Ernst Greifelt
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Ernst Greifelt | |
|---|---|
 State portrait, 2016 | |
| President of Vonzumier | |
| Assumed office 11 July 2016 | |
| Chancellor | Eduard Nowack Albert Brodmann |
| Preceded by | Lorenz Wasskes |
| Chairman of the Constitutionalist Party | |
| Assumed office 6 January 2009 | |
| Deputy | Gert Kleiner |
| Preceded by | Adrian Schreiber |
| Chairman of the Auberlun Constitutionalist Party | |
| In office 8 November 2007 – 11 March 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Caspar Eisenstadt |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Thimig |
| Member of the Senate from Auberlun | |
| In office 15 February 2004 – 11 July 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Tilman Stosch |
| Succeeded by | Jozef Steuermann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ernst Gerold Greifelt 12 June 1963 Lengenbeck, Auberlun, Vonzumier |
| Political party | Constitutionalist Party (2001–present) |
| Spouse | Olivia Greifelt |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Elmbrück University |
| Awards | Distinguished Air Cross Air Force Distinguished Service Award |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Vonzumier |
| Branch/service | Vonzumier Air Force |
| Years of service | 1988–1999 (active) 1999–2004 (reserve) |
| Rank | |
| Battles/wars | Vonzumierian invasion of Preisland Preisland War |
Ernst Gerold Greifelt (born 12 June 1963) is a Vonzumierian politician who has been the incumbent President of Vonzumier since 2016. He has been the leader of the Constitutionalist Party since 2009, of which he has been a member since 2001. Greifelt represented Auberlun in the Senate of Vonzumier from 2004 to 2016.
Greifelt was born and raised in the town of Lengenbeck in Auberlun state, before studying engineering at Elmbrück University. He enlisted in the Vonzumier Air Force in 1988, where he saw combat in the invasion of and later war in Preisland. He left active service in 1999 and authored a memoir, A War Close to Home, which, combined with his service medals and commendations, elevated him to war hero status in Vonzumier. Greifelt became a campaigner for the political right and the Constitutionalist Party, which he later joined in 2001. In 2004, he was elected by the Auberlun legislature to represent the state in the Senate. In his tenure as a senator, Greifelt became known for his strong support of national conservative policies, while advocating for increases in military spending, support for veterans, and a more interventionist foreign policy.
In late 2015, Greifelt announced his candidacy for the 2016 Vonzumierian presidential election. He campaigned against same-sex marriage, abortion, secularism, drug liberalization, and leftism, while calling for free market economic policies, increases in military and police spending, gun rights, and a "tough on crime" policy. He was criticized across the political spectrum for his alleged misogyny, xenophobia, racism, and homophobia—accusations he denied. Greifelt secured 41.3% of the vote in the first round of the election, advancing to a second-round runoff where he defeated Jonas Strauch with 52.3% of the vote. He was inaugurated as the 17th President of Vonzumier in July 2016.
During his presidency, Greifelt rolled back environmental and climate protections enacted by Lorenz Wasskes. He increased Vonzumier's troop deployments in West Oridia by threefold, cancelled foreign aid to "anti-Vonzumierian" regimes in Tusola and the Artalias, and increased sanctions on Bhasar and Hevatia while pursuing closer relations with Mahsadar and Zaihan. Greifelt has fought unsuccessfully to overturn same-sex civil unions, which have been legal since 2013. He reneged on his plan to lower taxes across the board, instead choosing to reduce the national value-added tax rate from 18% to 15%, and successfully privatized Vonzumier National Bank. His approval ratings have largely oscillated between 40% and 60% over the course of his tenure, but have been largely positive for most of 2020 after bottoming out from 2018 to 2019. In November 2020, Greifelt declared his intention to run for re-election in 2021.