Edvard Krejčí (A Federation of Equals)

Dr. Edvard Jeroným Krejčí is a FDP councillor for Bohemia, party leader and Lukáš Baník's vice president in the interactive AAR "A Federation of Equals".

Biography
Edvard J. Krejčí was born into a middle-upper class family in central Bohemia. His father owned a small textile manufacture which allowed the family to have a rather decent life standard in Bohemian lands which at the time, although still dealing with consequences of Thirty-Years War, saw a skyrocketing growth in economy and living standard. His father’s hard work allowed Edvard to study engineering in Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1844. A few months before his graduation, Edvard married a girl named Jana whom he met during his studies in Prague. While many people claim that Edvard, always being a cunning and calculating man, married Jana only because she came from a rather wealthy family, Edvard actually truly loved her with all his heart. Soon after the marriage, Jana gave birth to his three children – his daughter Anna and two sons David and Jakub.

Edvard sold the old manufacture and together with his 2 former classmates, Reinhard Wolff and Karel Hartl opened a small factory focusing on machine parts. Thanks to Wolff’s contacts in Vienna and Berlin, Hartl’s engineering brilliance and Krejčí’s managing and marketing skills, Krejčí,Wolff&Hartl became the leading company focusing on machinery, small weapons, ammunitions and artillery in Danubia by 1862. Krejčí’s family soon became one of the richest and most influential families in Bohemia. Yet, realizing the threat of new competitors on Danubian market, Edvard Krejčí passed the leadership to his son David (though keeping control de facto anyway) and ran in general elections in 1872 after launching possibly the most expensive campaign in Danubian history. Krejčí never disclosed the exact amount of finances he put into it, yet historians agree that he must have spent way over 200 000 Danubian Pounds.

Politically, Edvard became active during the revolution of 1848, which he ardently supported. He was never a real liberal, but always had distrust towards the monarchy and everything that can be even remotely considered German, but he always stood for economic liberalism without state regulations and as few interventions as possible. While he originally came to parliament to (secretly) defend his own financial interests, he soon realized how many possibilities are now open for him. His attention was mostly drawn towards the colonies and their resources, and Edvard hopes to further expand his empire when the colonial goods start flowing to Danubia. His son Jakub may get involved in acquiring the new lands, as he is currently Captain of the Federal Army. Krejčí also disagrees with many of his colleagues when it comes to state rights: Although he supports abolition of monarchies, he believes states need to reclaim some of their rights from the Federation, and wouldn't actually mind at all if the Republic of Bohemia seceded from Danubian Federation.

Political career
Krejčí's first major political success came in 1879 when he was elected Minister-President of Bohemia. In the next term, Krejčí managed to take control of the relatively weak FDP after he successfully contested his main rival in the party, Alexandros Petrakis, in the primaries. Krejčí ran for presidency as the third candidate in 1883 and got approximately 11% of all votes in the elections that were largely considered - and later proven - fraudulent. Krejčí, who never really was a man of fiery speeches, cooperated with Lukáš Baník, who later became a president, against Jovan Lilic, who have effectively became a dictator after the 1883 elections. When Lilic's dictatorship was overthrown, Krejčí struck a deal with Baník, getting himself to run for Vice President and getting the Federation's two most important economic ministries under FDP's control. Baník later won the elections and Krejčí, despite having occasional disagreements with the president, became 2nd in charge of the Danubian Federation.