Nicusor Dan is the president of Romania, elected in May 2025. He is a mathematician trained in France and former mayor of Bucharest, known for fighting corruption. He once headed the Save Romania Union (USR), a pro-European anti-corruption party.
In the first round Mr Dan won 21% of the vote against George Simion's 41%. Before the run-off he was widely agreed to have won the sole head-to-head debate, demanding that Mr Simion explain which of the half-million state employees he had vaguely promised to cut would actually be fired. He won the second round 54% to 46%, boosted by record turnout.
As president, Mr Dan chose a new prime minister after the previous one resigned following Mr Simion's first-round victory. His powers are limited, but he has worked to reinvigorate the fight against corruption and to broker a deal to cut Romania's budget deficit.
"Life is like a buffet; it's not good but there's plenty of it."