Natalja Lablanck

The Honorable Natalja Lablanck
President of Crylante
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2019 (2019-01-01)
Preceded by	Arto Karppinen
Director for Energy, Environment, Transport and Communications
Incumbent
Assumed office November 4, 2013 (2013-11-04)
Member of the States' Assembly
In office April 1, 2009 (2009-04-01) – July 3, 2013 (2013-31-03)
Constituency	Lillehavn
Personal details
Born	(1977-05-21) May 21, 1977 Dockyards, Lillehavn, Crylante
Political party	Reform (1995-2005, 2008-present)
Other political affiliations	People's (2008) Let's Go Crylante (2005-2008)
Spouse	Fredericka Kvern
Alma mater	Nygaard College, University of Lentini

'Natalja Lablanck is a Crylantian politician and former journalist who currently serves as the President of Crylante for 2019. A member of the centre-right Reform Party, she has served on the National Council with responsibility for Energy, Environment, Transport and Communications since 2013.

Early life

Lablanck was born in the Dockyards region of the Free City of Lillehavn in 1977, the only child of banker Jens and Dagmar Lablanck. She had an affluent middle-class upbringing, with her father working as a banker and her mother working as an economics lecturer at Lillehavn University, having both met while students at the University of Lentini. Her father's great grandmother was noted Crylantian political activist and writer Alexandra Lablanck, whose liberal philosophy commonly known as Lablancism played a major influence on the Crylantian right.

She attended Dockyards Gymnasium as a teenager, going on to read Lilledic Studies at Nygaard College at the University of Lentini, where she was an active member of the university's chapter of the Reform Party. She graduated in 1998 with a first-class degree.

Journalistic career

Lablanck started working as a journalist for The Sønderburg Post soon after her graduation, writing articles about politics and international relations for the newspaper. In 2001 after her articles received high levels of popularity, she was promoted to a regular columnist with a weekly column. She took a social liberal line in her articles, with a strong emphasis on civil liberties, environmentalism and anti-corruption.

Her most notable articles were those on Socialist Party politician and Director for Home Affairs Albjert Rivera, being the first to break the story on his alleged wrongdoings and covering the resulting fallout and lack of faith in the party many felt afterwards, especially the emergence of the anti-corruption Let's Go Crylante movement, whom she endorsed in the 2005 elections despite the Post's traditional support of the Reform Party, citing their opposition to corruption in all its forms.

She also covered the 2008 splinter in the Reform Party as many on the left of the party split off to form the People's Party, writing with a sympathetic tone to the new party, and at one point was reported to be considering standing for the party in the 2009 elections, yet she neither confirmed nor denied this.

Political career

However, following a falling out with the People's Party leadership, Lablanck returned to the Reform Party in late 2008 and declared her intention to stand for the party in her home state of Lillehavn.