Petru Filip

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Petru Filip (born 23 January 1955 in Slobozia) is a Romanian politician, member of the Democratic Party (PD-Partidul Democrat), currently representing Romania in the European Parliament, where he is affiliated to the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats.

He served as mayor of the municipality of Oradea (1992-1996, 2000-2004, 2004-2007), the capital of Bihor county, Romania. Married to Dr. Valeria Filip, MD, Petru Filip is the father of Roxana (born 1980).

Petru Filip holds two PhD degrees, one in engineering, the second in public administration. For the latter of the two subjects, he is holding a chair at the "Agora" University in Oradea, as Associate Professor. Several years spent as an Expert of the Urban Institute in Washington add value to both his experience as a public official as well as his academic achievements in the field of Public Administration.

Elected as leader of the Bihor county branch of the Democratic Party in 1998, he became national vice-president of the same party in 2005.

Given his long and successful tenure, loyalty to the Party and experience in regional and local politics, he is seen as one of the most important figures in the second line of the Democratic Party. To the landmarks of his political career belong holding the mayor chair of one of the largest Romanian municipalities as member of the opposition, during the 2000-2004 PSD (formerly PDSR/FDSN/FSN) government, as well as a spectacular comeback in 2000 after having been once ousted as mayor in the 1996 elections.

As previously rumoured, he ended his third term as Mayor of Oradea shortly before time, after being helped into his long-planned European politics career by the confortable score realized by his Democratic Party's national list at the polls on November 25, 2007.

This date entered Romanian history as the finish line of the first ever electoral race to be lead in Romania for an alloted total of 35 seats in the European Parliament, after the country joined the European Union at the beginning of 2007.