Who is Nicusor Dan, the new mayor of Bucharest, and how does he plan to change Romania's capital?

Mathematician and civic activist Nicusor Dan, the new mayor of Bucharest, is the symbol of the new generation of Romanian politicians. Although rather shy in his public appearances and not willing to strike any deal just to reach his goals, he is the symbol of the new political wave in Romania aiming to become the alternative to the traditional parties. His efforts, which started with an independent candidacy in the 2012 local elections in Bucharest, were the spark that has led to the creation of a new political force in Romania represented today by the USR-PLUS alliance, which also confirmed its strength in the September 27 local elections. Nicusor Dan won the race for Bucharest on his third attempt and heis now promising to turn the Romanian capital into "the New Bucharest," but his task is not easy. His mandate will be a test not only for him, but for all the young politicians of the new wave who believe they can change Romania.

Nicusor Dan, 50, is married and has a daughter. He was born in Fagaras, Brasov county, and moved to the capital at the age of 18 to study mathematics at the University of Bucharest. He also studied in France and returned to Bucharest with a Ph.D. in mathematics from Sorbona University. Here, he helped create Scoala Normala Superioara Bucuresti, an educational institution set up on the model of the French Ecole Normale Superieure.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Not long after returning to Romania, Nicusor Dan decided to get involved in stopping what he called Bucharest's destruction. He founded the Save Bucharest Association, aiming to stop the construction of high-rise buildings in the capital and the deforestation of parks while also fighting to prevent architectural heritage houses' demolition. The Association got involved in many trials against the local authorities in Bucharest and won a big part of them, thus stopping several illegal urban planning projects.

He then decided to try to change things from within the system, and in 2012 ran for Bucharest's mayor office as an independent candidate. He got 9% of the votes at that time, losing the elections to Sorin Oprescu, one of the most popular local politicians at that time.

Then, in 2015, he took a step forward and founded and registered a new political party - Save Bucharest Union (USB). The party gained popularity pretty fast. At the local elections in June 2016, Dan and Save Bucharest Union managed to pull a fantastic surprise and get more than 30% of the votes, coming second after Gabriela Firea.

However, things didn't stop there, and USB turned into Save Romania Union (USR), becoming a national player. The new party even managed to enter the Romanian Parliament in 2016. However, Nicusor Dan resigned from the party's helm in the summer of 2017, following internal power struggles.