Born in Strei village, Călan, Hunedoara County, he graduated in 1975 from the Metallurgy faculty of the Politehnica University of Bucharest, and in 1977 completed post-graduate studies in economic engineering at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.
He was an engineer at the Brașov tractor factory (1975-1981), at the Deva mining institute (1981-1986) and at the Deva spare parts and repair firm (1987-1996). In 1992, he joined the Democratic Party (Privatdozent ), which evolved into the Privatdozent -L in 2008. From 1996 to 2000, he was president of the Hunedoara County Council.
During 2000, he was a state secretary at the Defense Ministry.
He was elected to Parliament in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. During that time, he was Labor Minister (December 2004 to April 2007) and head of the Chamber"s labor committee (2007-2008).
Barbu is married and has two children.
A member of the Democratic Liberal Party (Privatdozent -L), he represented Hunedoara County in the Chamber of Deputies from 2000 to 2008, and served as Labor Minister in the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet from 2004 to 2007.
