Clifton Grima is a Maltese lawyer and politician who has served in the

Parliament of Malta The Parliament of Malta ( mt, Il-Parlament ta' Malta) is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By const ...

since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Grima is also the Minister for Education and Sport.

Political career

In 2010, Grima graduated from the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

with a

Legum Doctor Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...

degree. Following this, Grima was elected as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Msida Msida ( mt, L-Imsida, it, Misida) is a harbour town in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 7, 623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are ...

, serving as mayor from 2009 to 2013. He was later appointed by

Joseph Muscat Joseph Muscat (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and as the leader of the Labour Party from June 2008 to January 2020. Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the ...

, the

prime minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The P ...

, to be the CEO of Mount Carmel Hospital. In the

2013 Maltese general election General elections were held in Malta on 9 March 2013 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party, led by Joseph Muscat, defeated the governing Nationalist Party, which had been in power since 1998, returning Labour ...

, Grima, a member of the Labour Party, stood as a candidate for the

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zea ...

. Grima was the penultimate candidate to be eliminated, receiving 1,646 votes. In 2016, following the resignation of District 9 incumbent

Leo Brincat Leo Brincat (born 26 September 1949) is a Maltese politician, since 2016 member of the European Court of Auditors. Brincat was first elected to Maltese parliament in 1982 as a member of the Malta Labour Party and was minister for finance and com ...

, Grima won the special election to succeed him in parliament. He was re-elected in the

2017 Maltese general election General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 3 June 2017 to elect all members of the House of Representatives.. The elections were contested by the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the Nationalist Party, led by oppositi ...

. During this term, Grima was one of several high-ranking Labour MPs who revolted against Muscat, who was embroiled in a corruption scandal. In 2017, Grima served as the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry for Education. He held this position until 2020, when he was appointed parliamentary secretary for sport. On 29 December 2021, Grima was appointed Minister for Education and Sport by Prime Minister

Robert Abela Robert Abela (born 7 December 1977) is a Maltese lawyer and politician who has served as prime minister of Malta and leader of Labour Party since 2020. The son of former President George Abela, he was elected to Parliament in 2017. Abela was ...

following the resignation of Justyne Caruana, who had resigned after an ethics scandal. Immediately after his appointment as minister, '' The Shift'', an investigative newspaper in Malta, revealed that one of Grima's closest supporters, an official for a

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

team, was suspended from his position for levying death threats against an official of the

Aquatic Sports Association of Malta The Aquatic Sports Association of Malta is the governing body of swimming, and water polo in Malta. It is affiliated with both LEN, FINA and COMEN. It was founded in 1925. External linksASA Malta official website References Malta ...

. During his time as minister, Grima promoted inclusivity in schools and opposed a proposal for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for children. Grima has also advocated for the restructuring of Malta's professional sports system, funding grassroots programs to train children in professional sports rather than to hire foreign athletes. In the

2022 Maltese general election General elections were held in Malta on 26 March 2022 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (PL), which has governed Malta since 2013, retained its majority in the House of Representatives in the June 2017 elect ...

, Grima switched his constituency to

District 10 District 10 may refer to: Places * District 10 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam * District 10 (Zürich), in Switzerland * District 10, an electoral district of Malta * District 10, a police district of Malta * District 10 School, a historic school in ...

and won re-election in his new constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grima, Clifton Living people Labour Party (Malta) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of Malta 21st-century Maltese politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Mayors of places in Malta Education ministers of Malta University of Malta alumni People from Msida