Claudette Abela Baldacchino (born February 17, 1973) is a Maltese politician and journalist who has served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2013 to 2014. In Malta, she represents the Labour Party,[1][2] where she was president of the Women's Group known as Nisa Laburisti from 2014 until 2018.[3]
Biography
editBorn on 17 February 1973, Claudette Abela Baldacchino was brought up in the village of Qrendi in southwestern Malta. In addition to a degree in social studies (1999), she is also a graduate in social administration (2005). From 1995, she worked as a journalist and new presenter for Maltese radio and television.[1] In the 2000s, she served as reporter in the Maltese Community of the Regions,[clarification needed] taking a special interest in Social Europe and stressing that the most important issue for her was people rather than money.[2]
From 2005, she was a member of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. In 2009, she was elected a Member of the European Parliament where she joined the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand.[1]
In 2013, Abela Baldacchino was prominent in the press as a result of her standing for the European Parliament elections while facing criminal charges of fraud in connection with travel payments she had claimed.[4][5] She was subsequently cleared on this on 15 September 2021, in a lengthy court case presided by magistrate Josette Demicoli.[6]
On 5 February 2024, Abela Baldacchino announced that she would be running for a seat on behalf of Malta's Labour Party in the European Parliament elections taking place in June.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Claudette Abela Baldacchino". eu40. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Claudette Abela Baldacchino". Times of Malta. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Nisa Laburisti". Daphne Caruana Galizia's Notebook. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Claudette Abela Baldacchino's election shames Malta before Europe - Simon Busuttil". Times of Malta. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Vogel, Toby (26 April 2013). "Maltese politician charged with fraud elected to European Parliament". Politico. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Brincat, Edwina (2021-09-15). "Councillors, officials, cleared of fraud". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Claudette Abela Baldacchino seeking a return to the European Parliament". Times of Malta. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-05.