Former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has officially been appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Malta.

In a statement, the Central Bank said that the President of Malta, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, has appointed Professor Edward Scicluna as Governor of the Central Bank of Malta for a period of five years with effect from 1 January 2021.

Scicluna had served as Minister for Finance and Financial Services between 2013 and November 2020. In 2009, he had been elected to the European Parliament where he served for four years as vice-chairman of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and as the European Parliament's representative on the European Statistical Advisory Board. Among various roles, he was the chairman of the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development, chairman of the Malta Financial Services Authority and a director of the Central Bank of Malta.

He will replace incumbent Mario Vella, who has served as Governor since 1 July 2016, and who has been appointed by the Government of Malta as the Special Commissioner for Economic, Financial and Trade Relations with the United Kingdom, a role he takes up on 1 January 2021.

Scicluna resigned from government last month and will no longer remain a Member of Parliament.