Meet the Melbourne man, 21, who has started his own country - and the 'exhausting' toll of being the world's youngest president as demand for his 'free republic' grows
At just 21, Victorian man Daniel Jackson holds the title of the world's youngest political leader.
Daniel Jackson is well aware that many consider his plan audacious, even bonkers.
At just 21, Jackson holds the title of the world's youngest political leader, surpassing Iceland's Kristrún Frostadóttir, who became prime minister at the age of 36 in 2024.
That's a stark contrast to Donald Trump, who at 79 became the oldest president ever inaugurated in US history.
When Daily Mail caught up with the leader, who comes from Melbourne, it was 10pm in the UK where he had been working at his desk since dawn.
'Being a president can be very exhausting,' he admitted.
The former Waverley Christian College student presides over the Free Republic of Verdis, a micronation he carved out in 2019 on a sliver of forest along the Danube River between Croatia and Serbia.
Accessible only by boat, the country's total area of 124 acres makes it the second smallest country in the world after Vatican City.
But the dream that made Jackson a global curiosity has come at a cost.
Daniel Jackson (pictured) has high hopes for the Free Republic of Verdis despite living in exile
The sliver of land along the Danube River is just slightly larger than Vatican city
Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir (pictured) is one of the youngest leader's of a country in the world after being elected at the age of 36
Today, Jackson lives in exile after Croatian forces swept into Verdis in October 2023 and forcibly expelled its citizens from the tiny nation he built from scratch.
The parcel of land had not been claimed due to an existing border dispute between Croatia and Serbia following the Croatian War of Independence.
It is close to Liberland, another self-proclaimed state on no man's land claimed by Czech politician Vít Jedlička in 2015 on the premise that society can flourish without the coercive taxation and regulatory overreach that plague traditional states.
Crypto billionaire Justin Sun is the prime minister of Liberland, which symbolises the utopian dream of building the 'freest nation on earth'.
Jackson said while the two micronations share similarities, their values differ.
'They're quite anarchist, Libertarian, whereas Verdis has a normal centralised government, and more views around humanitarian aid,' he said.
Jackson is pushing for international recognition of Verdis, and the lifting of Croatia's blockade.
He hopes to become increasingly involved in the global community and is actively seeking recognition from UN member and observer states.
On October 12, 2023, Jackson said Croatian authorities violated international law by entering the territory of the Free Republic of Verdis and expelling all citizens