George William Vella (born 24 April 1942) is a Maltese politician who has served as

president of Malta The president of Malta ( mt, President ta' Malta) is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The President is indirectly elected by the House of Representatives of Malta, which appoints the president for a five-year term and requires them to ...

since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, he previously served as

deputy prime minister of Malta The Deputy Prime Minister of Malta ( mt, Viċi Prim Ministru) is the deputy head of government and second-most senior officer in the Government of Malta after the Prime Minister of Malta, being a minister in his own right. Constitutional fun ...

and foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 1998 under prime minister

Alfred Sant Alfred Sant, (born 28 February 1948 in Sliema, tas-Sliema) is a Malta, Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the Labour Party (Malta), Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leade ...

. In 2013, he returned as foreign affairs minister, an office he held until 2017 under prime minister

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 ...

Early life and family

Vella was born in

Żejtun Żejtun ( mt, Iż-Żejtun ) is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at end 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, F ...

on 24 April 1942, where he finished his primary education. Vella graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in the

Royal 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 Associatio ...

in 1964 and became a qualified medical doctor. He obtained a certificate in Aviation Medicine from Farnborough, UK and he has been a specialist in family medicine since 2003. Between 1964 and 1966, Vella worked as a houseman in St. Luke's Hospital and soon after he applied and worked between 1966 and 1973 as a medical officer for Malta's drydocks. After that, he served as the medical officer to Air Malta and as a consultant in Aviation Medicine. He is married to Miriam and they together have two daughters and a son, along with seven grandchildren.

Career

Labour Party

Vella joined the Labour Party and started his parliamentary career in 1976. He was then elected member of parliament in January 1978, and during the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

general elections. As a member of Parliament, he represents the 3rd and 5th Districts. In 1978, Vella was a substitute member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

and rapporteur on maritime pollution from maritime sources at the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE). From January to May 1987, he served as Malta's permanent representative at the Council of Europe. In 1992, Vella was elected as the Labour Party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs and spokesperson on foreign affairs and served that role until 2003. He served as vice chairman on the Joint EU/Malta Parliamentary Committee. From 1995 to 1996, Vella was a member of the House Business Committee and the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Malta minister of foreign affairs office

He was appointed

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and minister for foreign affairs and environment in October 1996 and again in March 2013, serving to June 2017. Vella has voiced his support for the

Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bli ...

, an organization which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.

President of Malta

In early 2019, Vella was speculated to become the next president of Malta. Vella was nominated for the position of the president of Malta by the governing Labour Party at the time including the opposition Nationalist Party. The

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

announced their support for Vella's nomination, but would boycott the vote to protest in favor of a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority to elect the president. The vote in parliament took place on 2 April 2019, with the Members of Parliament voting to approve Vella's appointment as the only nominee. The appointment was followed by Vella's formal swearing-in as president on 4 April 2019, a date on which every previous Maltese President since 1989 was inaugurated.

Honours

National honours

: *

Companion of the National Order of Merit (KOM) * MLT National Order of Merit BAR

Grand Master and Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit, Malta, ''by right as a President of Malta'' * MLT Xirka Gieh ir-Repubblika BAR

Grand Master of the

Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika The Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika is a society of honour that offers membership to those who have demonstrated exceptional merit in the service of Malta or of humanity. Its motto is ''Għall-Ġid tal-Maltin'' ('For the Benefit of the Maltese'). A ...

Foreign honours

: *

Grand Commander Order of Honour (Greece) : * SMR Order of Saint Agatha - Grand Cross BAR

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Agatha The Order of Saint Agatha ( it, Ordine Equestre di Sant'Agata) is a State order established on 5 June 1923 by the Grand and General Council of the Republic of San Marino. It is named after Saint Agatha, on whose feast day 5 February, Pope Clement ...

(San Marino) : * UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon

Honorary Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(United Kingdom) : * OPMM-gc

Grand Cross pro merito melitensi of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (Sovereign Military Order of Malta)

References

External links

George William Vella's official page
in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Malta) The Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade ( mt, Ministeru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u Ewropej u l-Kummerċ) is responsible for maintaining Malta's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. Th ...

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vella, George 1942 births Presidents of Malta Deputy Prime Ministers of Malta Government ministers of Malta Labour Party (Malta) politicians Living people People from Żejtun Maltese general practitioners Members of the House of Representatives of Malta 21st-century Maltese physicians 20th-century Maltese physicians Recipients of the Order pro Merito Melitensi Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Foreign ministers of Malta 20th-century Maltese politicians 21st-century Maltese politicians