Roxana Mînzatu (; born 1 April 1980) is a Romanian politician, local government official and manager of European Union projects in Romania. In 2016, she was elected to the Romanian

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and in 2019, was appointed as Minister of European Funds. In 2024 she was elected as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

. Since December 2024 she serves as

Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...

and Commissioner for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness under the Second Von der Leyen Commission.

Early life and education

Mînzatu was born on 1 April 1980 in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

. She obtained a BA in political science in 2002 from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

and an MA in European integration in 2005, from the

Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University () is a private university in Bucharest. The university was founded in 1990 by Momcilo Luburici and Corina-Adriana Dumitrescu as the Dimitrie Cantemir Independent University, which has since developed 17 fac ...

. From 2004 to 2006, she was employed at the Ministry of European Integration. She later worked as a manager and consultant for several projects, particularly those financed by the European Union. Her activities also included running a non-profit business school.

Political career

Mînzatu became involved in local political activities within the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(PSD). She was a member of the Brasov district council (2004–2008, 2011–2012, 2016). In 2015, she was appointed Secretary of State at the Ministry of European Funds, and then headed the National Agency for Public Procurement (ANAP). In 2016, Mînzatu was elected to the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, where she became secretary of the Committee for Industries and Services and a member of the Committee for European Affairs. In June 2019 she was appointed as Minister for European Funds in the government of

Viorica Dăncilă Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă (; born 16 December 1963) is a Romanian politician, former leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 January 2018 to 4 November 2019. She is the first woman in Romanian his ...

, with the particular aim of accelerating development in key sectors, such as water and waste water infrastructure and digitalization. However, the government was ousted in October of the same year following a vote of no confidence. She was not a candidate in the 2020 national election and returned to business activities until she was elected in the 2024 European Parliament elections, when her party formed an alliance with the National Liberal Party (PNL). In the parliament she became part of the

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the Political groups of the European Parliament, political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and ...

grouping and a member of the Committee on Regional Development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mînzatu, Roxana Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Living people 1980 births People from Brașov MEPs for Romania 2024–2029 University of Bucharest alumni Members of the Romanian Cabinet Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) European commissioners (2024–2029) Romanian European commissioners