Romanian-born Ramona Pop, 39, has become one of the German capital's two deputy-mayors following the December 2016 elections, local activenews.ro reports.

At the end of last year, Berlin's senate re-elected Michael Müller as governing mayor, heading a three-party coalition including the Greens and Left parties, according to dw.com. Ramona Pop, a leading candidate of the Greens, became a senator for economics, energy and enterprises (Senatorin für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe).

Metropolitan Berlin is one of Germany's city-states. Its mayor is chosen by the state parliament of Berlin (Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin). The governing mayor appoints two senators to serve as mayors (Bürgermeister) and represent him or her in case of absence. Ramona Pop is one of the two, alongside Dr. Klaus Lederer. Although the title translates as “mayor”, the position is the equivalent of a deputy-mayor, activenews.ro explains.

Ramona Pop was born in 1977 in Timișoara, in western Romania. She moved with her family to Germany in 1988. Between 1997 and 2003 she studied political science at the Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität in Münster and at the Otto-Suhr-Institut Free University of Berlin, according to a bio on her website.

She has been a member of the Green Party (Die Grünen) since 1997. She served as a member of the district council of Münster between 1998 and 1999, and as Federal President and Speaker of Green Youth between 1999 and 2001. In 2001, she became a member of the Berlin House of Representatives.

The Berlin Town Hall hosts the Senate Chancellery of the federal state of Berlin and is the official seat of the governing mayor of Berlin.

One in four of the residents of the city-state of Berlin is of foreign background, according to dw.com. Berlin had a population of 3.6 million in 2016, making it the second most populous city in Europe.

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editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ramona Pop Facebook page)