[2] After attending high school in Szamosújvár (Gherla) and Nagyszeben (Sibiu), he went to the universities of Vienna and Budapest, obtaining a doctorate in law from the latter institution in 1891.

[2] Pop entered the Romanian National Party (PNR) while still a student, and drew notice for championing the defendants in the 1894 Transylvanian Memorandum trial.

He attended the party congress in Oradea on 12 October 1918, that adopted the declaration of self-determination for the Romanians and formed an Arad-based action committee that included Pop.

On 30 October, he was named president of the Central Romanian National Council, which took control of the increasingly autonomous Transylvania as Austria-Hungary crumbled near the end of World War I.

[3] On 2 December, Pop became vice president and head of the army and public safety department within the Directory Council, the temporary authority of Transylvania.

Among the participants at the funeral were Prime Minister Gheorghe Tătărescu, Iuliu Maniu, Ion Mihalache, Sever Bocu, Alexandru Nicolescu and Nicolae Săveanu.