Elena Lasconi

Elena Valerica Lasconi (; born 20 April 1972) is a Romanian politician and former journalist. She is serving as the mayor of Câmpulung in Argeș County, having been elected in both the 2020 and 2024 elections. On 26 June 2024, she won the internal elections in the Save Romania Union (USR), becoming its president. USR elected her in a landslide as the party's candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

Lasconi briefly led the list of USR candidates for the 2024 European Parliament elections, a position she resigned from at the request of the former party president, Cătălin Drulă. Lasconi placed second in the first round of the 2024 Romanian presidential election on 24 November 2024. She would have faced the independent Călin Georgescu in a runoff on 8 December 2024 had the first round not been annulled by the Constitutional Court.

Early life and education Elena Lasconi was born on 20 April 1972 in Hațeg, Hunedoara County. She completed her high school education at Queen Marie National Pedagogical College in Deva in 1990. She pursued higher education at the Traian Ecological University of Deva, finishing it in 2001, when she received her Bachelor's degree after an exam at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. Additionally, she attended the BBC School of Television in 1999 and became an evaluator of professional competencies in 2007, certified by the National Center for the Training and Improvement of Coaches (CNFPA). Her notable assignments included covering major national and international events such as the January 1999 Mineriad, the Kosovo and Afghanistan wars, the 1999 Turkey earthquake, and Romanian presidential and parliamentary elections. She was re-elected in a landslide in 2024.

Her office claimed that during her tenure, the town reportedly secured over 500 million lei in European Structural and Investment Funds, expanded the gas network by over 30 kilometers, and enhanced local healthcare facilities. Her office further claimed that over 100,000 square meters of green spaces, basketball courts, multifunctional spaces, calisthenics parks, ice rinks, playgrounds, and fitness equipment for adults have been developed with Lasconi as mayor. Lasconi submitted her candidacy on the last day before the deadline. Dominic Fritz, mayor of Timișoara and former favorite in the race, withdrew his candidacy, paving way for Lasconi to become the new favorite. She was elected president with 7,701 votes (68.14%) out of 11,333 cast by the 25,607 eligible voting members. In her acceptance speech, Lasconi emphasized the need for unity and determination within the party, highlighting the importance of rebuilding USR to counteract the current political climate in Romania. She criticized the concentration of power among traditional parties and committed to fostering respect, hard work, and efficiency, drawing on her successful tenure as mayor. In the first round of voting on 24 November, she placed second to Călin Georgescu with 19.18% of the vote and advanced to the runoff scheduled for 8 December. However, the results of the election were annulled by the Constitutional Court on 6 December.

She ran again in the 2025 rerun election. She was due to be sued by two other candidates, Victor Ponta and Nicușor Dan, for posting photographs falsely linking them to former Romanian Intelligence Service deputy director Florian Coldea.

Lasconi got significantly less votes than in the 2024 elections, scoring only 2.68% of the vote. Subsequently, the next day after the elections, she announced she will step down as president of the Save Romania Union.

Electoral history Mayor of Câmpulung Election Affiliation Main round Votes Percentage Position 2020 7,484 2024 9,203

Presidential elections ¹USR subsequently withdrew, to a large extent, its political support for Lasconi during the campaign in favor of Nicușor Dan (although several local branches of the party still campaigned for Lasconi during the first round) even though she remained on the ballot as the official USR candidate.

Personal life Elena Lasconi married for the first time at the age of 18. The marriage lasted four years and resulted in a daughter, Oana, whom she raised alone after the divorce. She remarried at the age of 40, in 2012, with Cătălin Georgescu, whom she met at English language courses organized by the British Council; the couple has no children together.