Timișoara mayor Dominic Fritz submits application for Romanian citizenship
Dominic Fritz, re-elected on June 9 as the mayor of Timișoara, a major city in western Romania, announced that he submitted his application for Romanian citizenship on Thursday, July 4.
The mayor is a German citizen by birth and first arrived in Romania in 2003 after finishing high school. He worked for a year as a volunteer at a children's home in the Freidorf neighborhood, where he also learned Romanian. He returned a few years later, getting involved in a series of social projects. In 2020, he was elected mayor of Timișoara.
“This is the smile of a Romanian in the making. Today I submitted my application to obtain Romanian citizenship,” he wrote in a social media post accompanied by a selfie.
“The truth is that I have felt like one of you for a long time. Having a Romanian passport will be the official confirmation of a simple fact: for better or worse, I believe in Romania and its potential. I love this country and want to shape its future together with all of you,” continued Fritz.
Born in 1983, Dominic Fritz got a BA in Political Science from the University of University of Konstanz and continued his studies at Paris’ Sciences Po. He was then chief of staff to former German president Horst Köhler for 4 years.
Back in 2019, he sat down with Romania Insider for an interview during which he said “Timișoara is the only city in the world where I really feel part of a community - a creative, welcoming and lively community.”
Dominic Fritz was elected mayor of Timișoara in 2020 and re-elected in 2024. According to European Union regulations, a European citizen living in another EU country has the right to vote and run in municipal and European elections in that country.
“Thank you, Romania, for this extraordinary journey you invited me on when I first set foot on your soil at 19. And thank you, Europe, for letting me be a Timișoara resident from the Black Forest, a German Romanian, and, above all, a free person among free people,” Dominic Fritz said.
“After it is thoroughly reviewed by the National Authority for Citizenship, I will be invited for an interview. If I give satisfactory answers, I will be called to take my citizenship oath. The whole process will take a few months,” he added in a comment.
(Photo source: Dominic Fritz on Facebook)
