Claudette Abela Baldacchino (born February 17, 1973) is a Maltese politician and journalist who has served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

from 2013 to 2014. In Malta, she represents the Labour Party, where she was president of the Women's Group known as Nisa Laburisti from 2014 until 2018.

Biography

Born on 17 February 1973, Claudette Abela Baldacchino was brought up in the village of

Qrendi Qrendi () is a village in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 people as of October 2021. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siġġiewi. Within its boundaries are the two Neolithic temples of ...

in southwestern Malta. In addition to a degree in social studies (1999), she is also a graduate in social administration (2005). From 1995, she worked as a journalist and new presenter for Maltese radio and television. In the 2000s, she served as reporter in the Maltese Community of the Regions, taking a special interest in Social Europe and stressing that the most important issue for her was people rather than money. From 2005, she was a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...

. In 2009, she was elected a Member of the European Parliament where she joined the

Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) is a committee of the European Parliament. Work of the committee The committee is responsible for: * Coordination at Community level of national legislation in the sphere of th ...

and the Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand. In 2013, Abela Baldacchino was prominent in the press as a result of her standing for the European Parliament elections while facing criminal charges of fraud in connection with travel payments she had claimed. She was subsequently cleared on this on 15 September 2021, in a lengthy court case presided by magistrate

Josette Demicoli Josette is a feminine given name. It may refer to: * Josette Abondio (born 1949), Ivorian teacher, writer and playwright * Josette Amouretti (1914–1990), French former tennis player * Josette Altmann Borbón (born 1958), Costa Rican historian, ...

. On 5 February 2024, Abela Baldacchino announced that she would be running for a seat on behalf of Malta's Labour Party in the

European Parliament elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by Universal suffrage, universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after Electio ...

taking place in June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abela Baldacchino, Claudette 1973 births Living people Women MEPs for Malta Labour Party (Malta) MEPs MEPs for Malta 2009–2014 21st-century Maltese women politicians Maltese journalists Maltese women journalists People from Qrendi