Victor Ciorbea

Victor Ciorbea (; born on 26 October 1954) is a Romanian jurist, politician, and civil/public servant. He was the Mayor of Bucharest between 1996 and 1997 and, after his resignation from this public dignity/position, Prime Minister of Romania from 12 December 1996 to 30 March 1998. He had also served as the Ombudsman between 2014 and 2019. Biography Born in Ponor, Alba County on 26 October 1954, Ciorbea trained as a jurist, graduating from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca in 1979. He worked for the municipal tribunal in Bucharest, as well as lecturing in Law at the University of Bucharest. He was awarded a doctorate in Law by the University of Bucharest, and later specialized in management at Case Western Reserve University in the United States (1992). Originally a trade unionist (between 1990 and 1996, he was leader of the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education, FSLI, and, between 1990 and 1993, leader of the nationwide National Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Romania – Brotherhood) and member of the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ-CD). He was backed for the premiership by the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) after the elections of 1996. Ciorbea enforced several measures in order to advance Romania's transition toward a market economy, including an austerity budget, following a program known as Contractul cu România ("Contract with Romania").