I am Romanian, born in Cluj to Romanian parents, to peasant grandparents from Sălaj County, a person who grew up in Romania, grew up in hardships when I was a child, and I think I understand and I still remember those hardships, and that means something because you can understand what is happening now to a large part of the Romanian people
Bruynseels studied at the Faculty of Law of the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University in Cluj-Napoca,[3] after which she completed a postgraduate study programme atCarol I National Defence University in Bucharest.[4] Before moving to theUnited States, she lived inJohannesburg,South Africa, volunteering for a Save the Children initiative for aid to abandoned andHIV-infected children.[3][5] After her stay South Africa, Bruynseels moved to the United States in 2014 to study for aMaster of Public Administration (MPA) degree at theHarvard Kennedy School,Harvard University, graduating the following year. During her studies, she was awarded the Raymond Vernon and Lucius Littauer Special Awards[4][6] and briefly met then-U.S. vice presidentJoe Biden.[7]
Bruynseels began her professional career in 2002, serving for a period as a civil law lecturer at the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University and as a legal advisor at the 4th Army Corps of the Ministry of National Defence in the area.[5] Between 2005 and 2007, she was a Head of the Community Relations Department atBanca Comercială Română (BCR), serving as an advisor to is executive president until 2011.[4][8][9] In addition to her nativeRomanian, Bruynseels is fluent inEnglish with knowledge ofSpanish andRussian.[10]
During the government ofMihai Tudose, Bruynseels headed the Directorate for Policy and Priorities Coordination, and served from 2015 to 2016 as a communications advisor to former deputy prime ministerGabriel Oprea.[11][12] Beginning in July 2017,[13] she was a state counselor and later a state secretary within the General Secretariat of the Government,[14] and from December 2018 a state counselor in the Personal Working Apparatus of prime ministerViorica Dăncilă until Bruynseels' resignation in May 2019.[15][16] During the campaign for the failed2018 constitutional referendum held on 6–7 October, Bruynseels campaigned in the affirmative.[14]
In June 2019, the Congress of the Humanist Power Party, founded by Romanian politician and businessmanDan Voiculescu in 2015, elected her as president of its executive board. Concurrently, the congress unanimously nominated her as the party's candidate for the 2019 presidential election in November,[17] with her presidential campaign being officially launched on 7 July.[18][19][20] The announcement was met with surprise and intrigue from political commentators.[21] During the campaign, she enjoyed intensively promotion by the Voiculescu-foundedIntact Media Group.[22][23] Bruynseels ran on a platform based on opposition towards a "flawed political system" which was acting "to the detriment of the interests of citizens".[24]
Bruynseels' 2019 campaign poster
On 3 September 2019, she expressed support for closermilitary cooperation betweenRomania and Russia, stating that bilateralmilitary exercises should be pursued.[25][26] On 20 September, she vowed that one of her first in office, she would declare a referendum on the abolishment of legal immunity for politicians.[27] On 22 September, Bruynseels submitted her candidacy application to theCentral Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Bucharest, along with over 280,000 signatures.[28] Upon leaving the BEC's premises, her campaign team released several white doves as a symbol of "a new chance for Romania".[29][30] The BEC validated her candidacy two days later.[31] In October, she spoke up againstdomestic violence against women.[32] Her campaign did not receive public funding, raising 800,000Romanian lei (equivalent to approximately 185,000USD in 2025) from private donors.[33]
In the first round of the election on 10 November, Bruynseels received 2.6 per cent of the vote, finishing in seventh place.[34] Bruynseels stated in her concession speech on election night that the country had not yet been "ready for a young president", declaring to her supporters, "Four months ago I was an unknown, today several hundred thousand Romanians have put their trust in me. I am not stopping politics, I have many projects".[35] Bruynseels obtained her highest vote share inHunedoara County with 4.4 per cent, and her lowest inHarghita County with 0.7 per cent. Following the first round, Bruynseels endorse neither of the two remaining candidates, incumbent presidentKlaus Iohannis andViorica Dăncilă, for the runoff on 24 November,[36] recommending her supporters to boycott the second round.[37]
In the2024 parliamentary election on 1 December, Bruynseels was elected a member of the Champer of Deputies for the AUR in Cluj County, taking office on 21 December.[47] As deputy, she serves on the Committee on Budget, Finance and Banks as well as being the secretary of the Committee on Defence, Public Order and National Security. Bruynseels has since 3 February 2025 served as the vice leader of the AUR parliamentary group withMihai Enache as leader.[47][48] She is a member of the Romanian parliamentary delegation to theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).[49]
In July 2025, Bruynseels denounced the financial measures announced by prime ministerIlie Bolojan andhis government for being damaging forpensioners and othervulnerable groups.[50] On AUR's motion of no confidence against the government that same month, Bruynseels on a press conference "It is a motion against a government whose fiscal measures will lead to disaster. We are on the edge of the abyss".[51][52] As of August 2025, Bruynseels has spoken 18 times, put forth 10 legislative initiatives, three draft decisions, 24 questions and interpellations as well as four motions.[53]
Bruynseels married lawyer Ioan Viorel Lohan in 2008 with whom she separated in 2010, with theirdivorce being finalised in 2017.[5][54] In 2018, she married British bankerDominic Bruynseels, former general manager ofBanca Comercială Română (BCR) and former CEO ofFirst Bank.[55] AnOrthodox wedding ceremony took place in May 2019.[55][56] On their relationship, Ramona stated in a 2019 interview:[57]
I was still very young, and Dominic, my current husband, was married at the time. Because, at home, my mother raised me to respect family, I tried to resist that feeling. I went as far away from the man I loved as possible. I arrived in America, I married someone else, believing that time and distance could extinguish even the most intense emotions. It wasn't like that
— Ramona-Ioana Bruynseels toCancan, 8 October 2019
Together, she and Dominic have two daughters named Aryanna-Maria and Aileen-Ioana,[58][57] born around 2010 and 2012, respectively.[59] The couple has been since at least 2010.[57]
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