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Tonio Borg (born 12 May 1957) is a Maltese lawyer, law professor, and former politician who served as the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy replacing
John Dalli John Dalli (born 5 October 1948) is a Maltese former politician who served as Cabinet Minister in various Maltese governments between 1987 and 2010. He was European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy between 2010 and 2012. Maltese p ...
as member of the College of the European Commission in the second
Barroso Commission The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its President of the European Commission, president was José Durão Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from Member sta ...
. He lectures
Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...
at 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, ...
, and has authored numerous books on the subject.


Political career

Borg was first elected in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, serving as Minister for Home Affairs. After the Nationalist Party lost the 1996 election, he became a shadow minister to the
Alfred Sant Alfred Sant, (born 28 February 1948) is a Malta, Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the Labour Party (Malta), Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1 ...
administration. Eventually, the Nationalist Party would retake the government in 1998, wherein Borg assumed the role of Minister of Home Affairs until parliament was dissolved in 2003, in preparation for Malta's EU ascension, which Borg's Nationalist Party was in favour of. After the 2003 general election, Borg was elected, and resumed as Minister of Justice and Home Affairs. In 2004, he was sworn as Deputy Prime Minister. In the 2008 general election, the Nationalist Party returned to government, albeit with a slim majority. Tonio Borg was made Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2012, Borg was appointed as EU Health (and Consumer Policy) Commissioner, replacing John Dalli. EU ministers majorly approved Tonio Borg's candidature, yet his conservative views on gay rights and abortion were subject to criticism from several MEPs. Disagreeing with the idea of a 'potential human being', Borg sought to entrench Malta's restriction of abortion in the Constitution. Whilst the proposition received support from some Labour Party MP's, most notably Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, it was dismissed by moderate politicians in the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party. Initial controversy surrounding his election as Health Commissioner centered around perceived conflicts with his portfolio, wherein Borg, a Catholic conservative-leaning
Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...
, would oversee matters of stem-cell research, IVF, and other topics which are criticized under
Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...
, threatening the role's impartiality. Nevertheless, Borg maintained an impartial and moderate presence. The post of Maltese commissioner was succeeded by Karmenu Vella in 2014.


Academia

Graduating with a law degree in 1979, he would start lecturing at the University of Malta initially as a guest lecturer. Eventually, in 2016, he became an assistant lecturer, until 2018 wherein he completed his PhD in Judicial Review and Administrative Law,Borg, T. (2018). Judicial review of administrative action in Malta (Doctoral dissertation). and was promoted to senior lecturer. He became associate professor in March 2020. In 2024 he was promoted to full professor. He lectures Constitutional, and Administrative law. His PhD thesis was published as a book in 2020. In it, Borg observes the field of Administrative law in Malta, highlighting potential abuses of power and the manner in which Maltese courts apply the ''ultra vires'' doctrine.


Other activities

*
European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ...
(EMA), Member of the Management BoardMembers of the Management Board
European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ...
(EMA).


Recognition

In December 2018 Borg was appointed Companion of the Order of Merit (KOM) by the President of Malta.


Publications

*Borg, Tonio (1979). ''Public limits to fundamental human rights: a study of Maltese decisions''. (Master's dissertation). *Borg, Tonio (2016) ''A Commentary On The Constitution Of Malta. Kite Group''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio (2019) ''Leading cases in Maltese constitutional law''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio (2021) ''Maltese Administrative Law''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio (2020) ''Leading cases in Maltese administrative law''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio (2022) ''A Commentary On The Constitution Of Malta (2nd Edition)''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio (2022) ''The Blue sisters saga : a legal and factual analysis''. Kite Group. *Borg, Tonio et al. (2024) ''The Constitution of Malta at sixty''. Kite Group.


References


External links


Political offices

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