Ovidiu Ioan Silaghi (; born 12 December 1962) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n politician. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), he became Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises in the second

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-pre ...

cabinet (April 5, 2007).

Biography

Born in

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', i ...

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People ...

, Silaghi graduated in

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

from the

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

of Braşov (1987), and later (2004) took a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Public administration from the Vasile Goldiş University in Arad. From the time of his graduation to 1990 (after the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

), he worked as an engineer in his native city, and soon after opened his own private enterprise. In 1999–2004, he was president of the Satu Mare Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. Silaghi joined the PNL in 1990, and was president of its youth wing section in Satu Mare until 1996, while serving as vice president of the main local section. He had other leadership positions until 2000, ultimately becoming president of the PNL section in 2001–2004, and a delegate to the central leadership body in 2002-2004. Between 2000 and 2004, Silaghi was also a member of the Satu Mare City Council. In the elections of 2004, Silaghi was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

for

, sitting on the Committee for Budget, Finance and Banks (until September 2005), the Committee for Information Technology and Communications (after September 2005), and the Committee for Industries and Services (after February 2007). He became an observer to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

in September 2005. On 1 January 2007 he became a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the PNL, part of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Euro ...

, with the

accession of Romania to the European Union On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Negotiations Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Comm ...

, before being nominated for a ministerial position in early 2007. Silaghi is married and has two children.

References

External links

European Parliament profileEuropean Parliament official photo

Bio at the Chamber of Deputies site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silaghi, Ovidiu Ioan 1962 births Living people Transilvania University of Brașov alumni National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians People from Satu Mare Romanian businesspeople Romanian engineers National Liberal Party (Romania) MEPs MEPs for Romania 2007