Bernard Grech (born 8 June 1971) is a Maltese politician and lawyer who has been the leader of the Nationalist Party and the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

since 2020.

Early and professional life

Grech was born on 8 June 1971, in Paola to John and Frida Grech. He grew up in

Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, close to Marsaxlokk. It is approximately from the capital Valletta, and has a population of 9,736 as of March 2014. The ...

and he graduated as a lawyer, focusing on civil law. Grech practiced his professional activity in two law firms, specializing in the mediation of family disputes.

Initial involvement in politics

In 2011, Grech took part in the campaign, which was later lost, against the legalization of

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

in Malta. Not officially involved until then in active roles in politics, he got closer to the positions of the Maltese Nationalist Party in 2018. In August 2020 he stood against the leader Adrian Delia, after the party congress voted to hold a new leadership contest.

Leader of the Opposition

Grech became the leader of the Nationalist Party on 3 October 2020, winning the election against incumbent Adrian Delia with 69.3% of the votes. He was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition on 7 October.

General Elections 2022

A year and a half after his appointment, the Nationalist Party faced their first elections under the leadership of Bernard Grech. In the 2022 General Elections, the Labour Party (PL) under

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 the Malta Labour Party since 2020. The son of former president George Abela, he was elected to Parliament in 2017 ...

obtained 162,707 votes; 39,474 more than Grech's Nationalist Party (PN) which obtained 123,233 votes; and as percentages the PL earned 55.1% and the PN 42.1%, almost a repeat of the same results as the previous two elections. It was Malta's biggest electoral victory and the biggest defeat for the Nationalist Party since Independence to date. Comparing the general election with the 2017 election, one also finds that the Labour Party reduced its votes by 8,269 votes, while the Nationalist Party reduced the votes by 12,464 votes.

Vitals Global Healthcare Case

In 2015, a deal was signed between the Maltese Government and Vitals Global Healthcare that granted a concession to Vitals to run three hospitals, St Luke's Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and the Gozo General Hospital. In 2018 Adrian Delia, then leader of the Opposition, had filed the case against the Prime Minister, Vitals Global Healthcare, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, the CEO of Malta Industrial Parks Limited and the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Lands Authority in a bid to force the cancellation of the 99-year concession agreement. The cancellation was requested on the basis that the concessionaires, both Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Healthcare, had not fulfilled their contractual obligations. Adrian Delia won the case with Judge Francesco Depasquale ruled that Steward and Vitals were fraudulent and the Hospitals were transferred back to the state. This case resulted in one of the worst polling results for

's Labour Party thus increasing the popularity of Bernard Grech's Nationalist Party as for the first time since 2013, the result of the Poll was within the Margin of Error.

Resignation

On 10 June, 2025, Grech announced his resignation as Leader of the Nationalist Party and Leader of the Opposition, effective as soon as his successor is elected following an internal leadership contest. His resignation came two days after the news portal MaltaToday released the results of a survey placing voting intentions for the Partit Nazzjonalista at 39.7% to the Partit Laburista's 53.3%, with Grech's trust rating at a staggering 18.8% to Prime Minister Robert Abela's 50%.

Personal life

Grech declares himself a practicing

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

; he also expressed opinions against the legalization of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. In his private life he has an interest in

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. Grech is married to AnneMarie. They have two children together, a son and a daughter, and reside in Mosta. Grech's father John died on 18 September 2022 at the age of 90, while his mother, Frida, died in January 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grech, Bernard 1971 births Living people People from Paola, Malta University of Malta alumni 20th-century Maltese lawyers 21st-century Maltese politicians Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians Leaders of the opposition (Malta) 21st-century Maltese lawyers