple Thomas Manhattan.

In 2023 Mizun stepped back from the Republican Party caucus; instead identifying as an Independent caucusing with the GOP. His decision was in response to the leadership of Alvin Harold, which he believed was illegitimate and immoral. He rescinded his Independent identification following Mr Harold's removal.

In 2026, Mizun resigned his position as GOP vice-chair, as well as his membership of the GOP-Libertarian Caucus, the night before the midterm elections. Mizun said in a personal statement that the decision '[had] come as the result of months of [...] observance as my caucus has descended without a parachute into a cavern from which one cannot see in nor out'. His decision sparked the dismissal of Isaac Gardner from the GOP-Libertarian caucus, as well as the resignation of Jordan Oliver.

### Legal Cases

In June 2025 Mizun lead a legal case to overturn a Cheyenne Court's ruling, which stated that a child with gay parents could legally be refused by a Catholic private school on grounds of their parents' identity. Mizun gave a written statement in which he showed that the ruling violates the Equality Act as the parents provide a financial good to the school, and so were being illegally discriminated against. The Supreme Court later overturned the decision of the State Court.

## Personal Life

As of 2045, Mizun resided near Sunshine in Wyoming, Cheyenne. In 2021 he adopted a Tibetan Mastiff, Mustard, who died in . Mizun also owns a property in Kennebec, South Dakota, and regularly vacations in Nunavut, Canada. His brother, Bo Hiamovi, is a broadcaster and geoengineer in Maine, Concord.

Leif is openly asexual, and describes himself as an "Ace-spectrum advocate". In 2024 he funded $100,000 in scholarships for Native American LGBTQ+ students in Cheyenne. Mizun formerly subscribed to Jebism, however now identifies as an agnostic.

The name Leif Mizun is an abbreviated form of his first and middle names, Leifur and Mizuno.