The Van Grun Family

The Van Gruns are a Charginian political family who currently control the Armed Republic of Charge Island and its territories.

The family have their origins in the Netherlands and Germany. Initially, they were a small noble family. In the late 1780s, after losing most of their influence in Europe, they migrated to what would eventually become Charge Island. They remained largely in obscurity until around the 1950s.

On January 9th, 1903, Maksimilian van Grun was born. He would go on to found the Armed Republic of Charge Island in 1953.

In 1953, the Charginian Political Crisis occurred. Previous Prime Minister of Charge Island, Sulomon Harte resigned from power due to high social tension. This gave way for The Van Gruns to take over. On May 27th, 1953, Maksimilian van Grun, head of the Van Grun family at the time, amassed a large battalion of tanks and stormed the government building to no opposition. By June 1953, he had full control of the government. After a string of close assassination attempts and setbacks, he officially disestablished the Charginian Republic and declared the Armed Republic on October 19th, 1953. This is also why October 19th is the national day of Charge Island.

The Van Gruns have been in power in Charge Island ever since 1953. There have been 4 Presidents of Charge Island.
These include:
- Maksimilian van Grun (Founder and 1st president, ruled from 1953 until his death in 1989)
- Ralf van Grun (2nd president, ruled from 1989 until his resignation in 2000)
- Tobias van Grun (3rd president, ruled from 2000 until his death in a plane crash on September 17th 2021)
- Mia van Grun (4th and current President, ruling since September 18th, 2021)