George Vella Biography: Net Worth, Height, Party, Age, Position, Spouse, Children, Nationality

George William Vella is a Maltese physician-turned-politician who served as the 10th President of Malta from 2019 to 2024.

Elected to Parliament in 1976 as a Labour Party MP, he held roles such as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister under Alfred Sant in the 1990s and Joseph Muscat from 2013.

As president, he promoted environmental protection, anti-corruption, and Mediterranean dialogue, earning respect for his humility and efforts to bridge divides.

Profile

• Full Name: George William Vella
• Stage Name: George Vella
• Born: 24, April 1942
• Age: 83 years old
• Birthplace: Żejtun, Malta
• Nationality: Maltese
• Occupation: Politician, Physician
• Height: Unknown
• Parents: Not publicly available
• Siblings: Not publicly available
• Spouse: Miriam Vella (m. 1968)
• Children: Claire Vella, Elaine Vella, George Vella Jr.
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $2 million

Early Life and Education

George William Vella was born on April 24, 1942, in Żejtun, Malta. Details about his parents and siblings are not publicly available.

He grew up in the southern village amid post-war recovery, developing an early sense of community service. He completed primary education at Żejtun Primary School and secondary schooling at De La Salle College in Vittoriosa.

He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Malta in 1964, later earning a Certificate in Aviation Medicine from Farnborough, UK, and specializing in family medicine by 2003. He is of Maltese ethnicity and follows the island’s predominant Roman Catholic tradition.

Career

George William Vella began his professional life as a medical doctor, practicing family medicine and serving as Air Malta’s medical officer while consulting in aviation health, roles that honed his calm under pressure during the 1970s’ social upheavals.

Joining the Labour Party in his early thirties, he entered Parliament in 1976 via a casual election, quickly immersing in health policy debates as opposition spokesperson amid Malta’s push for republican status.

His early parliamentary work focused on public welfare, including rapporteur duties on maritime pollution at the Council of Europe’s CLRAE in 1978 and a stint as Malta’s permanent representative there in 1987, blending clinical empathy with emerging diplomatic instincts that earned him quiet respect in a party often riven by ideology.

Vella’s ascent gained momentum in the 1990s under Alfred Sant’s brief Labour government, where he took on Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister from 1996 to 1998, navigating EU accession talks and regional tensions with a low-key style that prioritized dialogue over confrontation.

After Labour’s 1998 defeat, he remained a steady deputy leader for parliamentary affairs until 2003, chairing the EU-Malta Joint Parliamentary Committee and advocating for environmental safeguards during accession negotiations.

Returning to cabinet in 2013 under Joseph Muscat, he reclaimed Foreign Affairs, steering Malta through its 2017 EU Council presidency with successes like migration pacts and Brexit bridges, while amplifying Mediterranean voices on issues from Libya’s instability to climate resilience, all without the spotlight-seeking flair of peers.

George Vella’s presidency from 2019 to 2024 embodied quiet authority, initiating the National Conference on Environment and Climate Change in 2020 and launching the President’s Forum on Corruption to foster cross-party reforms.

He traveled extensively, from UN assemblies to Balkan summits, promoting Malta’s neutral stance on global conflicts, and used his bully pulpit to decry social media toxicity and champion education as a bulwark against division.

Retiring amid tributes, his post-presidency reflections in interviews and a forthcoming memoir underscore a lifetime of bridging divides, leaving an imprint on Malta’s foreign policy and ethical governance that guides successors in an era of heightened scrutiny.

Social Media

• Facebook Handle: George Vella

Personal Life

George William Vella married Miriam Grima in 1968, establishing a partnership that endured significant political challenges. Notably, during the 1979 Karin Grech bombing, they took proactive measures to protect their three young children—Claire, Elaine, and George Jr.—by placing them with relatives due to threats linked to Vella’s stance as a non-striking doctor amidst the health crisis. Today, as grandparents to seven grandchildren, they value family gatherings held in Żejtun.

Net Worth

George William Vella holds an estimated net worth of $2 million, accumulated through decades of parliamentary salaries peaking at €70,000 annually as president, supplemented by medical consulting fees from aviation and family practice roles post-1964 graduation, and modest pension benefits from his ministerial tenures.