Rosianne Cutajar (born 4 September 1988) is a
Maltese politician who is formerly a member of the
Labour Party. She is a member of 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 ...
representing the Sixth District
electoral division
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
.
Cutajar was Parliamentary Secretary for Civil Rights and Reforms within the
Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance. As a
junior minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
within Prime Minister
Robert Abela’s government, she was responsible for Malta’s equality and civil rights policy and its implementation, together with the country’s legislative reforms across various sectors of government. Cutajar resigned from her position as parliamentary secretary in February 2021 after calls for her resignation due to links with murder suspect
Yorgen Fenech
Yorgen Fenech (born 23 November 1981) is a Maltese businessman whose main interests are casinos and hotels in Malta. He was head of the Tumas Group and director of the Maltese-Azerbaijan-German company ElectroGas Malta.
Suspected of bribing ...
.
Cutajar resigned from the Labour Party following the leaking of chat transcripts between her and Yorgen Fenech. She continues to serve as an independent MP.
Education
Cutajar attended the Qormi Primary School, going on to the Maria Assunta Girls school in
Hamrun
Hamrun (; ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 9,244 as of March 2014.
The people
The townspeople are traditionally known as ''Tas-Sikkina'' (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who carry a knife') or as '' ...
for her secondary education. She attended the
Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School.
She graduated with a BA with Honours Degree as well as a Postgraduate Certificate 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 ...
.
Political career
Elected to
Malta's House of Representatives in 2017, Rosianne Cutajar worked on the introduction of legislation for civil rights, gender and equality in Malta, as well as the updating of existing laws. She has spoken out on a number of social, policy and bio-ethical concerns. Cutajar’s portfolio included the drafting of a new equality law which is still currently pending. She was also involved in Malta's Gender Balance Reform,2,158 the drafting of Malta’s National Action Plan against Racism and Xenophobia (NAPRAX), the updating of
Malta's divorce laws, the securing of financial commitment towards Malta's first-ever LGBTIQ+ Community Hub, as well as securing Malta's winning bid for the hosting of
EuroPride 2023. Cutajar worked on
IVF legislation, the lowering of the
voting age threshold to sixteen, action against domestic abuse, opened up the debate on a regulatory framework for prostitution, as well as working on a reform to decriminalise the responsible personal use of cannabis. Cutajar has also been responsible for the launch of a 24/7 helpline for victims of domestic violence.
In the 2022 elections, Rosianne Cutajar did managed to get elected into parliament while obtaining 2,158 first count votes on the 6th district. She was faced with harsh criticism from the PN party with allegations amounting to tax evasion.
Prior to her election to the Parliament of Malta, she was the first youngest female mayor of
Qormi
Qormi ( mt, Ħal Qormi ; pronounced in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), mak ...
– one of Malta’s largest localities, a position she held for two consecutive terms.
Resignation
In February 2021, Cutajar resigned from her position as parliamentary secretary, pending an ethics investigation.
The resignation came after a number of reports in local papers that were published throughout February 2021. On the 14th of February the ''
Times of Malta
The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...
'' alleged that Cutajar took a €9,000 cut from a €40,000 in cash given to her by
Yorgen Fenech
Yorgen Fenech (born 23 November 1981) is a Maltese businessman whose main interests are casinos and hotels in Malta. He was head of the Tumas Group and director of the Maltese-Azerbaijan-German company ElectroGas Malta.
Suspected of bribing ...
as part of a 2019 property deal. Fenech was accused of complicity in the murder of
Daphne Caruana Galizia
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese writer, journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative journalism, repor ...
on 30 November 2019. Standards Commissioner
George Hyzler
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
is evaluating a complaint about Cutajar's conduct after Times of'' Malta'' alleged she was being chased by the seller to repay a €46,500 brokerage fee.
On 21 February 2021, the ''Times of Malta'' further alleged that Cutajar had solicited Yorgen Fenech's help for a political survey in her district in 2019. In the same article it was alleged that Fenech promised some money to Cutajar in an exchange that read "I had to give you some money", to which she replied that they could speak about it at a later date. The alleged exchange came just a few weeks before Cutajar criticised a reference to
17 Black (Fenech's company) in a report drawn up by Dutch MP
Pieter Omtzigt
Pieter Herman Omtzigt (born 8 January 1974) is an independent Dutch politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 apart from a short interruption from 17 June to 26 October 2010.
In his political work, Omtzigt focus ...
on journalist
Daphne Caruana Galizia
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese writer, journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative journalism, repor ...
's death during a Council of Europe sitting, and 5 months before Fenech was arrested for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It was by then known that Yorgen Fenech was the owner of 17 Black, a company that was to pay $2 million into ex-Minister
Konrad Mizzi
Konrad Mizzi (born 4 November 1977) is a disgraced Maltese politician and served as a Member of Parliament until 2022. He served as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water between 2013 and 2014, Minister for Energy and Health from 2014 ...
, and the ex-Chief of Staff,
Keith Schembri's Panama companies, as revealed by the
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
.
On 4 April 2023, the ''Times of Malta'' reported that Rosianne Cutajar resigned from the Labour's parliamentary group. This after the author
Mark Camilleri
Mark Camilleri M.Q.R. (born 2 February 1988) is a Maltese historian, writer, blogger, and publisher. Camilleri served as chairman of the National Book Council from 2013 to 2021. Following this, he became an outspoken critic of the ruling Labour P ...
released transcripts of 2,200 chats between herself and Yorgen Fenech, who is awaiting trial for alleged involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The chats revealed an intimate relationship between the pair at a time when Cutajar was publicly dismissing calls to investigate suspected corruption linked to Fenech. They also confirmed that Fenech gave Cutajar money as part of a property deal and show Cutajar asked Fenech for help on some occasions.
Personal life
Cutajar has been in a relationship with businessman Daniel Farrugia since 2019. Farrugia is co-owner of The Londoner British Pub chain in
Sliema
Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, a ...
and
Smart City
A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return ...
. In March 2023, Cutajar and Farrugia announced they were expecting their first child, a girl.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutajar, Rosianne
Living people
Members of the House of Representatives of Malta
21st-century Maltese women politicians
21st-century Maltese politicians
Labour Party (Malta) politicians
Women mayors of places in Malta
1988 births