Born in 1972, Constanta, Romania, she graduated in law at the University of Bucharest, followed, among others, by postgraduate studies at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and postgraduate studies in International Relations and European Integration at the National School of Administration and Political Science of Bucharest. She comes from a liberal background, with 24 years of political experience, both at national and international level. She held the Vice-Presidency of both ILFRY- the International Federation of Liberal Youth - and, later, the ALDE Party. Her professional experience includes Attorney of Law, Vice-President of the National Authority for Youth, two mandates as Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Transports. She was given the MEP of the Year for Culture and Education award by The Parliament Magazine in 2008. Now in her third mandate as Member of the European Parliament, Ramona Manescu’s main political focus is set on building a stronger, more coherent, clear and determined EU foreign policy in relation to the Middle East, North Africa and the wider question of Europe’s response to Jihadism.