 After graduation, he was sent to work at Siderurgica Hunedoara, a steel foundry.In 1989, the ruling Romanian Communist Party (PCR) sent him to the Timișoara party school; after finishing second in his class that October, he was named secretary for economic affairs in Hunedoara.During that December's revolution, the insurgents who entered his office were surprised to find only stacks of paper inside, instead of luxury goods, and a number of individuals anonymously stated that he was the only PCR activist to help them out during those days.