Leon Schraunau

**Leon Albert Schraunau** (born 16 August 1976) is a Lungarian politician and the current Leader of the Radical Party since 2017. He has served as a member of the Stadtkart representing Munbach since 2007, and was the Minister of Finance from 2011 to 2014.

Schraunau was raised in Kürn, Northwest Veckerland. He attended Ezekiel Norbrander School in nearby Stender, graduating in 1995. Following his graduation from high school, Schraunau received a bachelor's degree in economics from Reschmann University in 1998, later received a master's degree in economics from the University of Munbach as well in 2000. Schraunau worked in the private sector as an economist for several years before beginning his political career in 2005.

Originally a member of the Social Democratic Party, Schraunau was the president of his high school's branch of the Young Social Democrats from 1994 to 1995, and later was vice president of the Horvarn Association of Young Social Democrats from 1996 to 1998. After moving to Munbach in 1998, Schraunau became an active member of local Social Democratic organizations. He was later elected to the Stadtkart in the 2006 general election. Schraunau ran for Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 2010 leadership election, but was defeated in the first round. However, his candidacy led to his appointment as Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Milo Grübberbach, a position he held from 2011 to 2014.

Following dissatisfaction with the Social Democrats and Grübberbach, Schraunau announced his resignation as Minister of Finance on 27 June 2014. The following month, he announced that he had registered as a member of the Radical Party, and would stand with them during the 2014 general election. He retained his seat as a Radical, and later was elected Leader of the Radical Party in the 2017 leadership election after running unopposed.

Schraunau has been both praised and criticized for his aggressive socialist ideals, which many consider to be the cause of his downfall within the more capitalist-friendly Social Democratic Party. He has been hailed as a "champion of the youth" and a "youth leader", with many political analysts predicting that he and his party will see a great increase of seats in the 2018 general election.

## Early life and family

Schraunau was born on 16 August 1976 in Kürn, Northwest Veckerland to parents Otto and Sabina Schraunau (1951–1984; née *Șinjan*). His father is a Lungarian shoemaker, while his mother was an immigrant from Wake who worked in food preparation. Sabina died of ovarian cancer when Schraunau was seven years old, later being raised by his father as an only child. As a child, Schraunau spoke both Lungarian and Wakian fluently, but lost the ability to speak Wakian by his teenage years.

## Education and early career

Schraunau began primary school in 1982, attending a local primary school in Kürn. He was academically gifted from a young age, excelling particularly in mathematics. As a child, he was dubbed "the human calculator" by his peers, due to his ability to compute equations in his head without the use of an electronic calculator. He graduated from primary school in 1988, and later began attending secondary school. Schraunau was not popular during secondary school, and was bullied severely due to his awkwardness and lack of masculinity. Nevertheless, Schraunau still was academically successful and received admission to Ezekiel Norbrander School, one of the most exclusive *gymnasiüm* in northern Northwest Veckerland.

Schraunau graduated from secondary school in 1992, and subsequently began attending Ezekiel Norbrander School in nearby Stender, Northwest Veckerland. Due to the influence of a friend, Schraunau became interested in politics during his first year, and subsequently became active in his school's chapter of the Young Social Democrats. During his final year of high school, Schraunau was elected president of the club. Schraunau studied economics in high school, grew to support socialism after studying various economic systems. He additionally became frustrated with capitalism after seeing his father struggling to provide for his family. Schraunau went on to graduate from high school in 1995.

After graduating, Schraunau moved to Reschmann, Horvarn to study at the Faculty of Economics at Reschmann University. While pursuing his bachelor's degree, Schraunau became active in the Horvarn Association of Young Social Democrats, and served as vice president from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Schraunau received his degree in economics, and moved to Munbach to attend the University of Munbach. He ultimately received a master's degree in economics in 2000. While in Munbach, Schraunau was active in a number of local Social Democratic organizations. After receiving his degree, Schraunau worked as an economist in the private sector before beginning a political career in 2006.

## Political career

### Member of the Stadtkart

In 2005, Schraunau was invited to join the Social Democratic ticket for the 2006 Lungarian election representing Munbach. The party won enough seats and Schraunau was elected to parliament, taking office on 1 February 2007.

On 1 May 2010, Daniel Höver revealed that he'd be resigning from his position as leader of the Social Democratic Party in the run-up to the 2010 Lungarian general election, and a leadership contest would be held immediately to find his successor. Schraunau declared her candidacy on 2 May. He ultimately was eliminated from the election after placing last in the first round. His failure to secure votes from his peers was thought to be due to his lack of experience and far-left views. He ultimately endorsed Uljana Heimlitz.

### Minister of Finance

After Milo Grübberbach became Prime Minister following the 2010 general election, Grübberbach promised cabinet positions to his three opponents in the leadership election: Schraunau, Heimlitz, and Viktor Gärntschel. Schraunau was appointed Minister of Finance, a move which was criticized by right-wing members of parliament due to Schraunau's aggressive socialist positions. He took office on 1 February 2011.

#### Resignation

On 27 June 2014, Schraunau announced his resignation as Minister of Finance, citing a number of issues with the Social Democrats and Grübberbach. His resignation from the government was celebrated by both political opponents and supporters, the latter of which had expressed dissatisfaction with the capitalist-friendly positions of the Social Democratic Party.

On 8 May 2014, Schraunau announced that he had changed his party affiliation from the Social Democratic Party to the Radical Party, due to them aligning more closely with his political views. However, he clarified that he would continue to vote with the Social Democratic Party until the end of his term, as that was the party he was elected with. He stood with the Radical Party during the 2014 general election, and won reelection.

### Leader of the Radical Party

On 1 August 2017, Natascha Ebbenau announced that she'd be retiring from politics due to failing health and thus stepping down from her position as Leader of the Radical Party. She endorsed Schraunau as her successor, and he ran unopposed in a leadership election, subsequently being elected as leader. Schraunau will lead the party during the 2018 general election.

## Personal life

Schraunau married Lungarian social worker Anna Närem in 2006. They met at a nightclub in Munbach in 2001, later becoming engaged in 2005. Schraunau and Närem have two children together: Dorothea Elise and Otto Viktor, born  (2009-03-22) 22 March 2009 (age 14) and  (2011-10-02) 2 October 2011 (age 12), respectively. The family resides in the Jansch neighborhood of West Munbach. Both Schraunau and his wife identify as atheists.