Samuel Azzopardi

al Services. His keen interest in politics started when very young at age being very active in student politics leading in student councils and in particular, as President, oversaw the overhaul of Grupp Universitarji Ghawdxin (GUG) the student union of the students hailing from Gozo at the University of Malta. In 2002 he was chosen by a panel chaired by the late Peter Serracino Inglott to represent the then Prime Minister of Malta and later President of Malta Edward Fenech Adami LL.D. KUOM at the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe at the European Parliament. In 2003 he actively campaigned for Malta to join the European Union and at 20 years of age, he successfully contested the local council elections on behalf of Partit Nazzjonalista (PN) for the municipality of Victoria, the capital of Gozo. In 2006 he decided to withdraw from politics, but in 2009 he contested again the local council elections for Victoria and after garnering the largest amount of votes he became the Mayor of Victoria. In 2010 he was elected as the first President of the Gozo Region, a post he was confirmed in the office again in 2014, 2017 and 2021 and is Gozo’s representative in the Local Councils Association. In 2012 he was elected as Vice-president of Local Council’s Association. His affiliation with Partit Nazzjonalista saw him lead in various key posts including as an executive member of Movement Zghazagh Partit Nazzjonalista and member of the executive of the party. He was also a candidate for the 13th District (Gozo) for the 2013 parliamentary elections but was not elected. In 2013 he successfully contested again the local councils’ election for the locality of Victoria, with a record amount of votes and a 2.32% increase for the PN overall, making him the first Mayor of Victoria to be confirmed in office. He was Mayor of Victoria between 2009 and 2019 after he had announced that he would not be seeking another electoral mandate for the city council. In 2015 he was elected as President of the Gozo Football Association after netting 66% of the votes. Later that same year he was elected as a member of the national executive of the Malta Football Association. He was subsequently confirmed in both positions in 2017 and 2020 with 78% of the votes. Amongst his greatest achievements during his tenure as Mayor of Victoria are the winning of the National Enterprise Awards in 2011 and representing Malta in the European Promotion Support Awards 2012, the largest EU-funded project handled by a local council in Malta which saw the complete revamp of the city’s historical call totaling around €3 million euros, the saving of the Citadel ditch from being transformed into a car park but open green space and the complete revamp and reopening of the Victoria Playing Field. Samuel is also a member of the European Committee of the Regions (ECOR) since 26.01.2010 and sits on three of its Commissions where he fielded reports ranging from the EU’s €10.5 billion budget on irregular migration, terrorism and the EU’s borders to Consumer Rights and the Blue Economy. The report on irregular migration earned him praise by the then Commissioner for Internal Affairs Cecilia Malmström who thanked him for the balanced views expressed in the report. The report on the Blue Economy led to the first-ever ECOR conference in Gozo at the end of March 2019 attended by Maritime Commissioner Karmenu Vella and the then President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. He was also elected as the European People’s Party Political Coordinator for the NAT Commission of the ECOR for two subsequent terms. He is the longest-serving member of the Maltese Delegation at the European Committee of the Regions. On the 9th October 2021, Samuel Azzopardi obtained his fourth mandate as President of the Gozo Region and his first one as an independent candidate. He got his largest electoral victory ever in the regional elections, garnering 70% of all the valid votes in a 100% turnout. He was subsequently confirmed as Vice President of the Local Councils Association making him among the longest-serving members of the LCA. On the occasion of Victoria Day 2022, Samuel Azzopardi was awarded the highest city honour – Gieħ il-Belt Victoria for the services rendered to the capital of Gozo. Samuel is the father of two children and is an avid reader, a history enthusiast, and a fencer.