Born in Ploieşti, Coşea graduated from the ASE in 1965, and furthered his studies at the "Istituto di Studi per lo Sviluppo Economico" in Italy, and later took his Ph.D.. Between 1967 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he was a simple member of the Romanian Communist Party. After winning a competition for the office, he represented Communist Romania at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva between 1973 and 1980. According to his own testimony, he was involved in obtaining relief funds for the town of Zimnicea, largely destroyed by the severe 1977 earthquake.