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Klaus Iohannis
Also Known As Klaus Werner Iohannis, Iohannis
President of Romania
Klaus Werner Iohannis is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former physics teacher at Samuel von Brukenthal National College who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 2014, after previously serving as the leader of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR) between 2002 and 2013. Prior to entering national politics, Iohannis was a physics teacher in his native Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt).
Iohannis was elected the mayor of the Transylvanian town of Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt) in 2000, representing the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR). Although the German (more specifically Transylvanian Saxon) population of the once predominantly German/Transylvanian Saxon-speaking town of Sibiu/Hermannstadt had declined to a tiny minority until the early 2000s, Iohannis won a surprise victory and was re-elected by landslides in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Iohannis is credited with turning his home town into one of Romania's most popular tourist destinations, Sibiu/Hermannstadt subsequently obtaining the title of European Capital of Culture in 2007 alongside Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg. In February 2013, Iohannis became a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), accepting an invitation from then liberal leader Crin Antonescu, and was immediately elected the party's first vice-president, eventually becoming the PNL president during the following year.
In October 2009, four of the five political groups in the Parliament, excluding the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) of then President Traian Băsescu, proposed him as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister of Romania; however, Băsescu refused to nominate him despite the Parliament's adoption of a declaration supporting his candidacy. He was again the candidate for Prime Minister of the PNL and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in the elections in the same year.
Ideologically a conservative, 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 beginning in the 12th century (as part of the Ostsiedlung process which took place during the High Middle Ages). He was initially elected in 2014 and then subsequently re-elected by a landslide in 2019.
Iohannis' late presidency (i.e. his second term) has been marked by democratic backsliding and a shift towards illiberalism and a more authoritarian style of government, especially after the 2021 political crisis and the formation of the National Coalition for Romania (CNR). It has faced allegations of suppression of freedom of speech and suppression of press freedom. In 2023, The Economist ranked Romania the last in the European Union (EU) in the world terms of democracy, even behind Viktor Orbán's Hungary.
Early Life
Iohannis Born 13 June 1959 in the historic centre of Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt) to a Transylvanian Saxon family, Klaus Iohannis is the eldest child of Gustav Heinz and Susanne Johannis. He has a younger sister, Krista Johannis (born 1964). His father worked as a technician at an enterprise, while his mother was a nurse. Both his parents as well as his sister emigrated from their native Sibiu to Würzburg, Bavaria in Germany in 1992, acquiring citizenship there under the right of return granted by German nationality law, as most other Transylvanian Saxons after the fall of the Iron Curtain. However, he chose to live and work in Romania. As of 2014, his parents, sister and a niece live in Würzburg.
Iohannis stated that his family settled in Transylvania in present-day Romania 850 years ago. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics of the Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca in 1983, Iohannis worked as a high school physics teacher at various schools and colleges in Sibiu, including, from 1989 to 1997, the Samuel von Brukenthal National College in Sibiu, the oldest German-speaking school in Romania. From 1997 to 1999, he was Deputy General School Inspector of Sibiu County, and from 1999 until his election as mayor in 2000, he was the General School Inspector, head of public schools in the county.
Alongside his native German and Romanian, Iohannis also speaks English fluently and has some knowledge of French. The original German spelling of his name is Johannis, but the name was registered by a Romanian official as Iohannis on his birth certificate[30] and he has used both spellings interchangeably. In 1989, he married ethnic Romanian Carmen Lăzurcă, an English teacher at the Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Sibiu. They have no children. Iohannis is also a member of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania, the German-speaking Lutheran church in Transylvania.
Education
- High School - Samuel von Brukenthal
- Graduated - Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai din Cluj-Napoca
Career
- Romania - President
Recognition
International and National Awards :
2023 – Germany German Civic Award, conferred by the Bad Harzburg Civic Foundation
2023 – Germany Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights, granted by the Center against Expulsions in Bonn, the Federal Republic of Germany
2020 – Germany European Charles IV Prize of the Sudeten German Homeland Association, the Federal Republic of Germany
2020/2021 – Germany Charlemagne Prize, awarded by the City of Aachen, the Federal Republic of Germany
2020 – Germany The Emperor Otto Prize, awarded by the City of Magdeburg, the Federal Republic of Germany
2020 – European Union European Prize Coudenhove-Kalergi, European Society Coudenhove-Kalergi
2019 – Romania Medal of Honour (Goldene Ehrennadel), the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, Sibiu/Hermannstadt
2018 – Germany Franz Josef Strauss award, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich, the Federal Republic of Germany
2017 – United States Light Unto the Nations award, American Jewish Committee, Washington, D.C., United States of America
2017 – Germany Semper Opera Ball Dresden Medal of St. George, the Federal Republic of Germany
2016 – Germany Hermann Ehlers award, Hermann Ehlers Foundation, Kiel, the Federal Republic of Germany
2016 – Netherlands Martin Buber-Plaque, EURIADE Foundation, Kerkrade, the Kingdom of the Netherlands
2010 – Romania Friend of the Jewish Communities in Romania Medal of Honor, Sibiu/Hermannstadt, Romania
2010 – Germany The German Expatriates Association Plaque of Honor
State honorary distinctions :
2022 – Lithuania Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania
2022 – Latvia Order of the Three Stars – Commander Grand Cross (1st class) – Republic of Latvia
2022 – State of Palestine Grand Collar of the State of Palestine
2021 – Estonia Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana of the Republic of Estonia
2019 – Romania Emblem of Honour of Romanian Army
2017 – Croatia Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Grand Star of the Republic of Croatia
2016 – Slovakia Order (First Class) of the White Double Cross of the Slovak Republic
2016 – France Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic
2016 – Poland Order of the White Eagle of the Republic of Poland
2016 – Germany Grand Cross (Special Class) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
2016 – Bulgaria Order Stara Planina with Ribbon of the Republic of Bulgaria
2016 – Italy Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
2016 – Luxembourg Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
2016 – Lithuania Collar (First Class) of the Order of Vytautas the Great, the Republic of Lithuania
2016 – Israel Order of the Holy Sepulchre of the Patriarchate of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine and Israel
2016 – Moldova Order of the Republic of Moldova
2015 – Portugal Grand Collar of the Order of the Infante D. Henrique of the Portuguese Republic
2014 – Germany Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
2011 – Romania Knight of the National Order for Merit of Romania
2009 – Belgium Officer of the Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium
2009 – Austria Grand Cross Order of Merit, the Republic of Austria
2009 – Luxembourg Officer of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
2008 – Italy Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity of the Italian Republic
2007 – Romania Knight of the National Order of the Star of Romania
2006 – Germany Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany