Lorenzo Vella, the head of the European Commission Representation in Malta has died aged 43 following a short illness.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg and Prime Minister Robert Abela broke the news on Facebook on Sunday morning, offering condolences to the family of the father-of-two.
Lorenzo Vella served as Permanent Representative of Malta to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He also held the post of Deputy Permanent Representative of Malta to the EU in Brussels and also worked within the European Commission’s directorate-general for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
European Union President Roberta Metsola said she was heartbroken to learn that Lorenzo Vella has passed away. She said that “in all his roles, whether as Malta’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU or as the Head of the European Commission in Malta, he distinguished himself as a leader, a diplomat and as a committed public servant.
I will miss him. Malta will miss him. Europe will miss him”.