The CEO of Residency Malta Agency, Jonathan Cardona, has passed away, the Prime Minister said Thursday.

In a Facebook statement, Abela paid tribute to Cardona, describing him as a dedicated and loyal individual who served the country in a number of senior roles within government entities.

Abela said he had been informed of Cardona's death during the ceremony at which Malta's new Cabinet was being sworn in.

"In the middle of the ceremony appointing the new Cabinet, I was informed of the difficult news that our friend Jonathan Cardona had passed away," Abela said.

The Prime Minister said that while those close to Cardona were aware of the health challenges he had been facing in recent months, the news still came as a shock.

"This is a moment of great sadness for all of us," he said.

Cardona served as chief executive of the Residency Malta Agency, appointed in 2023 by Byron Camilleri, and occupied a number of leadership roles within government entities over the years.

Abela said Cardona had been instrumental in Labour's electoral victory in 2013, working behind the scenes to help the party secure the trust of the electorate.

"From then onwards, throughout every legislature, he served our country in various leadership roles within important government entities," Abela said.

"I always saw in him seriousness and loyalty in every task he carried out, as well as a smile and energy throughout every stage of his life," Abela said.

He concluded by offering his condolences to Cardona's family.

Cardona served as the CEO of Malta's state-owned national energy provider, Enemalta plc, between 2021 to 2023.

He also spent nearly seven years leading Kommunita Malta between 2014 and 2020, leading the agency responsible for administering Malta's Individual Investor Programme (IIP), commonly known as the citizenship-by-investment or "golden passport" scheme.

Cardona also acted as the initial chief executive at Identity Malta in 2014, overseeing the centralisation of Malta's identity databases.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described Cardona as one of the original members of the team that began preparing the Labour Party for government in 2008, saying his death had left him heartbroken.

He wrote that Cardona later served as chief of staff to former deputy prime minister Louis Grech and acted as his envoy to the European Council before going on to lead Malta's citizenship-by-investment programme.

"He was the person who managed and led the Citizenship by Investment Programme with integrity. Thousands of families and businesses may not know it, but it was through Jonathan that so much benefit came to our country," Muscat said.

Cardona later served as chief executive of Enemalta and, in recent years, headed the National Development and Social Fund and Malta's residency programme.

Muscat described him as "one of the most intelligent people" he knew, recalling his sharp sense of humour and a tradition of exchanging books every Christmas.

He said that Cardona had spent the past year battling cancer and said one of their last conversations took place a week ago.

"We left a few seconds of silence because we both knew that what he really wanted to tell me afterwards was 'for the last time'," Muscat wrote.

He said he tried contacting Cardona on Saturday to discuss Arsenal but received no reply, later learning that his condition had worsened.

"The last time I saw him and went to say goodbye was on Tuesday, even though he could no longer hear me."

Muscat concluded by extending his condolences to Cardona's parents, his children, and the rest of the family.