Joseph Muscat
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Joseph Muscat KUOM |
|
---|---|
13th Prime Minister of Malta | |
Assumed office 11 March 2013 |
|
President | George Abela Marie Louise Coleiro Preca |
Deputy | Louis Grech |
Preceded by | Lawrence Gonzi |
13th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
Assumed office 27 November 2015 |
|
Head | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | Maithripala Sirisena |
Personal details | |
Born | Pietà, Malta |
22 January 1974
Political party | Labour Party |
Spouse(s) | Michelle Tanti |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | University of Malta University of Bristol |
Website | Official Facebook |
Joseph Muscat, KUOM (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who has been Prime Minister of Malta since 2013.[1] Muscat has been leader of the Labour Party since 6 June 2008,[2] and he was Leader of the Opposition from 1 October 2008 to 10 March 2013.[citation needed] Previously he was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008.[citation needed]
After the Labour Party's victory in the March 2013 general election, Muscat took office as Prime Minister on 11 March 2013.[2]
Contents
Education
Muscat received his secondary education at St Aloysius' College, Malta.[citation needed] He received his tertiary education at the University of Malta and the University of Bristol.[3] He graduated Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Public Policy (University of Malta, 1995),[citation needed] Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Public Policy (University of Malta, 1996),[citation needed] Master of Arts in European Studies (University of Malta, 1997)[citation needed] and Ph.D. in Management Research (University of Bristol, 2007) with a thesis on Fordism, multinationals and SMEs in Malta.[citation needed]
Journalism
Muscat worked as a journalist with the party's radio station, Super One Radio.[citation needed] He later took on a similar role at Super One Television, becoming the station's assistant head of news in 1996.[citation needed] He was also editor of the party's online newspaper, maltastar.com between 2001 and 2004.[citation needed] Muscat wrote a regular column in L-Orizzont,[citation needed] a Maltese-language newspaper published by the General Workers'Union and its sister Sunday weekly It-Torca,[citation needed] and was a regular contributor to The Times, an independent newspaper published in Malta.[citation needed]
Politics
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).[citation needed] He later served as Education Secretary in the Central Administration of the Party (2001–2003) and Chairman of its Annual General Conference (November 2003).[citation needed] During the Labour government of 1996-98 he was a member of the National Commission for Fiscal Morality (1997–98).[citation needed]
In 2003 he was nominated to a working group led by George William Vella and Evarist Bartolo on the Labour Party's policies on the European Union.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] At this General Conference Muscat was approved as a candidate for the election to the European Parliament.[citation needed]
Member of the European Parliament (2004-2008)
Despite having previously expressed opposition to Malta's entry into the European Union,[4] Muscat was elected to the European Parliament in the 2004 European Parliament election being the Labour Party (formerly the Malta Labour Party) candidate who received the most first-preference votes.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] He was a member of a number of delegations for relations with Belarus and with the countries of south-east Europe.[citation needed]He was also a member of the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] He formed part of a team responsible for a report on the roaming mobile phone bills and sale of banks.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] Four months previously, he had been 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.[citation needed]
Leader of Labour Party
On 24 March 2008 Muscat announced his candidacy for the post of Party Leader,[5] to replace Alfred Sant, who had 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.[citation needed]
Although at the time Muscat was not a member of the Maltese House of Representatives, he was elected as the new party leader on 6 June 2008.[citation needed] In order to take up the post of Leader of the Opposition, Muscat was coopted in the Maltese Parliament on 1 October 2008 to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Cuschieri for the purpose.[citation needed]The latter eventually took up the sixth seat allocated to Malta in the European Parliament once the Treaty of Lisbon was brought into effect in 2011.[citation needed] On taking up the Leadership post Muscat introduced a number of changes to the Party, notably the change of official name and party emblem.[citation needed]
In the 2009 Maltese European Parliament Elections, the first with Muscat as Party Leader, Labour candidates obtained 55% of first-preferences against the 40% obtained by candidates of the Nationalist Party.[citation needed]
Muscat contested Malta's general elections for the first time in March 2013 and was elected in District 2 - Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Il-Bormla, Ħaż-Żabbar, Il-Kalkara, Ix-Xgħajra at the first count with 13968 votes and District 4 - Part of Il-Fgura, Il-Gudja, Ħal Għaxaq, Part of Il-Marsa, Paola, Santa Luċija, Ħal Tarxien at the first count with 12202 votes and 53% of the vote.[6] On 11 March 2013 he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Malta.[citation needed]
On 10 March 2013, following his election victory, Muscat was congratulated in a statement by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, on behalf of the European Commission.[7]
Panama Papers
In 2016, two of Muscat's people were uncovered in the Panama Papers. These were Konrad Mizzi, a minister, and Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff. Furthermore, in 2017, independent journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia alleged that Muscat's wife held the third company in Panama, while Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil revealed that he had information that Muscat's Chief of Staff, and possibly Muscat himself were receiving kickbacks from passport sales. These allegations led to Muscat voluntarily calling a snap election for June 3rd which the Labour Party with Muscat at the helm won.
Health
On April 7, 2014, Muscat suffered from temporary blindness caused by UV radiation probably related to burns to his cornea. Like 60 other people with similar symptoms, he had participated at a political rally the day before.[8]
Honours
National honours
- Malta : Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (2013) by right as a Prime Minister of Malta[9]
Foreign honours
- United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (2011)[10]
References
- ^ "Joseph Muscat crowned Labour leader". timesofmalta.com. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ^ a b "Joseph Muscat sworn in, goes to Castille, as huge crowd celebrates". timesofmalta.com. 2013-03-11. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ^ A living legacy Nonesuch, Autumn 2014)
- ^ Malta Voters Narrowly Approve Joining European Union, New York Times, March 10, 2003
- ^ "Maħfra u ġustizzja". Department of Information, Malta. 23 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
- ^ "General Elections 2013 - District 4". gov.mt.
- ^ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - President Barroso congratulates Dr Joseph Muscat following electoral victory in Malta". europa.eu.
- ^ Miriam Dalli, "Minister, parliamentary secretaries return to work", Malta Today, 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Past Recipients of Maltese Honours and Awards and Date of Conferment" (PDF). Office of the Prime Minister, Malta.
- ^ Honorary awards
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph Muscat. |
- Official website
- Personal profile of Joseph Muscat in the European Parliament's database of members
Party political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Alfred Sant |
Leader of the Labour Party 2008–present |
Incumbent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Alfred Sant |
Leader of the Opposition 2008–2013 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Gonzi |
Preceded by Lawrence Gonzi |
Prime Minister of Malta 2013–present |
Incumbent |
Diplomatic posts | ||
Preceded by Maithripala Sirisena |
Chairperson of the Commonwealth of Nations 2015 |
Incumbent |
- 1974 births
- Alumni of the University of Bristol
- Alumni of the University of Malta
- Companions of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta)
- Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Labour Party (Malta) MEPs
- Labour Party (Malta) politicians
- Leaders of political parties in Malta
- Leaders of the Opposition (Malta)
- Living people
- Maltese Roman Catholics
- Members of the House of Representatives of Malta
- MEPs for Malta 2004–09
- People from Pietà, Malta
- Prime Ministers of Malta