Nicușor Dan

Nicușor Daniel Dan (Romanian: [nikuˈʃor daniˈel ˈdan]; born 20 December 1969) is a Romanian politician, mathematician, and civic activist serving as the sixth president of Romania since 2025. He previously served as the mayor of Bucharest from 2020 to 2025 and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2016 to 2020.

Born in Făgăraș, Brașov County, Dan earned international acclaim in his youth as a mathematician, securing gold medals and perfect scores at the 1987 and 1988 International Mathematical Olympiads. He began studying mathematics at the University of Bucharest and then moved to France, where he obtained a master's degree from École normale supérieure and a PhD from Paris 13 University. After returning to Romania, Dan founded Școala Normală Superioară București, an institution aimed at guiding the most talented Romanian students towards scientific research, and became a civic activist.

In 2015, Dan founded the Save Bucharest Union (USB), focusing on anti-corruption and heritage preservation. One year later, he co-founded the Save Romania Union (USR), but resigned from the party in 2017 over its progressive shift, preferring a more centrist approach. Dan served in the Chamber of Deputies from 2016, before being elected Bucharest's second independent mayor in 2020 and winning re-election in 2024. As mayor, he focused on public infrastructure and transparency, although he received criticism over construction delays.

Dan ran as an independent for the 2025 presidential election and received 21% of the vote in the first round, placing second. He faced Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) founder George Simion in the runoff, defeating him with 53.6% of the vote. Dan ran on a pro-Western platform, which contrasted with his opponent's nationalist and Eurosceptic stance.