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.