Roberta Metsola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roberta Metsola
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Official portrait, 2022
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| President of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 18 January 2022 Acting: 11–18 January 2022 |
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| Vice President | Othmar Karas (2022–2024 Sabine Verheyen (since 2024) |
| Preceded by | David Sassoli |
| First Vice-President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 12 November 2020 – 18 January 2022 |
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| President | David Sassoli |
| Preceded by | Mairead McGuinness |
| Succeeded by | Othmar Karas |
| Member of the European Parliament for Malta |
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| Assumed office 24 April 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Simon Busuttil |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Roberta Tedesco Triccas
18 January 1979 St. Julian's, Malta |
| Political party | Nationalist Party |
| Other political affiliations |
European People's Party |
| Spouse |
Ukko Metsola
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Malta College of Europe |
Roberta Metsola (born 18 January 1979) is a politician from Malta. She has been the President of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party and the European People's Party.
Metsola was first elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2013. She became the First Vice-President of the European Parliament in November 2020. After the death of the previous president, David Sassoli, Metsola was elected president of the European Parliament on 18 January 2022. She became the youngest person to hold this job. She was also the first person from Malta and the first woman since 2002 to be president.
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Roberta Metsola's Early Life and Career
Roberta Tedesco Triccas grew up in Gżira, Malta, with her parents and two sisters. Her family came from Swieqi, near St. Julian's, Malta.
From a young age, she was active in Malta's Nationalist Party. She worked with youth groups like the National Youth Council and the Young European Federalists Malta. She also became Secretary General of the European Democrat Students.
In 2002, when she was 23, she was chosen as a vice-president for the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe. The next year, she strongly supported Malta joining the European Union. After this, Malta's prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi, encouraged her to run for the 2004 European Parliament election in Malta. She was not elected at that time.
In October 2004, she started working for Malta's team in Brussels, which deals with the EU. She worked there for eight years as a legal expert. She helped Malta with important talks, including the Lisbon Treaty.
Education and Learning
Roberta Metsola went to St Joseph School in Sliema and St Aloysius' College. She studied law at the University of Malta and finished in 2003. In 2004, she earned a diploma in European studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.
She has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lisbon.
Becoming a Member of the European Parliament
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On 24 April 2013, Roberta Metsola won an election to fill a vacant seat. She became one of Malta's first female Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). In the European Parliament, she is part of the European People's Party Group.
After being re-elected in 2014, Metsola became a vice-chair of the European Parliament Committee on Petitions in July 2014. She also worked on several other committees and groups. She joined a special group that focuses on children's rights. She was re-elected again in 2019.
Metsola worked on important laws, such as the European Border and Coastguard Regulation in 2019. This law helped create 10,000 new border guards for Europe's borders. She also helped write a report in 2016 about the European migrant crisis. This report aimed to create a clear plan for how EU countries should handle people seeking safety.
From 2016 to 2017, Metsola was part of a committee that looked into money laundering and tax avoidance. This committee investigated the Panama Papers.
In 2019, after the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Metsola refused to shake hands with Malta's prime minister at a meeting. She said he needed to take responsibility. In October 2020, Metsola was elected as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament. She was the first Maltese MEP to hold this position.
In June 2024, Roberta Metsola was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the third time. She received a record number of votes.
Becoming President of the European Parliament
In November 2021, Metsola was chosen to be the candidate for president of the European Parliament. The previous president, David Sassoli, passed away on 11 January 2022. After his death, Metsola became the acting president.
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On 18 January 2022, her 43rd birthday, Metsola was elected president of the European Parliament. She won in the first round of voting. She became the youngest president ever, the first Maltese person, and only the third woman to hold this important role. As president, she oversaw investigations into alleged corruption within the European Parliament.
As President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola was the first leader of an EU institution to visit Ukraine in April 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She also visited Israel in October 2023, after the Hamas-led attack.
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On 21 May 2023, Metsola took part in a large pro-European rally in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. She gave a speech, saying, "Europe is Moldova! Moldova is Europe!" Metsola has also called for the European Parliament to have more power. On 16 July 2024, Roberta Metsola was re-elected President of the European Parliament with a very high number of votes.
Personal Life
Roberta Metsola met her husband, Ukko Metsola, from Finland, at a youth event in 1999. They got married in 2005. They both ran for the European Parliament election in 2009. They have four sons.
Honours and Awards
Ukraine
Recipient of the First Class of the Order of Princess Olga
United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus
- Cross of Good Neighbourhood
- In Veritate Award for combining Christian and European values
- 2024 Forum Europa Prize in Madrid
