Born in Talpa village, now in Cândești Commune, Botoșani County, Cozmâncă graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Bucharest in 1971. In 1960, he joined the ranks of the Union of Communist Youth (UTC) and in 1969 he became a member of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). In 1980, he joined the central committee of the UTC. From 1983 to 1989, he was head coordinator at the general secretariat of the Romanian government. From 1989 to 1990, a period that spanned the fall of the Communist regime, he was an inspector for the government. From 1990 to 1992, working at the Culture Ministry, he directed the management of the trust for administering the national cultural patrimony. From 1992 to 1996, he was a secretary of state, heading the Department of Local Public Administration.