18 Facts About Elena Udrea

Elena Udrea was born in Buzau and completed secondary studies at the city's Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu National College.

Elena Udrea then attended the faculty of Law and Public Administration at Bucharest's Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, graduating in 1996.

In 2005, Elena Udrea began studies at the Carol I National Defence University, receiving a master's degree in Military Science in 2007.

Elena Udrea began work on a doctorate in the same field, but abandoned the endeavor in 2012.

Elena Udrea worked as a lawyer in Bucharest from 1997 to February 2005, resuming the practice of law that December.

Elena Udrea began her political activity in 2002 as a legal adviser to the Social Democratic Party.

Elena Udrea joined the National Liberal Party that year, becoming a Bucharest city councillor in June 2004, during the period of the Justice and Truth Alliance.

From February to November 2005, while away from her law practice, Elena Udrea was a state counsellor and head of the Presidential Chancellery under President Traian Basescu.

Elena Udrea drew notice for speaking during a televised interview about a "President of Norway" and of that country as a member of the European Union.

Elena Udrea resigned her post after eight months, citing the "profoundly unjust" attacks on her and others involved in Basescu's anti-corruption drive, and her desire not to become a liability for her boss.

Elena Udrea returned to this theme in 2007, when she alleged that Tariceanu had written the president a note soliciting the latter's intervention in the case.

Elena Udrea resigned from this position in the wake of the 2012 local election that saw the PD-L perform poorly in Bucharest, including Oprescu's winning a new term with a majority of votes cast.

Elena Udrea ran as an independent in the 2016 election and won some 3000 votes, well short of the approximately 25,000 needed to capture a seat.

Elena Udrea reacted by characterizing the proceedings as a matter of life and death, stating she would not accept to go to prison for what she termed "completely unproven accusations" and "bald-faced lies"; she subsequently filed an appeal.

At the beginning of 2018 Elena Udrea had fled to Costa Rica, where she requested the right of asylum.

Subsequently, Elena Udrea returned to Romania on 8 July 2019, after the Constitutional Court of Romania had decided on 3 July that the three-judge panels who tried corruption cases were illegal because not all judges in these panels were specialized in corruption.

The bribe was meant to make Elena Udrea help the businessman renew long-term contracts between his commercial energy companies and the state-owned company Hidroelectrica.

On 20 September 2018, Elena Udrea gave birth to a baby girl in Costa Rica.