This world leader is a math genius with 2 Olympiad gold medals, PhD from Paris

Nicușor Dan, a math prodigy and current Mayor of Bucharest, won gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 1987 and 1988.

Published on: May 19, 2025, 19:01:12 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Before entering the political arena, Nicușor Dan was already making headlines - not in parliament, but in the world of mathematics. The 55-year-old won a tense rerun of Romania's presidential election on Sunday, beating nationalist George Simion.

The centrist mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan won Romania's presidential runoff on Sunday (Bloomberg)

While he has made the news as the president elect of Romania, not many people know that Nicușor Dan is a math prodigy who has won gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad twice.

Nicușor Dan: the math prodigy

According to the International Math Olympiad website, Dan won the gold medal in the tournament in 1987 and 1988. He managed to get the maximum total score of 42 points both years.

His back-to-back wins came when he was still in high school, a period during which Romania consistently ranked among the top-performing nations at the IMO.

After his Olympiad triumphs, he went on to study mathematics at the University of Bucharest and later at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris - one of France’s most prestigious academic institutions.

Nicușor Dan, currently serving as the Mayor of Bucharest, holds a master’s degree from École Normale Supérieure and a PhD from Paris 13 University.

Nicușor Dan: the politician

After returning to Romania from Paris, Dan became a civil activist and eventually pivoted to politics.

He campaigned on a slogan of change in the Romanian presidential election, saying he wants to "rebuild" the eastern European country. According to an AFP report, the former math prodigy gained 54 percent compared to 46 percent by nationalist George Simion, who had topped the May 4 first round of voting in the EU and NATO member bordering war-torn Ukraine.

Dan, who was an activist fighting illegal urban development before becoming mayor, told jubilant supporters gathered in a Bucharest park that Romania's "reconstruction" would begin on Monday, calling it "a moment of hope".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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