Klaus Iohannis

Klaus Werner Iohannis was born 13 June 1959 and taught physics at the Samuel von Brukenthal National College in Sibiu before winning a surprise mayoral election there in 2000 on behalf of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, despite Transylvanian Saxons having dwindled to a tiny minority. He won re-election by landslides in 2004, 2008, and 2012, transforming Sibiu into a major tourist destination; the city became European Capital of Culture in 2007. After the Romanian Parliament proposed him twice for Prime Minister in 2009 - both times blocked by President Traian Băsescu - Iohannis joined the National Liberal Party in 2013, became its president in 2014, and won the presidency that same year, then again by landslide in 2019. His second term brought accusations of democratic backsliding, press suppression, and authoritarian drift; by June 2023 over ninety percent of Romanians distrusted him, and the Economist ranked Romania last in the EU for democracy, below Viktor Orbán's Hungary. His term extended after the annulment of the 2024 presidential election, but he resigned in February 2025.