Romanian parliamentary deputy Elena Udrea has officially announced that she will run for the presidency of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL). The official announcement ends speculation surrounding her candidacy in the Romanian media that surfaced at the beginning of the year when she hinted she’d like to be involved in the PDL’s leadership. Until this announcement, however, she’d been unwilling to confirm any interest in running for the top job. She said she made the decision after discussions with her PDL colleagues.
Between December 2009 – February 2012 she was the Minister of Tourism. A law graduate, Udrea jointed the DLP in 2002, becoming a state counselor in 2005 and taking over as head of president Traian Basescu’s chancellery. She had worked with Basescu before as a city counselor during his mandate as Bucharest mayor, when she was president of the Judicial and Disciplinary Commission at Bucharest City Hall.
