Outline
Joseph Cuschieri was born in Attard
(Malta) on 20 February 1968.
Joseph is a Maltese politician who has
been a Member of the European Parliament since 2011. Previously he served in the
House of Representatives of Malta from 1998 to 2008.
Before becoming a politician, he worked
at the dockyards, tourism, journalism and broadcasting.
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.
At the age of 13 Cuschieri joined the
Labour Youth League in Sliema, Malta.
Joseph Cuschieri is a lifetime member
of the National Executive of the Malta Labour Party.
He loves and is active in philanthropy,
sports, and the social, religious and cultural sectors.
Councillor and
Vice Mayor
In 1994 he was elected as first Deputy Mayor
of St Julian's, 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.
Member of the
Maltese Parliament
Joseph Cuschieri was elected as a Member of Parliament 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, as spokesperson for
Local Councils. From 2003 to 2008 he served as spokesperson for Tourism, Air
Malta, and the hotel industry. He was also appointed spokesperson for the
Infrastructure and Capital Projects.
During his ten-year parliamentary career Cuschieri
served on delegations to the United Kingdom, Tunisia, Australia, South Korea,
Germany, Palestine, Israel and Jordan, among others.
On 29 September 2008 Joseph Cuschieri
ceded his parliamentary seat to newly elected Labour leader Dr Joseph Muscat,
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. Dr. Joseph Muscat
has been Prime Minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020.
Member of the European
Parliament
Joseph Cuschieri has contested the 2009
European Parliament Elections and has garnered the 4th largest numbers of first
count votes among all candidates. He was designated as an MEP with effect from
1 December 2011 for the remainder of the 2009-2014 European Parliament parliamentary term.
In the European Parliament, Joseph
Cuschieri was a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European
Parliament and the Head of Delegation of the S&D Maltese
members.
In the European Parliament, 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.
On 29 November
2016, Joseph Cuschieri presented his credentials to H.E. Nicos Anastasiades,
President of Cyprus as High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta for Cyprus
with residency in Athens.
He also served as Ambassador Designate of Malta in Italy from January to
May 2020.
On 23 October 2020, the Ambassador for Malta to the Hellenic Republic, His Excellency Joseph Cuschieri presented his credentials to the President of Greece, Her Excellency Katerina Sakellaropoulou, as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Malta to the Hellenic Republic.
Former Ambassadors
H.E. Mr. Philip Pullicino
Presentation of Credentials – non resident
20/11/1968
H.E. Mr. CJ Mallia
Presentation of Credentials- non resident
24/10/1975
H.E. Mr. L. Agius
Presentation of Credentials - non resident
28/07/1982
H.E. Mr. Maurice Abela
Presentation of Credentials - non resident
21/12/1988
H.E. C. Aquilina
Presentation of Credentials - non resident
05/07/1995
H.E. Mr. Henry de Gabriele
Presentation of Credentials - non resident
13/03/1998
H.E. Mr. Evarist V. Saliba
Presentation of Credentials – First Resident Ambassador
24/09/1999
H.E. Mr. Saviour Falzon
Presentation of Credentials
12/11/2003
H.E. Mr. Richard Vella Laurenti
Presentation of Credentials
31/10/2007
H.E. Mr. Walter Balzan
Presentation of Credentials
14/09/2011
H.E. Mr. Charles Stafrace
Presentation of Credentials
15/10/2013
H.E. Mr. Joseph Cuschieri
Presentation of Credentials
21/01/2016
H.E. Mr. Joseph Cuschieri
Presentation of Credentials
23/10/2020