Dominic Fritz is one of very few mayors in the world elected twice without holding the citizenship of the country he serves. He is Mayor of Timișoara, in western Romania, and President of the Save Romania Union (USR), a pro-European, reform-oriented party.
Born and raised in Germany, he first came to Romania at 19 and spent a year volunteering in a children's home in Timișoara. He learned Romanian and kept returning to the city over the years.
After a lengthy administrative process and the examination required by law, he obtained Romanian citizenship in December 2025.
Romania's most popular immigrant.Rumäniens populärster Immigrant.
Education and early career
Fritz studied political and administrative science at the University of Konstanz in Germany, at Sciences Po Paris in France and at the University of York in the United Kingdom.
He began his career at the German development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and later became chief of staff to Horst Köhler, a former Federal President of Germany. He gave up that post to run for mayor of Timișoara.
I actually resigned from my position as chief of staff to former German President Horst Köhler, moved to Timișoara, and was elected by an overwhelming majority.
Entry into Romanian public life
His involvement in the anti-corruption movement in Romania between 2017 and 2019 drew him further into public life. In 2019 he moved from Berlin to Timișoara and decided to run for mayor, under the provision that lets citizens of other EU member states resident in Romania stand in local elections.
He stood for the Save Romania Union (USR) and won the election of 27 September 2020 with 52.66% of the vote, defeating the incumbent mayor. He was re-elected on 9 June 2024 with 49.65%, or 51,910 votes.
Well, I fell in love with Timișoara when I was 19 years old. That was when I came for the first time to Romania, and for the first time to Timișoara. I worked here for one year in an orphanage, and I never fell out of love with the city.
Achievements as mayor of Timișoara
Across his terms as mayor the city has invested at record levels in public schools and in urban mobility, and Timișoara City Hall has become the most digitally advanced local administration in Romania.
Under his leadership the municipality attracted €500 million in European funds and launched urban regeneration projects.
A central priority of his time in office has been the recovery of public assets, buildings and land used illegally or abusively for decades, so that those resources serve the community again.
Dominic Fritz is the only Romanian mayor to have completed the inaugural Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative, a pioneering $50 million program shaping the future of urban leadership across Europe.
In 2023 Timișoara held the title of European Capital of Culture, a year that put the city back on the cultural and diplomatic map of Europe.
In May 2023, an honored guest came from Germany to Timișoara: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "It was actually the first visit by a German-speaking head of state since Emperor Franz Joseph, so we were very proud," recalled mayor Dominic Fritz in an interview with DW. "Timișoara is one of the most important cities in Romania and therefore deserves attention. The reaction of the German President and his delegation made it clear once again that the contribution of cities like Timișoara to our united Europe is more valued than ever."
Tourism is one of his priorities, and the city invests in its international profile and its promotion.
In 2023 Timișoara was included by The Independent among its recommended city-break destinations and by TIME in its World's Greatest Places list. In 2026 it was named Romania's Destination of the Year and ranked first in the Cities that Inspire category.
The mayor of Timișoara has a favorite pastime when receiving visitors from Western Europe in his city in western Romania. He likes to watch the "shock on their faces when they realize how much their preconceptions about Romania differ from the reality," said Dominic Fritz, with an amused look on his face, referring to his remarkable city of around 250,000 inhabitants. Since joining the European Union in 2007, it has become the best showcase for the development this Eastern European country has experienced.
In his book Braver New World, British author and journalist John Kampfner dedicates a chapter to Timișoara, writing about Dominic Fritz:
[The mayor] is continuing to use what powers he has to tackle an entrenched bureaucracy, introduce change – and, in his many walkabouts around the city, convince inhabitants that there is a positive way of doing politics.
Political roles
Fritz has been president of the USR organisation in Timiș county since July 2021 and was reconfirmed in the post in 2023. In June 2024 he was elected vice-president of USR with the highest number of votes of any candidate.
On 13 June 2025 he was elected president of USR in the first round, with 67.2% of the vote.
Under his leadership USR joined the pro-European coalition government led by Ilie Bolojan, which was sworn in on 23 June 2025.
Political crisis
On 5 May 2026 parliament passed a no-confidence motion initiated by PSD against the reform-oriented government led by Ilie Bolojan.
On 8 May 2026 Fritz reached an agreement with Ilie Bolojan, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), to defend democratic rules, integrity and Romania's pro-European direction.
He has argued that the way forward is a minority government of USR and PNL, with PSD supporting reforms that serve the public interest. That support, he said, would show that PSD is prepared to back a reform agenda rather than the majority it formed with the far right.
Controversies
In 2026 PSD and AUR introduced a provision that automatically removes elected officials from office after a final conflict-of-interest finding, including findings issued before it came into force. The amendment is widely referred to in Romania as the Fritz amendment, it targets Dominic Fritz directly and it could end his mandate as Mayor of Timișoara.
It was introduced as part of an unrelated reform of the integrity law, tied to Romania's EU Recovery and Resilience Plan. On 17 August 2026 the Constitutional Court upheld it, despite concerns that applying it retroactively conflicts with the principle of non-retroactivity in Article 15(2) of the Romanian Constitution.
The underlying finding by the National Integrity Agency (ANI) dates from 2020, when Fritz signed a technical document in a zoning procedure started under his predecessor. ANI classified it as an administrative conflict of interest, he was sanctioned and the sanction was enforced. Under current legislation the same conduct no longer carries that sanction.
European engagement
Fritz is the only Romanian mayor in the Alliance of Free Cities, a network promoting democratic values and urban autonomy, and he took part in solidarity actions with the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu.
He launched the Timișoara Award for European Values, whose laureates are Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.
He initiated the Timișoara Declaration within Eurocities, which calls for a central role for cities in the enlargement of the European Union.
During the Ukrainian refugee crisis he coordinated the city's response through municipal institutions and local volunteer networks.
Personal life
Fritz has been married to Yiran Lin, a former United Nations diplomat, since 2021. They have a daughter.
Besides his native German, he speaks Romanian, English and French fluently.