For many Moldovans, President Maia Sandu has become a symbol of change as she seeks to chart a new pro-European path for the former Soviet Republic.
Since Moscow invaded Moldova's neighbor Ukraine, Sandu has lobbied for the West to support her country and hear its concerns that it could be the Kremlin's next target.
She is now running for a second term on October 20 after defeating a Moscow-backed incumbent in 2020.
Applying for Moldova to join the EU in 2022, Sandu, 52, has laid out wide-ranging reforms to fight graft and bring in investment.
In stirring speeches, she has warned of a tough but worthy road ahead for one of Europe's poorest countries, with a population of 2.6 million.
"Joining the European Union is Moldova's Marshall Plan," Sandu said in a speech last month, referring to the economic recovery plan put in place after World War II to rebuild Europe.
'Rollercoaster journey'
Born in the village of Risipeni near the Romanian border before Moldova gained independence in 1991, Sandu obtained a master's degree in international relations in Chisinau and another in public policy after studying at Harvard University in the United States.
After a stint in the economy ministry, she worked as an economist at the World Bank's office in Chisinau for more than seven years and later as an adviser of the executive director to the World Bank in Washington.
After two years in Washington, in 2012, she received an "unexpected" offer from Moldova's government to return and become education minister, kicking off what she has described as a "rollercoaster journey" that ended up in her becoming the country's first woman president.
"The resistance to change, the overwhelming problems in the education sector, the hate speech I was confronted with, all made my life really difficult," she recalled in a 2022 speech at Harvard University, describing how this built her "resilience."
In her drive to rid her country of corruption, Sandu founded her own party in 2016, the center-right Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).
"It took quite some thought and ultimately a leap of faith to go into politics, instead of choosing a different, quiet and comfortable career path," she said in her speech at Harvard.
She ran for president in 2016, but failed to win. In 2019, she was Moldova's prime minister before trying for the post of president again, this time defeating Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon.
'Chance for Moldova'
Landlocked between Ukraine and EU member Romania, Moldova had long been divided over closer ties with the European Union or maintaining Soviet-era relations with Moscow.
When Sandu was elected president, her promises of honesty and competence resonated with many Moldovans following political crises and corruption scandals.
Sandu vowed balanced ties with the West and Russia, but relations with Moscow have increasingly soured since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Sandu accusing Moscow of meddling in her country's politics.
Fluent in Romanian, English and Russian, Sandu enjoys the "respect and recognition" of international leaders, according to Armand Gosu, a Romanian historian who specializes in former Soviet countries and Russia.
Sandu is "a huge chance for Moldova," he said, noting she was likely the first Moldovan leader "of such international stature."
Her critics accuse her of lobbying the West while having failed to manage the country's struggling economy and high inflation or to push forward judicial reforms.
Sandu has been able "to unite a large base of voters," but also "a relatively large core of disappointed people," Florent Parmentier, a political scientist at French political studies school Sciences Po, told AFP.
"The main criticism of her is regarding her ability to listen" to opposing views, he said.
