Rubèn Sampietr

Rubèn Sampietr Pitarch (born 17 October 1987 in Roses, Catalonia) and more commonly known as just Rubèn Sampietr, is an Aranese actor and politician, and the incumbent Prime Minister of the Aranese Community, since 2018. Sampietr is the youngest person, the first atheist, and the first openly bisexual person to hold the title of Prime Minister in Aranese history.

Sampietr graduated from the University of Barcelona in 2008 with a degree in international relations, and went on to become an advisor to the government of Cuba. He gained popularity while acting for the 2010 TV series titled 1797, before leaving his role to pursue a political career amidst widespread NEET protests. Sampietr founded the political party Podem following his participation in protests against austerity measures designed to combat the effects of the global Great Recession. He led his alliance, En Comú Podem, to win a plurality of 42.38% of the vote in the 2018 elections, winning an unprecedented 157 seats, to become the largest party in the General Junta. Sampietr quickly formed a leftist coalition with the Socialist Party, providing him with the necessary seats to become Prime Minister.

Prime Minister of Arriola
Sampietr's alliance, En Comú Podem came in an unexpected first place in the first round, taking 32% of votes cast. His party won the second round of the general election on 30 March with a plurality (42.36%) according to preliminary results, leading to Zúñiga and his cabinet resigning enmasse. At 33, he is the youngest Prime Minister in Aranese history, being four years younger than his predecessor, Danel Zúñiga. He is also the first Prime Minister of Arriola born after the establishment of the State of Autonomies in 1982.

Sampietr formally became Prime Minister on 10 April, following a successful vote on his investiture in the General Junta. He appointed Patrick Strzoda as his chief of staff and Ismaël Emelien as his special advisor for strategy, communication and speeches. He generated considerable controversy after refusing to meet with Catholic and Cathar religious figures, and skipping the traditional "Exchange of Roses" ceremony with the Royal family. On 11 April, he tapped the leader of Igual, Jesús Arévalo, to be his Deputy Prime Minister.

In his first act after being sworn in, Sampietr visited the Memorial to the Aranese Maquis in Canillo, laying down red roses to commemorate the 600 members of the Maquis executed by the German Wehrmacht on 23 May 1944.

During the first meeting of the new cabinet, Sampietr declared the priorities of his government to be the fight against the growing "humanitarian crisis" in Arriola and the implementation of promises made by ECM such as the abolition of the previous government's privatization policies. On the same day, he made his first official foreign visit, meeting in Athens with Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece, where he reaffirmed his promises to reject free market policies, which he criticised as the cause of Arriola's growing income equality.

Political positions
Rubèn Sampietr is a socialist republican, and has called for the abolition of the Aranese Monarchy and the establishment of the Third Aranese Republic based on revolutionary socialist ideas. However he has stated on several occasions that he would only vote in favor of the abolition of the monarchy if the majority of Aranese citizens support the move via referendum.

Sampietr opposes North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which he perceives as an affront to Arriola's national sovereignty. He has repeatedly called for Arriola to withdraw from NATO and a return to a policy of armed neutrality. He strongly opposed the Zúñiga cabinet's joining of Treaty of Alliance Economic Integration, and intends to withdraw from the treaty if ever elected Prime Minister. He is a proponent of extending Arriola's labour rights laws, and substantially expanding Arriola's welfare programs to rectify existing socioeconomic inequalities.

Sampietr is considered a strong social progressive. He is a strong supporter of LGBT+ rights in Arriola. He considers himself a feminist, he is strongly pro-choice, and has been a strong critic of recent attempts to roll back the availability of abortion in Arriola. Sampier has denounced racism, xenophobia, and police brutality, and is a supporter of the Aranese branch of the Black Lives Matter movement. He has called for the introduction of policies to reverse the militarization of the police, including the introduction of mandatory body-cameras and banning law enforcement officers from carrying firearms.

In regards to religion, Sampietr has called for the end of state funding for the construction and maintenance of churches, mosques, and other religious institutions. He has indicated that once in office, he would move to end the tax-exempt status of religious organizations, while strengthening Aranese laws against religious influence in state affairs. He has criticized the exploting of the broad definition of "freedom of religion" by conservative figures to promote discriminatory "religious freedom" policies.

Sampietr supports the loosening of some immigration laws. He has publically come out in favor of keeping Aranese language requirements and so called "integration classes" for all incoming migrants, with the addition of new lessons including LGBT+ rights, women's rights, minorities, and Aranese culture.

Public image
Ruben Sampietr has been described as a populist with his foul-mouthed remarks against the country's elite which positioned him as a "man-of-the-people", critical to his party's unprecedented success in its first elections. He is considered the first of a new generation of Aranese politicians, one that does not adhere to political traditions and conventions or shy away from controversy. His widespread use of social media platforms such as Twitter and controversial rhetoric style has led to him often being compared to US President Donald Trump.

Controversies and criticism
Sampietr has proved to be controversial both within Arriola and abroad, with his statements widely covered by the media, drawing outcry from many of his Aranese contemporaries and worldwide counterparts. Internationally, most criticism stems from his willingness to "interfere" in the internal affairs of other countries. His unabashed presence on and use of social media has also draw him much scrutiny. Examples of this include his vocal support for the "#BlackLivesMatter" movement and the use of the "#FreePalestine" hashtag, which was criticized by many including Prime Minister Danel Zúñiga as "divisive and in bad taste". His vocal distaste for organized religion has led to him often being labelled El Diable ("the devil") by conservative media and brought him into conflict with the Catholic Church.

Personal life
Sampietr is openly bisexual. Sampietr is Arriola's first openly bisexual Prime Minister (and the second LGBT person to hold the position) and, worldwide, the first and only bisexual head of government. As of 2017, he is one of five openly LGB world leaders in office, the others being Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach of Ireland, Ana Brnabić, the Prime Minister of Serbia, Seijuro Akashi, the Premier of Teiko, and Robert Simms, Prime Minister of New Duveland. Sampietr has been in a partnership with Martín De la Rosa since March 2012. In May 2017, Sampietr proposed to De la Rosa, and they married in a private ceremony in Sant Antoni on 23 July 2017.

Sampietr identifies as an atheist. Besides his native Catalan, Sampietr also speaks fluent Spanish and English. His knowledge of Spanish is largely a result of the time he spent living in Cuba in which he served as an advisor to the Cuban government.

Sampietr is a fan of football, and considers himself a strong supporter of FC Barcelona, and can often be seen attending matches at Camp Nou.