Vasile Blaga was born in Petrileni, Bihor County, in Romania. He studied mechanics at the Polytechnic Institute in Timisoara from 1981 and was an engineer in various companies until 1990 reaching his highest position as Commercial Manager at the Mechanical Factory Hiperion in Stei, Bihor County. He entered politics in the early days after the fall of Communism in 1990 when he served as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies on behalf of the National Salvation Front. In 1991, he was a founding member of the Democratic Party. He had, since 1996, four mandates as a Senator on behalf of the Democratic Party, with the last one ending in 2016. He served as Secretary-General of the Democratic Party since 1997 and was the head of three successful Presidential elections and several parliamentary and local elections. As President of the Democratic Party elected in 2012, he was one of the artisans of the successful political merger with the National Liberal Party and the ensuing party joined the EPP. During his political career, he served twice as Home Affairs and Administration Minister, once as Minister of Development and as President of the Romanian Senate. As Home Minister, Vasile Blaga was responsible for the preparation of Romania’s successful accession to the EU in 2007 in the field of home affairs. MEP since 2019.