World of the Bizarre

Man who founded his own country has also now set up two embassies

By T.K. Randall
February 21, 2026

Image: United Nations Flags
Credit: Tom Page / CC BY-SA 2.0 (adapted) The 21-year-old, who came up with the idea when he was just 14, declared back in 2019 that a small 125-acre area of land in the Balkans - which is unclaimed by either Serbia or Croatia - be known as the Free Republic of Verdis with himself serving as sitting president.

Since then, he has taken things one step further by opening two embassies - one in Serbia and one in the UK - in which he creates IDs and passports for those hoping to gain residence there.

As nobody has officially recognized Verdis as a real country, the embassies are currently still deemed "representative offices" until such time as the host countries change their stance.

"We have opened two embassies," said Jackson. "They are still representative offices until the host countries recognize us. I spend a lot of time at the offices."

"For the Serbian one we did a proper grand opening which was really good. We had some awesome people show up and we had champagne and everything. It was quite fun.""We have got banners up and flags in each room. The Serbian one has a flag hanging off the balcony and it is properly kitted out."

As for acquiring formal recognition - things aren't exactly going too well in that regard as Jackson himself has been banned from entering neighboring Croatia.

The country has even set up cameras to prevent anyone accessing Verdis across its border.

According to Jackson, this makes him a "government in exile".

"We are quite determined. Croatia doesn't claim the land, so we have the right to it and we believe that we have a good chance," he said.

"It is a matter of when not if we get back on the land."

Source: Metro.co.uk

Tags: Verdis