Casimir Bergen
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Casimir Bergen MP | |
|---|---|
| Chancellor of Liberto-Ancapistan | |
| Assumed office 26 May 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ameus Grey |
| Leader of Progress | |
| Assumed office 10 November 2018 | |
| Deputy | Indra McKarin |
| Preceded by | Kajal Firat |
| Executive Councillor of Liberto-Ancapistan | |
| In office 2 April 2020 – 26 May 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ameus Grey |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Devisgund Central | |
| Assumed office 6 July 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Miran Abbas |
| Majority | 35,573 (40.6%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 January 1985 (age 41) Devisgund, Peravên Far Province, Liberto-Ancapistan |
| Political party | Progress |
| Spouse | Luisa Sieda (m. 2012) |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | Mala Komaria, Dibiha Mezigh, Bajazad |
| Alma mater | University of Bajazad |
Casimir Bergen (born 2 January 1985) is a Liberto-Ancapistanian politician, author and former journalist who has served as the Chancellor of Liberto-Ancapistan since 26 May 2020. The leader of Progress since 2018, Bergen has represented Devisgund Central as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015. In addition to his political activities, Bergen is known for his authorship of several novels and short story collections, including Yekîtî, The Grey Mountain, and Duhamos.
Bergen became a journalist after leaving the navy in 2008, working for the Peravên Far Metro and joining the Alliance for Progress party (later Progress). In 2010 he published his first novel, The Sea, which was nominated for several awards. Bergen gained national acclaim after his third novel, Yekîtî, was awarded 'best novel' by the Silosovia University Book Awards in 2015. Becoming a prominent voice within his political party, he was elected leader by a large majority in 2018.
Bergen's support for the 2019 anti-austerity protests earned him praise and condemnation across the country. He led his party to its first victory for over 80 years in the 2020 general election. Forming a coalition with the Libertarian Party, he briefly became a member of the Executive Council until its abolition and replacement with the position of Chancellor, to which he was elected. During his Chancellorship, Bergen has overseen major reforms to the welfare system, introducing universal basic income, taxation, introducing a land value tax, and Liberto-Ancapistanian foreign policy, adopting an internationalist posture and joining the UFT. Opposition to his pro-market trade policies resulted in the breakaway of the Social Democratic Party from Progress in 2022, though in the 2022 general election he was able to remain in power with reduced support. Bergen won a third term in office in 2024, and in 2025 announced that he would step down from his position at the 2026 general election.
Early life and education
Casimir Bergen was born on 2 January 1985 in Devisgund, Peravên Far Province, and grew up in the city's Narushian Quarter. His father was a dockwork supervisor and mother a customs official at the Port of Dewisburgh. He has two siblings, Ismail, born in 1982 and Erna, born in 1989. Bergen's family may be traced back to the Fayre Islands, with great-grandfather Jens Bergen migrating to Devisgund in 1906, though he is largely of Basaquastanian descent. He was reportedly named after 19th century composer Casimir Borico, whom his family admired.
After leaving tertiary school in 2003, he began studying at University of Bajazad, earning a first-class BA in sociology. There he contributed to student newspaper The Little Light, writing a regular column which commented on the media interests of various political personalities and related developments. After earning his BA, he joined the Liberto-Ancapistan Maritime Self-Defence Force (LAMSDF), being stationed on the frigate LAS Xalasune at the Gronban Naval Station in the Fayre Islands. After two years Bergen left the LAMSDF in order to pursue a career in journalism.
Literary career
Journalism
In 2008, Bergen briefly worked as a receptionist at the Museum of Devisgund, and began writing frequent letters to several newspapers, both locally and nationally. After several months, he attracted the attention of the Peravên Far Metro, a regional newspaper operating in several cities in northern Basaquastan, and was invited to become a paid intern there; Bergen accepted, but also began writing more ambitious opinion articles in his free time. Some of these were later published by the newspaper after being presented and liked by editorial staff. He first came to national attention in April 2009, when an opinion article published in the Peravên Far Metro arguing for the introduction of a land value tax was mentioned in parliament by the leader of the Alliance for Progress. In January 2010, he became a full-time journalist at the newspaper.
In 2014, Bergen left the Peravên Far Metro to become a columnist for The Basaquastan Register, becoming an established figure in the news media establishment and contributing both to political and literary areas. He left the newspaper after becoming leader of the Alliance for Progress in 2018. As Chancellor of Liberto-Ancapistan, he has written articles for several newspapers defending his government's conduct.
Early novels
According to journalist Ismail Alsowa, Bergen told him about his plans for writing a children's novel in late 2008, but did not publicly announce his work on the book until it was published. Bergen stated after the book's publishing that he had dropped plans for the work to be a children's novel early on, believing it to be too restrictive, but that the core of the novel was the same. In May 2010, The Sea was published by Stunala Books. A historical novel set in the Fayre islands, it was partly based on Bergen's experiences in Fayre in the navy, and already included features strongly associated with his later works, including ambiguous fantastical elements, multiple protagonists and a physical journey as the central focus of the plot. The book reached the All-Basaquastanian Times' bestseller list and was praised by critics.
In late 2011, Bergen was approached by the Santian author Carlo Casello, who proposed that the two co-write a novel based on a concept which he had been developing. This was accepted by Bergen, and the two began developing the novel. The Grey Mountain, an alternate history political thriller, was published in April 2013 by Stunala Books. It involved two stories set in an alternate history surviving Santian Empire, each written by one author, with both only briefly referencing one another before intersecting at the end. Bergen's portion was originally written in Basaquese, while Casello's was originally written in Santian; Casello translated both portions into the other's language for local releases. Like The Sea, The Grey Mountain was praised, particularly for its ambitious plot, and helped Bergen to become increasingly well-known as an author.
Immediately after completing his previous novel, Bergen began writing Yekîtî, based on a concept which he had considered during the development of The Sea. The book, a historical fiction novel set during the Great Santian War and based around a car journey of several youths, was published by Liserde House in December 2014. Liserde House would go on to publish all of Bergen's later novels. Yekîtî was a major success, becoming the bestselling Liberto-Ancapistanian novel of the 2010s, with over 4 million copies sold domestically. The novel was widely praised by critics, particularly for its characters and use of multiple unreliable narrators. Following the success of Yekîtî, Bergen became a household name in Liberto-Ancapistan and immediately began planning further works.
Later novels
After publishing Yekîtî, Bergen was invited to participate in the annual short story collection Tales. His story, The Challenge, was published in Tales VI in June 2015.
After completing Yekîtî, Bergen was once again approached by Carlo Casello to co-write a sequel to The Grey Mountain, a request which he accepted. The basic structure of The Grey Mountain continued, though both authors' stories intersected with far greater regularity. In a 2020 interview, Bergen stated that he had used the book as an opportunity to learn Santian, and cooperated with Casello in the translation of its Basaquese portions. The White Mountain was published in March 2017, completing the two-part novel series.
In January 2019, Bergen published the short story collection Duhamos, written in a variety of styles and from multiple perspectives. For the collection, Bergen worked with multiple other authors and writers to develop a fictional post-apocalyptic fantasy world, the Duhamos Sea. The collection's stories revolve around themes of human ingenuity and the importance of community, after the world is rocked by a mysterious disaster named the Keysem Incident. Following the publishing of the collection, Bergen was praised for his range in writing styles, as well as his worldbuilding and distinctive characters. Duhamos would go on to gain a substantial online following, resulting in Bergen organising and editing a second short story collection made up of stories written by young, emerging writers. The Duhamos Tales was published in April 2021.
Despite his political career reducing his ability to write, Bergen completed another novel between 2019 and 2024. Set in the world previously established by Duhamos and The Duhamos Tales, the new novel employed the same basic story structure used in The Sea and Yekîtî. Keysem was released in December 2024, and reached the top of the Basaquastan Register's bestseller list.