Government Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi has announced that he will not be seeking re-election when the next general election comes around.

Writing on Facebook, Zrinzo Azzopardi said that he would continue to work within the Labour Party as he has done for the last 30 years, but then said that he had decided to dedicate more time to his family and return to his legal profession which meant that he would not be contesting the next general election.

“With full dedication, I will continue to serve in the ministerial role that the Prime Minister has entrusted me with,” he said.

Zrinzo Azzopardi currently serves as the Minister for European Funds and Implementation of the Electoral Programme.

He thanked all those who had supported him and the constituents of the fifth district who had elected him to Parliament twice.

Zrinzo Azzopardi has had a long career with the Labour Party.  He came its President in 2003 and pushed various internal party reforms.

He was first elected to Parliament in 2017 on the fifth district, which includes the localities of Birżebbuġa, Ħal Farruġ, Ħal Kirkop, Ħal Safi, Mqabba, Qrendi, and Żurrieq, and was again elected from the same district in 2022.

He has held various Cabinet roles including as Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds, and then Minister for Public Works and Planning after the 2022 general election.

Zrinzo Azzopardi is a lawyer by profession, specialising mainly in commercial and civil law.