Joseph Cuschieri (born February 20, 1968) is a Maltese politician who has been 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 ...

since 2011 - 2013. Previously he served in the

House of Representatives of Malta A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

from 1998 to 2008. In 1994 he was elected and nominated first Deputy Mayor of

St Julian's Saint Julian's () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It is known for tourism-oriented businesse ...

. He was born in a working-class family and joined the Labour Party at a very early age.

Background

Joseph Cuschieri was born in

Attard Attard () is a town in the Northern Region of Malta. Together with Balzan and Lija, it forms part of the " Three Villages" () and has been inhabited since the Classical Period. It has a population of 12,268 as of 2021. Attard's traditional ...

. Before becoming a politician, he worked in the textile industry, at the dockyards, journalism and broadcasting, and tourism. He was one of the pioneers who set up Super One Radio (now ONE Radio), where he worked as a journalist and broadcaster. He was also the personal reporter for then Leader of the Malta Labour Party and Prime Minister, Dr

Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, (17 July 19335 November 2022) was a Maltese politician who served as Prime Minister of Malta from December 1984 to May 1987.

Political career

Joseph Cuschieri became active in the Labour Party at the age of 13 when he joined the Labour Youth League in

Sliema 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, and café life. ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

As a Councillor and Vice Mayor

In 1994 he was elected and nominated first Deputy Mayor of

, after polling the largest number of votes among independent candidates. In the second local council elections in 1996 he was re-elected with the largest numbers of votes among all candidates.

As a Member of Parliament

Joseph Cuschieri was elected as an MP for three consecutive terms commencing 1998. He garnered a greater share of the vote in 2003 and then in 2008. From 1998 to 2003 he served, alongside Charles Mangion, as spokesperson for Local Councils. From 2003 to 2008 he served with

Karmenu Vella Karmenu Vella (born 19 June 1950) is a Maltese politician and former member of the European Commission, in charge of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries between 2014 and 2019. He has been one of the longest serving Maltese Parliamentar ...

and

Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo (born 14 October 1952) is a Maltese politician affiliated with the Labour Party and formerly the Minister for European & Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Education & Employment. Family Bartolo was born on 14 October 1952 ...

as spokesperson for tourism,

Air Malta Air Malta, stylized as airmalta, was a Maltese airline headquartered in Luqa and based at Malta International Airport. It operated services as the country's flag carrier to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Air Malta ...

, and hotels industry. He was also appointed speaker for the Infrastructure and Capital Projects, together with Charles Buhagiar. During his ten-year parliamentary career Joseph Cuschieri served on delegations to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, among others.

Altruistic resignation from the House of Representatives

On 29 September 2008 Joseph Cuschieri ceded his parliamentary seat to newly elected Labour leader Dr

Joseph Muscat Joseph Muscat (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020 and leader of the Labour Party from 2008 to 2020. Muscat was first elected Prime Minister in March 2013 with 54.83 ...

, who at that time was not a Maltese member of Parliament. Thus he made it possible for the new Labour Leader to carry out his duties as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament on behalf of the Malta Labour Party. Joseph Muscat thanked Cuschieri for "his extraordinary and generous decision", and Charles Mangion, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party for Parliamentary Affairs and acting Opposition Leader Charles Mangion, described Cuschieri as a hard worker and remarkably altruistic, calling his resignation historically and politically important for the country.

was the

Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta () is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The prime minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The prime minister holds office b ...

between March 2013 and January 2020. Following his resignation from Parliament, Cuschieri was elected unanimously as a member of the National Executive of the Labour Party.

Joseph Cuschieri as an MEP

Following the entry into force of the Protocol amending Protocol No 36, Joseph Cuschieri was designated as an MEP with effect from 1 December 2011 for the remainder of the 2009-2014

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

parliamentary term. Cuschieri has contested the 2009 European Parliament Elections and has garnered the 4th largest numbers of first count votes among all candidates. In the European Parliament, Joseph Cuschieri was a member of the Progressive Alliance of

Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the Political groups of the European Parliament, political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and ...

in the European Parliament and the Head of Delegation of the S&D Maltese members. In the

Cuschieri served as a member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and a substitute member of the Committee on Regional Development. He was also a member on the Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula and the Delegation for relations with South Africa.

Diplomatic career

As of 21 January 2016, Joseph Cuschieri has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Malta to the Hellenic Republic. He presented his Credentials to H.E. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuschieri, Joseph 1968 births Living people Members of the House of Representatives of Malta Maltese Roman Catholics Labour Party (Malta) politicians MEPs for Malta 2009–2014 People from Attard People from St. Julian's, Malta 20th-century Maltese politicians