Gheorghe Barbu

Born in Strei village, Călan, Hunedoara County, he graduated in 1975 from the Metallurgy faculty of the Politehnica University of Bucharest, and in 1977 completed post-graduate studies in economic engineering at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. He was an engineer at the Brașov tractor factory (1975-1981), at the Deva mining institute (1981-1986) and at the Deva spare parts and repair firm (1987-1996).[1]

Barbu is married and has two children.[1]

Gheorghe Barbu has started his political activity right after the December Revolution held in 1989. Between January and May 1990, he was a member of the National Salvation Front Council in Deva. In 1992, he became a member of the Democratic Party, for that time it was PD (FSN), Deva municipal organization (Hunedoara County). Within this organization, he held the positions of vice-president (1994-1998) and chairman of the PD's Permanent Bureau from Hunedoara (1998-2001). Currently, he holds the position of deputy chairman of the Permanent National Bureau of the Democratic Party (since 2001) and member of the National Council for the Leadership and Truth Alliance (PNL + PD).

Between 1996 and June 2000, he held the position of president of the Hunedoara County Council. In parallel, between November 1998 and June 2000, he was also the president of the Development Council of the V West Romania Region. He returned for a short time as marketing director at S.C. REMPES S.A. Deva (June - August 2000), after which he was appointed the State Secretary of the Ministry of National Defense (August – December 2000).

Following the elections in November 2000, Gheorghe Barbu was elected as an MP of Hunedoara on the lists of the Democratic Party. During the parliamentary term in (2000-2004), he worked as a member of the Committee on Labor and Social Protection of the Parliament. He was re-elected as Hunedoara MP at the elections held in November 2004, and was temporarily the chairman of the Committee on Labor and Social Protection of the Parliament (until February 2005). As part of his parliamentary activity in the (2000-2004), Gheorghe Barbu was a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with the Republic of South Africa and Canada. In the following parliamentary term (2004-2008), Gheorghe Barbu was a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with the Slovak Republic, India and the Tunisian Republic.

On 29 December 2004, Gheorghe Barbu was appointed as Minister of Labor, Social Solidarity and Family in the Tariceanu Government. Among the legal proposals it worth mentioning the one proposed in 2005, the draft law that reduces the child's allowance from ROL 7,800,000 to ROL 3,000,000. A simple displaying of the project on the website of the Ministry has triggered a so hostile feedback from civil society that the day after its submission the Law on mother's allowances was removed from the site and dropped out.

He was replaced from the position of the Minister of Labor on April 5, 2007 following the restructuring of the Tariceanu Government, through the exit of the Democratic Party from the government. On the occasion of the end-of-term he presented the outcomes achieved and particularly, the ipercentage increase of pensions by 35% in real terms, although a 30% increase was foreseen for both systems within four years, and the increase of the average salary by far above predicted average.[2]