Prime Minister Robert Abela's first Cabinet of the new legislature retains most of the personnel from his previous administration - with notable promotions, political comebacks and significant changes to some of the most sensitive portfolios.
Several ministers have remained within broadly familiar sectors, and many of the government's most recognisable faces continue to occupy senior positions.
Others were handed entirely new responsibilities, have seen their portfolios reduced or expanded, and some sectors have been reorganised altogether.
The new Cabinet is larger than the last one, contains five newly promoted ministers from the parliamentary secretary ranks, welcomes back two figures who had previously exited government, and redistributes sectors like health, planning, home affairs, housing and employment.
Abela's previous Cabinet consisted of 19 ministers, and eight parliamentary secretaries. The new and already full Cabinet has 22 ministers, alongside two parliamentary secretaries.
Five former parliamentary secretaries were elevated to ministerial rank: Alison Zerafa Civelli, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, Glenn Bedingfield, Malcolm Paul Agius Galea and Omar Farrugia all moved from junior government roles to ministers.
Alicia Bugeja Said, in spite of securing her place directly, is the only elected parliamentary secretary from the previous legislature to retain that rank, although her responsibilities have changed.
Previously Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights under the Agriculture Ministry, she is now PS responsible for Animal Welfare within Miriam Dalli's Ministry for Energy, Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbour.
New Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista has assumed responsibility for Active Ageing within the Health Ministry, a role previously held by Malcolm Paul Agius Galea.
The promotions represent the most significant structural changes in the new administration.
Zerafa Civelli has moved from PS for Local Government to Minister for Local Government and Public Works.
Azzopardi Tanti also rose from PS for Youth, Research and Innovation to Minister for EU Funds, Consumer Protection and Social Dialogue.
Arguably the biggest jump, Glenn Bedingfield took a notable promotion, from PS for Public Cleanliness to Minister for Home Affairs and Security.
Agius Galea transitioned from PS for Active Ageing to Minister for Arts, Culture and National Heritage, while Omar Farrugia moved from PS for Public Works to Minister for Youths and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme.
The new Cabinet also sees the return of two figures who had previously left government.
Chris Fearne has returned as Minister for Foreign and European Affairs after stepping away in 2024 following criminal proceedings linked to the three hospitals inquiry. He had previously served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, as well as EU Funds Minister.
Rosianne Cutajar also returned to government as Minister for Equality and Civil Rights. Cutajar had resigned from Labour's Parliamentary Group in 2023, after the publication of private chats between her and businessman Yorgen Fenech.
She had stayed on as an independent MP but was re-instated into the PL parliamentary group in 2024, and has now re-entered Cabinet with a dedicated, new ministry, as Minister for Equality and Civil Rights.
Among serving ministers, six have been assigned substantially different portfolios.
Perhaps the most notable move is that of Ian Borg. During the previous legislature he served as Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, while also assuming responsibility for Tourism following Clayton Bartolo's resignation in November 2024.
Borg has now become Deputy PM and Minister for Health, taking over a ministry previously led by Jo Etienne Abela.
The appointment means Borg has now headed three major ministries in successive administrations, having previously overseen Transport and Infrastructure before moving to Foreign Affairs and now Health.
Jo Etienne Abela, meanwhile, has left the Health Ministry and became Minister for Tourism. The shift is notable given that Abela, a surgeon by profession, spent the previous legislature overseeing health and active ageing.
Another major change involves Byron Camilleri. Having spent years as Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality, Camilleri has been moved to Education and Sport.
The transfer ended one of the longest ministerial tenures in the Home Affairs portfolio and triggered changes elsewhere in government.
The Home Affairs portfolio has now passed to Bedingfield, while the Equality brief has been detached and handed to Cutajar.
Clifton Grima has also seen his responsibilities change completely. Previously Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, he now became Minister for Justice and Research & Innovation, taking over the justice portfolio previously held by Jonathan Attard.
Attard is among the Ministers whose responsibilities have expanded considerably. During the previous legislature he served as Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector. He has now become Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Employment.
The new ministry brings together responsibilities previously spread across three different ministers.
Planning had been attached to Clint Camilleri's Gozo portfolio, employment fell under Clyde Caruana's Finance Ministry, while infrastructure was part of Chris Bonett's remit.
The consolidation of all three under a single minister created a Ministry with influence over some of the country's most important economic and development policies.
That shift inevitably meant that others have lost responsibilities.
Clint Camilleri remains Minister for Gozo but no longer carries the planning portfolio that accompanied the ministry during the previous legislature. The separation creates a clearer distinction between Gozo's administration and national planning policy.
Caruana similarly saw his responsibilities narrowed. Whereas he previously served as Minister for Finance and Employment, he now oversees Finance alone.
Bonett's ministry has undergone an equally significant transformation. Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works have been split apart, leaving Bonett responsible for the newly renamed Sustainable Mobility while Infrastructure shifted to Attard and Public Works moved to Zerafa Civelli.
Several ministers retained their positions but saw slight changes to their portfolios.
Anton Refalo has remained responsible for agriculture and fisheries, but his portfolio has undergone a subtle change. The Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights has become the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supply, with animal rights removed from the brief and food supply formally incorporated into the ministry's title.
Animal Welfare has been placed under Alicia Bugeja Said's parliamentary secretary role within the Environment Ministry.
Silvio Schembri similarly remained in charge of the economy portfolio but with a revised brief.
His previous title was Minister for Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects. He is now Minister for Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects. Despite not being in his official title, Schembri is still responsible for enterprise.
Several ministries have also been restructured or rebranded.
Housing and Lands have been reunited under Owen Bonnici, who became Minister for Housing and Lands, from Minister for Culture.
The housing portfolio had been left without a dedicated Ministry following the resignation of Roderick Galdes and was subsequently handled by Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul. The pairing of housing and lands reunites two closely related sectors that had previously been split across different ministries.
Among the more notable departures from Cabinet is former Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who has not contested the election. His portfolios have now been redistributed, with the implementation of the electoral programme passing to Omar Farrugia.
Youth has also emerged as a standalone ministry under Farrugia. In the previous legislature, youth formed part of Clifton Grima's broader portfolio, which also included education, sport, research and innovation.
Similarly, equality has been elevated into a dedicated ministry under Cutajar rather than remaining attached to the Home Affairs portfolio.
Other ministers remained largely unchanged.
Miriam Dalli has retained responsibility for Energy, Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbour. Julia Farrugia continues on as Minister for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector. Michael Falzon remains in social policy, although his ministry is now titled Social Policy and Family rather than Social Policy and Children's Rights.
The new Cabinet also contains some notable absences. Former Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue Andy Ellul and former Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg, both members of the previous administration, were not among those elected to Parliament as yet and therefore do not feature in the new Cabinet.