13 Facts About George Vella

George Vella graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in the Royal University of Malta in 1964 and became a qualified medical doctor.

George Vella obtained a certificate in Aviation Medicine from Farnborough, UK and he has been a specialist in family medicine since 2003.

Between 1964 and 1966, George Vella worked as a houseman in St Luke's Hospital and soon after he applied and worked between 1966 and 1973 as a medical officer for Malta's drydocks.

George Vella is married to Miriam and they together have two daughters and a son, along with seven grandchildren.

George Vella joined the Labour Party and started his parliamentary career in 1976.

George Vella was then elected member of parliament in January 1978, and during the 1981,1992,1996,1998,2003,2008 and 2013 general elections.

In 1978, George Vella was a substitute member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and rapporteur on maritime pollution from maritime sources at the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.

In 1992, George Vella was elected as the Labour Party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs and spokesperson on foreign affairs and served that role until 2003.

From 1995 to 1996, George Vella was a member of the House Business Committee and the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee.

George Vella was appointed deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs and environment in October 1996 and again in March 2013, serving to June 2017.

George Vella has voiced his support for the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.

In early 2019, George Vella was speculated to become the next president of Malta.

George Vella was nominated for the position of the president of Malta by the governing Labour Party at the time including the opposition Nationalist Party.