Lawyer Jonathan Attard has been co-opted to Parliament on Wednesday to replace Manuel Mallia. 

The Labour party said that it’s parliamentary group and national executive had unanimously agreed on Attard’s co-option. 

In his maiden speech, Attard said that he is honoured to have inherited such a privilege as MP. 

“I promise to be a strong voice and look forward to work on strengthening political matters that make a difference in people’s lives,” Attard said. 

This co-option comes following the resignation of Manuel Mallia for parliament, as he was appointed Malta’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. 

In a statement published by the Labour party’s communication office on Wednesday, it said that Attard has been a lawyer since 2015 and in addition to graduating with a doctorate in law, he has also graduated in Communication and Social studies. 

“In recent years he has been entrusted with working on various legislative and constitutional reforms. He also has experience in journalism and has been involved in trade unionism with the General Workers Union,” the statement read. 

Attard is the fourth person to be coopted into parliament by Labour during this legislature, following Miriam Dalli, Oliver Scicluna and Clyde Caruana. 

The Labour party thanked Manuel Mallia for his participation in Maltese politices and wished him well in his new work in favour of Malta.