Dăncilă was elected Prime Minister of Romania on January 29, 2018. She is the first woman in Romanian history to hold the office of Prime Minister.

Prior to entering politics,  Dăncilă worked as a teacher at Videle Industrial High School and later as an engineer. Dăncilă was a member of the European Parliament for Romania from 2009 to 2018 and an active member of the Social Democratic Party. ​

Dăncilă also served as the President of the Social Democratic Women’s Organization, playing an instrumental role in securing a 30% quota of female candidates on the party lists during elections.

In 2022, she joined and became president of the recently founded party, Nation People Together.