George Abela (born 22 April 1948) is a Maltese politician who has been President of Malta since April 2009.

Early life[link]

Abela was born in Qormi, Malta, to George and Ludgarda née Debono. He attended the local primary school in Qormi, and the Lyceum in Hamrun. In 1965 he enrolled in the University of Malta, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. He continued his studies as a teacher for a short while and became a notary public, and in 1975 he graduated as a lawyer. He was immediately hired by the General Workers Union as a legal consultant and worked within the Union for 25 years thereby obtaining considerable experience in employment law.

Malta Football Association[link]

In 1982, after serving as Qormi FC president, he was elected as the chairman of the Malta Football Association. He brought changes within the MFA, and improved the infrastructure, where training grounds, a gymnasium, and a physiotherapy clinic were built, and artificial lighting was installed. The players of the Malta national football team were engaged for the first time in training on a professional basis.

Labour Party[link]

After ten years, in 1992, he left the post and took up the role of Deputy Leader responsible for Party Affairs within the Labour Party. Following the party's electoral win in 1996, he was appointed as a Legal Consultant to the Prime Minister, Alfred Sant, and therefore attended cabinet meetings. He resigned from this post in 1997 following disagreement with Prime Minister Alfred Sant. In 1998 he severed all ties with the Labour Party reportedly due to his disagreement with the party executive's decision to call an early election which was deemed necessary due to the parliamentary crisis at the time unfolding. In 2000 he fell out of favor with the General Workers' Union's administration and officially severed all ties with the organization.

Since 2000 he shifted focus to his private legal practice, acting as legal consultant to various government entities, including the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) and the Malta European Union Steering Action Committee (MEUSAC). This, and his persistent public criticism of the Union, led media to speculate about a new found affinity with the Nationalist administration, particularly with Prime Minister Edward Fenech Adami and Cabinet Minister Austin Gatt. These speculations proved to be very influential in the 2008 Labour leadership contest. He also acted as legal consultant to four newly set-up unions, including the Malta Dockers' Union.

He contested the election for new Leader of the Labour Party following Alfred Sant's resignation in 2008, together with Evarist Bartolo, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Joseph Muscat and Michael Falzon. The leadership contest was decided by means of a runoff between Abela and Muscat which took place on the 6 June 2008. Abela placed second with 291 votes (33.64%), trailing Joseph Muscat who obtained 574 votes (66.36%). Newly-elected Joseph Muscat immediately invited him to participate in party affairs under the new leadership, and Abela was appointed as the representative of the Labour Party on the Malta-EU Steering Action Committee (MEUSEC).

Presidency[link]

George Abela in 2010.

On 12 January 2009, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the Government was proposing George Abela as the next President of Malta. He was to succeed Eddie Fenech Adami, whose five-year term as President of Malta expired on 4 April 2009.^[1] This was the first time in Maltese history that the government nominated a President from the opposition. Abela resigned from MEUSAC and the Labour Party, paving the way for the succession. On 1 April 2009, the House of Representatives approved George Abela as the 8th President of the Republic. The motion was moved by Prime Minister Gonzi and seconded by Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat. On 4 April 2009 at noon, George Abela was sworn in as President of Malta by Speaker Louis Galea.

“There needs to be a reasonable dose of optimism and courage. But courage, optimism and hope are not enough. We need to develop our culture by learning to save our money and be cautious to not spend more than we can afford,” Abela said. ^[2]

On the morning of New Year’s Day the President and his wife Margaret greeted Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and fellow Ministers within the President’s Palace in Valletta.^[3]

"Abela said that neighboring countries were made to pay the price by placing new burdens on their people with austerity measures."^[4]

References[link]

v t e Presidents of Malta Anthony Mamo Anton Buttiġieġ Bertu Hyzler (acting) Agata Barbara Pawlu Xuereb (acting) Ċensu Tabone Ugo Mifsud Bonnici Guido de Marco Edward Fenech Adami Ġorġ Abela

The Honourable Joseph Muscat MP
Malta's Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2008
President	Eddie Fenech Adami George Abela
Deputy	Angelo Farrugia
Preceded by	Charles Mangion
Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2008
Preceded by	Joseph Cuschieri
Leader of the Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 June 2008
Deputy	Toni Abela
Preceded by	Alfred Sant
Member of the European Parliament
In office 12 June 2004 – 25 September 2008
Preceded by	New Constituency
Succeeded by	Glenn Bedingfield
Majority	36,958
Personal details
Born	(1974-01-22) 22 January 1974 (age 38) Pietà, Malta
Nationality	Maltese
Political party	Labour Party (Malta)
Spouse(s)	Michelle née Tanti
Children	Etoile Ella Soleil Sophie
Residence	Burmarrad (St. Paul's Bay)
Profession	Economist Journalist
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	www.josephmuscat.com www.mlp.org.mt

Joseph Muscat (born January 22, 1974) is a Maltese politician who has been leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta since 2008.

Education[link]

Muscat graduated Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Public Policy from the (University of Malta, 1995), Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Public Policy (University of Malta, 1996), Master of Arts in European Studies (University of Malta, 1997) and Ph.D in Management Research (University of Bristol, 2007).

Journalism[link]

Muscat worked as a journalist with the Party's radio station, Super One Radio (today One Radio). He later took on a similar role at Super One TV (today One TV).[1], becoming the station's assistant head of news in 1996. He was also editor of Party's online newspaper, maltastar.com [2] between 2001 and 2004.

Politics[link]

Muscat was as a member of the youth section of the Labour Party, the Labour Youth Forum (Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti) where he served as Financial Secretary (1994–97) and Acting Chairperson (1997). He later served as Education Secretary in the Central Administration of the Party (2001–2003) and Chairman of its Annual General Conference (November 2003). During the Labour government of 1996-98 he was a member of the National Commission for Fiscal Morality (1997–98). Between 1998 and 2003, Joseph Muscat campaigned actively against Malta's membership in the European Union.

In 2003 he was nominated to a working group led by George Vella and Evarist Bartolo on the Labour Party's policies on the European Union. This working group produced the document Il-Partit Laburista u l-Unjoni Ewropea: Għall-Ġid tal-Maltin u l-Għawdxin ('Labour Party and the European Union: For the benefit of the Maltese and the Gozitans') which was adopted by the Labour Party Extraordinary General Conference in November of that year. At this General Conference Muscat was approved as a candidate for the election to the European Parliament.

European Parliament[link]

Muscat was elected to the European Parliament in the 2004 European Parliament election being the Labour Party receiving the most first-preferences. Sitting as a Member of the European Parliament with the Party of European Socialists, he held the post of Vice-President of the Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and substitute member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a member of a number of delegations for relations with Belarus and with the countries of south-east Europe. He was also a member of the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees.

As an MEP he supported a reduction in the tax for Satellite television, the right for customers to watch sport events for free and a number of issues related to environmental protection in Malta. He formed part of a team responsible for a report on the roaming mobile phone bills and sale of banks.

Muscat resigned his seat in the European Parliament in 2008 to take up a seat in the Maltese Parliament and the role of Leader of the Opposition after being elected Leader of the Labour Party. Before his resignation his report proposing new regulations for the EU’s financial services sector was adopted by the European Parliament.

2008 Leader of Labour Party campaign[link]

On March 24, 2008 Muscat announced his candidacy for Leader of Labour Party, to replace Alfred Sant, who resigned after a third consecutive defeat for the Party in the March 2008 general election and a heavy defeat in the EU referendum in March 2003. Muscat was elected as the new party leader on June 6, 2008.

He was co-opted in the Maltese Parliament on 1 October 2008 to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Cuschieri, the latter gaining the 6th Maltese seat for the European Parliament as the Treaty of Lisbon has been brought into effect, (de facto) on the 6th of June, 2011 and (de jure) on the 1st of December, 2011.

2009 Maltese European Parliament Elections[link]

In the 2009 Maltese European Parliament Elections, the first with Muscat as Party Leader, Labour Party candidates obtained 55% of first-preferences against the 40% obtained by candidates of the Nationalist Party.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Joseph Muscat: www.josephmuscat.com
• European Parliament biography of Joseph Muscat (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)