Mirabela Grădinaru, the life partner of President Nicușor Dan, is becoming increasingly visible in the symbolic role of “first lady”. Her public appearances have increased in recent months, even though this role is approached differently from other states, where the wives of heads of state have official biographies.
In Romania, the role of “first lady” is not formalized by laws or by the Constitution, but the life partner of the head of state can exercise it symbolically. Social, educational or health projects and other initiatives dedicated to communities are usually “reserved” for first ladies.
More present on the public stage
Mirabela Grădinaru (42 years old) unofficially took over the role of first lady in May 2025, after Nicușor Dan (56 years old) became president of Romania. The two have been a couple for two decades and have two children together, Aheea and Antim. In recent months, Mirabela Grădinaru’s public appearances have multiplied, and Nicușor Dan’s life partner has been involved in several social and health projects.
The most recent of these was the official visit of the President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, to Warsaw. On this occasion, the Presidential Administration sent a statement in which it officially assigned the role of “first lady” to Mirabela Grădinaru.
“First Lady Mirabela Grădinaru visited, together with Mrs. Diana Punga, State Councilor for the relationship with civil society, two centers with extensive experience in applying solutions for the prevention of addictions and the protection of children”, informed the Presidential Administration on March 6, along with several photos from the event.
On Thursday, March 5, the presidential couple paid an official visit to Poland, where President Nicușor Dan met with President Karol Nawrocki, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the heads of the two chambers of the Parliament. The Romanian and Polish presidential couples were received at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, in the context of the Romanian-Polish Solidarity Day, celebrated annually on March 3.
On this occasion, Mirabela Grădinaru had an official meeting with the wife of the President of Poland, Marta Nawrocka.
“Thank you for the pleasant meeting and time spent with the First Lady. We talked about important social issues and topics close to the people of our countries,” Marta Nawrocka reported.
On February 27, 2025, Mirabela Grădinaru participated, in an official capacity, at the launch of the National Registry of Neonatal Screening and the National Screening and Prevention Program, an event organized within the “Romania in the light” project and hosted by the Presidential Administration, at the Cotroceni Palace. The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, and specialists from the medical field participated with the “first lady”.
According to the Presidential Administration of Romania, in the opening of the event, Mirabela Grădinaru emphasized the importance of this initiative for the future of children in Romania, recalling that the initiative was born a few months ago, following a dialogue applied regarding the situation of children born prematurely. In just three months, this shared concern materialized into an institutional solution designed to ensure the proper monitoring and care of newborns from the first days of life.
“The National Neonatal Screening Registry is proof that when authorities, civil society and medical professionals work together, real community solutions can be built,” said Mirabela Grădinaru.
At the beginning of Nicușor Dan’s presidential term, Mirabela Grădinaru had a discreet public presence. She was even absent from the president’s inauguration ceremony on May 26, 2025, citing that she stayed at home to take care of the family’s youngest child. In the following months, however, he accompanied the president on some official visits and to various events.
Mirabele Grădinaru, “first lady” without official biography
Mirabela Grădinaru is not present on social networks and does not have an official biography on the page of the Presidential Administration. In fact, until recently, it was rarely mentioned in the communications sent by the institution.
In other European states, the role of the “first lady” was approached differently. Marta Nawrocka, the wife of the President of Poland, is very active on social media, with over 214,000 followers on Facebook and a bio page on the website of the Polish Presidential Administration.
“One of Marta Nawrocka’s passions is dancing, including ballet. The president’s wife regularly practices sports – cycling and rollerblading. Together with her daughter, Katarzyna, she also develops her artistic passions. She is an avid reader of detective novels and non-fiction literature,” are some of the things people can learn about the wife of President Karol Nawrocki from the website of the Presidency of Poland.
Melania Trump, the “first lady” of the United States of America, followed by 2.8 million people on Facebook, has her own biographical page on the “White House” website.
“Melania Trump is the wife of the 45th and 47th Presidents of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and the mother of their son, Barron Trump. She was born in Slovenia on April 26, 1970, making her the second First Lady of the United States born outside the country. At an early age, she began what would soon become a successful modeling career, appearing in numerous high-profile ad campaigns and collaborating with some of the best-known photographers in the fashion industry,” notes whitehouse.gov.
Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, is also featured on the elysee.fr website of the French Presidential Administration. Visitors to the online platform can send messages to both Emmanuel Macron and his wife.
Desislava Kirilova Radeva, the wife of the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, Olena Zelenska, the wife of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Letizia Ortiz, the wife of the King of Spain Felipe VI, and Sanja Musić Milanović, the wife of the President of Croatia Zoran Milanović, also have official biographies on the pages of the presidential administrations or, in the case of Spain, those of the Royal House.
Who is Mirabela Grădinaru
Originally from Vaslui, the daughter of a teacher, Mirabela Grădinaru moved to Bucharest during her student years, when she was admitted to the Faculty of Geography, specializing in Geography-French, within the University of Bucharest. Mirabela reported that she met Nicușor Dan in 2005, in a student club.
“It was the end of the session, a friend came back to me from France, she wanted us to go to the club. There, at one point, she invited me to dance. It was Phoenix – “In the shadow of the big bear”! It wasn’t love at first sight, it was chemistry”recounted this in the show “La Măruță”.
The two stayed together and, she said, built a solid relationship centered around the two children. It also stated that the two life partners shared their family duties in a balanced way. Mirabela’s day starts at 6 in the morning, with the preparation of breakfast for the children and her husband, she said.
Mirabela held a management position in a car company in Romania and was active civically and politically, supporting her partner in launching the “Save Bucharest” association and founding USR. Over time, however, he remained a discreet public presence.
“Before I had children, I was very active, I worked, I volunteered, I also gave meditations in French. I always liked to help causes I believed in. What changed, really, is that I had to make up for Nicușor’s absence, so that the children feel the love and protection of their parents. No event in an adult’s life should change a child’s life. They must grow up normally.” this was stated, according to the publication Totul aboute Mame.
In the past, she has publicly clarified that their family is Orthodox Christian and the children are baptized. The statement came in response to rumors and false information related to children’s religion. In other interviews, she talked about her faith in God, which helped her get through some difficult moments in life.
“I believe very much in God. The hardest struggles were not those in public life, but those in the first months of the children’s lives,” said the president’s partner, for All About Mothers.
