Dr George Vella will be Malta’s 10th President of the Republic.
The cabinet approved the Prime Minister’s nomination
The Times reports that Malta’s president is nominated by a simple parliamentary majority, meaning Dr Vella’s ascent to the post is now all but a formality.
Dr Vella, who will be turning 77 next month is a doctor by profession.
He joined the Labour Party in 1976 and was elected to parliament for the first time two years later. His parliamentary career stretched over seven legislatures, except 1987 when he served as Malta’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe.
He was a spokesman for foreign affairs in 1992, and served as minister with that portfolio on two occasions: first between 1996 and 1998 and again between 2013 and 2017.
The Prime Minister tweeted the news, saying that Dr Vella will be another ‘unifying figure for our people and country’.
The term of office of the current President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, comes to an end on April 4.
Dr Muscat added in a subsequent tweet, had unanimously the Cabinet has unanimously resolved a vote of thanks to President Coleiro Preca for her “sterling work”.
Following Constitutional consultations, I decided to submit the nomination of @GeorgeWVella as President of #Malta. I am proud of unanimous endorsement by cabinet and @PL_Malta parliamentary group. I am sure Dr Vella will be another unifying figure for our people and country -JM
He added that she will continue with her contribution towards Malta society through the Foundation for Social Wellbeing .
President Coleiro Preca in a tweet said that she is convinced that Dr Vella is indeed the right person to serve as Malta’s next President and he’ll be carrying out sterling work for the benefit of our country, and being a unifying figure for the people of Malta and Gozo.
The NationalistParty in a reaction to the announcement that Vella would be the country’s 10th President, the PN said the Prime Minister wasn’t “capable of resisting internal partisan pressure for him not to nominate someone from the opposing political camp or someone that enjoys the confidence of a two-thirds parliamentary majority”.
MaltaToday report says that this when considering that there was more than enough time for this to be done,” the PN said, adding that a more unifying figure would have been “the first clear step that shows that the Government wants to enact serious change that give credibility back to the country and its institutions.”
