Markus E. Floch

Image of Markus E. Floch

### Job in Parliament

-Member of Assembly of the Alterran Islands-Member of Parliamentary Commision for Labour and Social Security-Speaker for the PSA in Assembly of Alterran Islands

### Ideology

Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Progressivism

### Education

-MA in Law from State University of Barmuir-PhD in Political Science from Columbia University

### Home Province

Barmuir

Markus Elias Floch is a 32 year old Alterran politician, the First Secretary of the Progressive Socialists of Alterra and a member of the lower house of the Arcola Syncletus; the Assembly of the Alterran Islands. He lives in downtown Batulik with his wife Marie Bernard, who is also a member of the party.

## Early life

### First Years

Markus Elias Floch was born in Batulik on August 6, 1987 to Jonathan Floch and Barbara Alpont. His father came to Alterra as an immigrant in 1969 while his mother is a native Alterran. From a young age, Markus was exposed to left-wing politics as both of his parents were leftists. He educated himself on social and state issues and, from a young age, decided he wanted to be involved in politics.

### Adolescence and Young Adulthood

For a short time when he was 15 years old, Floch was considering joining the Communist Youth of Alterra but he was talked out of it by his parents. This would also seed the views of anti-extremism into his mind. At age 16, he began investigating more about the split of the Leftist Democratic Union and found that the, still small at the time, Socialist Democrats' Movement best fit his views. He attempted to join it, but due to him still being a teenager he was unable to. Eventually he settled on the youth wing of the SDA. However, as soon as he turned an adult, he left the Social Democratic Party and joined the Socialist Democrats' Movement, now known as the Progressive Socialists of Alterra.

### Education

From an early age, Floch was said to excel in school, specially in classes such as Social Studies and Public Speaking. In 2005, he graduated from the Podarne High School top of his class. He then enrolled into the State University of Barmuir where he got a Master's in Alterran Law. In 2009, he attended Columbia University in New York and graduated in 2011 with a PhD in Political Science.

## Political Career

### Return to Alterra

Once he graduated from Columbia, he returned to Alterra and settled in a Batulik suburb. He began working as a lawyer for a small firm while still a member of SODEM. However, in 2013, the firm that employed him shut down due to financial issues. There, he decided to be more active in his party and slowly rose through the ranks. Finally, in 2015, he was declared a nominee for the position of President, which he went on to get later that year. That same year he founded his own law firm called Floch & Associates.

### Leader of PSA

In 2015, the previous President of SODEM decided to retire after the elections. In light of this, snap elections for the new leader were held internally and, after winning nomination, Markus E. Floch went on to win and become the new President of the party. He campaigned hard for his party in the 2019 Elections where he finished at third place with 16% of the vote, forming a coalition with the other 2 winning parties, CAD & UCP. He was named Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Energy in the government. In 2020 he decided to rebrand and rename SODEM into the Progressive Socialists of Alterra or PSA for short.