Elena Lasconi, mayor of Câmpulungului and leader of USR, main candidate for the position of president of the country, caused controversy due to her contradictory positions and some ambiguities related to university studies.
Elena Lasconi. Photo: USR
Elena Valerica Lasconi, born on April 20, 1972, in Hațeg, Hunedoara county, is a Romanian politician who made a career both in journalism and in local public administration. Currently, mayor of Câmpulung, Argeș county, and president of the Save Romania Union (USR), Lasconi is building a career in politics. He is currently the USR candidate in the presidential elections.
Childhood and education
Elena Lasconi comes from a modest family, she graduated from high school at the “Queen Marie” National Pedagogical College in Deva in 1990, and later continued her studies at the Traian Ecological University in Deva, obtaining in 2001 a diploma in Tourism and Commercial Management.
In 1999, he graduated from the BBC School of Television, an experience that marked the beginning of his career in journalism, and in 2007 he became a professional skills assessor, certified by the National Center for the Training and Improvement of Coaches (CNFPA), according to his public CV. From 2019 to 2020, Lasconi attended courses in Brussels and Romania on the legislation of European structural and investment funds.
Journalism career
Elena Lasconi’s career in journalism has been an active and diversified one, with over two decades of experience in the mass media. Starting in 1996, he worked at Pro TV, where he was a reporter, producer, war correspondent and news anchor. He has covered major international events, from the conflicts in Kosovo and Afghanistan to tragedies such as the 1999 earthquake in Turkey.
Before arriving at Pro TV, Elena Lasconi also had experience in radio, being program director and host at Radio T5 ABC in Hațeg.
Elena Lasconi told Adevărul Live that she started working at the age of 18.
“I have never hidden things related to my career. I also sold biscuits, I was also a car parts seller, I even had a shop together with my friends who are now gone to America and who told me that if I had left I would also be a multimillionaire now, because I work very hard and I’m a serious person”stated Elena Lasconi.
The mayor of Campulungu
Elena Lasconi’s entry into politics came in 2020, when she was elected mayor of the city of Câmpulung, in Argeș county, in front of an opponent from the PSD, Liviu Șaroiu.
This year she was re-elected mayor of Câmpulungu with a percentage of 69.58%.
Elena Lasconi’s rise in national politics was rapid. In June 2024, after the resignation of Cătălin Drula as president of USR, Lasconi was elected president of the party with a crushing score of 68.14%, obtaining 7,701 of the 11,333 votes cast.
Scandals and controversies
Elena Lasconi has been involved in several controversies throughout her career. One of the most notable was her initial pro-traditional family stance in the 2018 referendum, which caused tension both within the USR and in her relationship with her LGBTQ+ daughter.
Another controversy arose over his university studies. Elena Lasconi mentioned that she attended the courses of the Ecological University of Deva, at the Faculty of Management, but that institution did not have the necessary authorization to organize undergraduate exams. In this context, his studies were not completely completed. Lasconi explained the poor grades by the fact that she worked intensively in television and was a “single mother with a child to raise”.
In 2024, on the day she was elected president of USR, Lasconi announced her candidacy for the presidential elections. After submitting his candidacy to the BEC, he positioned himself as close to “the people”, talking about “Our Romania”, God and the Revolution, which caused some reactions in the public space.
Personal life
Elena Lasconi is also known for her discreet personal life, but at the same time strongly linked to traditional values. At 18, she married for the first time, and after the divorce from this marriage, she raised a daughter, Oana, alone. At the age of 40, she remarried Cătălin Georgescu, a man she met during English courses organized by the British Council. The couple has no children together at this time.
