41 Facts About Klaus Iohannis

Klaus Iohannis was first elected the mayor of the Romanian town of Sibiu in 2000, on behalf of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania.

Klaus Iohannis is credited with turning his home town into one of Romania's most popular tourist destinations.

Klaus Iohannis was again the candidate for Prime Minister of the PNL and the PSD in the elections in the same year.

Klaus Iohannis became the president of the National Liberal Party in 2014, after previously serving as the leader of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania between 2002 and 2013.

Klaus Iohannis was elected president in that year's election, and then subsequently re-elected by a landslide in 2019.

Klaus Iohannis faced allegations of suppression of freedom of speech and press freedom.

Klaus Iohannis's term was extended due to the annulment of the 2024 presidential election, but he resigned in February 2025.

Ideologically a conservative, Klaus Iohannis is the first Romanian president belonging to an ethnic minority, as he is a Transylvanian Saxon, part of Romania's German minority, which settled in Transylvania from the High Middle Ages onward.

Klaus Iohannis's father worked as a technician at a state-owned company, while his mother was a nurse.

Klaus Iohannis joined the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania in 1990, and served as a member of its board of education in Transylvania from 1997, and a member of the local party board in Sibiu from 1998.

Klaus Iohannis is widely credited with turning his hometown into one of Romania's most popular tourist destinations thanks to the extensive renovation of the old downtown.

On 20 February 2013, Klaus Iohannis joined the PNL, announcing this during a press conference with Crin Antonescu.

In 2009, Klaus Iohannis had stated that he might possibly run for the office of President of Romania, although not in that year.

Klaus Iohannis took office on 21 December 2014, when Traian Basescu's term ended.

Klaus Iohannis is a supporter of a strongly pro-Western foreign policy.

Klaus Iohannis criticised the Parliament for defending MPs by rejecting the requests of the National Anticorruption Directorate for lifting their immunity, as in the case of PSD senator Dan Sova or Prime Minister Victor Ponta.

Likewise, Klaus Iohannis expressed dissatisfaction with attempted amendments to the Penal Code.

Klaus Iohannis's position was met with a wave of criticism from supporters and public figures.

Two months later, Klaus Iohannis praised the new coalition, stating that "the Romanian political class has shown democratic maturity".

Some public figures in Romania, who had previously expressed support for Klaus Iohannis, complained of his double standard and lack of proper governance.

The next day, President Klaus Iohannis designated Marcel Ciolacu to be the next prime-minister.

Klaus Iohannis praised the PSD-PNL coalition again, saying that this new model implemented in Romanian politics, the government rotation, "has worked very well so far".

Klaus Iohannis declared that "the fact that today we are here to formalise the rotation of the prime ministers shows a new level of seriousness of the coalition".

The Economists Democracy Index consistently placed Romania behind the African country of Botswana, which Klaus Iohannis had sarcastically lamented in a 2014 presidential campaign interview and which prompted him to stress the need to "consolidate democracy".

On 12 March 2024, Klaus Iohannis announced his candidacy for the post of Secretary-General of NATO, promising a "renewal of perspective" for the alliance and citing Romania's "deep understanding" of the situation created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Klaus Iohannis was expected to compete against outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

However, on 10 February 2025, Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation as President of Romania in order to "not create a divided Romania".

Klaus Iohannis was succeeded by Senate president Ilie Bolojan, who will serve as acting president until the 2025 Romanian presidential election.

President Klaus Iohannis said that a possible unification of Romania and Moldova could be discussed at the moment things are going well and stable in the two countries.

Klaus Iohannis argued for more and improved cooperation between Romanians and Hungarians "as the only solution for us" instead, stressing local administrative reforms and developing the region.

Klaus Iohannis criticised Ukraine's 2017 education law, which makes Ukrainian the only language of education in state schools, and cancelled his visit to Kyiv in October 2017.

Klaus Iohannis is a supporter of the fight against corruption in Romania.

Klaus Iohannis has rejected demands for the suspension of the head of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi.

In terms of LGBT rights and recognition of same-sex unions in Romania, Klaus Iohannis has not stated clearly his opinion:.

Klaus Iohannis's reaction was praised by international media, including The Washington Post, while religious and conservative organisations in Romania have criticised his position on LGBT rights.

Klaus Iohannis has said that migration "has to be controlled" and "it affects Romanian habits" and has supported stronger external European borders.

Klaus Iohannis accepted the migration quota set for his country by the EU, but said he is still opposed to mandatory quotas being set by the Commission.

Alongside his mother tongue, German, and the language of the majority, the Romanian language, Klaus Iohannis is fluent in English and can speak French to a certain degree.

Klaus Iohannis is a member of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania, the German-speaking Lutheran church, mainly of the Transylvanian Saxons, with a lesser presence in other parts of Romania.

Klaus Iohannis has stated that his family settled in Transylvania in present-day Romania 850 years ago, more specifically around 1500 in the small town of Cisnadie, Sibiu County.

Klaus Iohannis Johannis published three books with a main focus on politics as follows:.