Biography

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Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was the ninth President of the Republic of Malta and took office in April, 2014. At the age of 55 years, Coleiro Preca is the youngest President of the country, and is the second woman occupying the office of Head of State after 32 years.

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca graduated as Bachelor in Legal and Humanities and as Notary Public at the University of Malta. 

Prior to becoming President, she served as a member of the National Executive, the Assistant General Secretary, and as the General Secretary of the Labor Party. Her nomination as President was, for the first time in the history of the Maltese National Parliament, approved unanimously by a parliamentary resolution of the House of Representatives taken on 1st April 2014, marking a development in the constitutional history of Malta.

President ​Coleiro Preca also served as a Member of the Maltese Parliament from 1998-2014 and served on the Maltese delegation to the Council of Europe from 2008-2013. As a Member of Parliament in Opposition, she served as Shadow Minister for Social Policy, for Tourism, for the National Airline, and for the Health Sector. President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Social Affairs and a member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Family, and a member of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. She also served in the Parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe and on various committees within it. 

Soon after taking office in the presidency, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca established numerous entities with the intention of nurturing dialogue and to foster unity and a culture of positive peace among people. These entities included The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, The Malta Trust Foundation, The President’s Secret Garden, the Arraiolos Group, Empower, and The Emanuele Cancer Research Foundation Malta.