Mark Farrugia as from this morning is the new chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, replacing Keith Schembri who resigned this morning,

Farrugia was serving as the deputy chief of staff, working alongside Schembri at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Farrugia joined the Labour Party's media house when it was first set up in the late 1980s and later was appointed its director of information.

He served as Muscat's personal assistant when he was Opposition Leader.

Despite both Mr Schembri and Mr Farrugia keeping low profiles, the outgoing chief of staff had shared a selfie with his deputy on the day of 2017 election, captioning the photo "Back at the office".