Francis Zammit Dimech

Francis Zammit Dimech
Member of the European Parliament
In office 24 June 2017 – 25 May 2019
Preceded by	Therese Comodini Cachia
Constituency	Malta
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta
In office 28 November 2012 – 13 March 2013
Prime Minister	Lawrence Gonzi
Preceded by	Tonio Borg
Succeeded by	George Vella
Minister for Tourism and Culture
In office 23 March 2004 – 12 March 2008
Prime Minister	Lawrence Gonzi
Minister for Tourism
In office 15 April 2003 – 23 March 2004
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
Minister for Resources and Infrastructure
In office 2002–2003
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
Minister for the Environment
In office 1998–2002
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
In office 1994–1996
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
Minister for Transport and Communications
In office 1992–1994
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Communications
In office 1990–1992
Prime Minister	Eddie Fenech Adami
Personal details
Born	(1954-10-23) 23 October 1954 (age 70) San Ġiljan, Malta
Political party	Malta: Nationalist Party European Union: European People's Party
Alma mater	University of Malta
Website	europa.eu franciszammitdimech.com

Francis Zammit Dimech (born 23 October 1954) is a Maltese politician who served in domestic Maltese politics as a member of the House of Representatives of Malta between 1987 and 2017 and as a Member of the European Parliament from 2017 till 2019. During his tenure within Maltese politics, Zammit Dimech held office as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of Lawrence Gonzi from 28 November 2012, until the defeat of Gonzi's government in the 2013 Maltese general election.^[1] He previously held numerous other ministerial responsibilities including communications, infrastructure, tourism, culture, and environment. Before being appointed Foreign Affairs Minister he served as Chair of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to entering politics, Francis Zammit Dimech worked as a lawyer and broadcaster.

Francis Zammit Dimech attended the University of Malta, where he graduated in Law (LL.D) in 1979, and attained a master's degree in financial services in 1999. Zammit Dimech later went on to pursue another postgraduate degree in the United Kingdom and graduated in 2013 with an M.B.A degree from Henley Business School (University of Reading, UK). At present, he is reading for a PhD in Law of Broadcasting at the University of Malta.

Zammit Dimech is a lawyer by profession specializing in international transactions, trust deeds, financial services, corporate services provision, commercial law, and migration. He has been the chairman of the Francis Zammit Dimech Associates law firm since 2009.

Zammit Dimech was involved in journalistic activities all throughout his life. He served as an editor for many Maltese newspaper and magazine sources; such as the Il-Poplu, and Zaghzugh monthly publications. In 1980, he acted as the parliamentary correspondent for The Times of Malta. Zammit Dimech is currently a lecturer of European media law, communication and broadcasting at his alma mater (The University of Malta). On the management front, Zammit Dimech lectured regularly at the Henley Business School on Reputation, Responsibility and Corporate Governance.^[2]

Francis Zammit Dimech began his political involvement at a very young age. In 1981 he was selected to be the vice-president of the Democrat Youth Community of Europe (DEMYC), which is the Federation of Christian Democrat and Conservative youth organizations of Europe. In this post, he was responsible to co-ordinate representation of DEMYC on the European Communities Youth Form bodies, and to promote training programs for youth political leaders and leaders of DEMYC member organizations. Prior to that, Zammit Dimech served as the president of the student council at the University of Malta.

On the national political front, Zammit Dimech was elected to the Parliament of Malta in 1987 and in all subsequent general elections, until 2017. He has held ministerial appointments for sixteen years between 1990 and 2013, including:

• Minister for Transport and Communications
  • Prior to serving as the Minister for Transport and Communications, he was the parliamentary secretary for Transport and Communications
• Minister for the Environment
• Minister for Resources and Infrastructure
• Minister for Tourism and Culture
• Minister for Foreign Affairs

Zammit Dimech's role in the Maltese national government was not limited to his ministerial appointments. Throughout his 30-year stint as member of the Parliament of Malta, Zammit Dimech also served as chairman of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee, in addition to being a member of the Maltese Parliamentary Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. From 2008 to 2010 he chaired the Legislation Committee in the Maltese national parliament. Prior to the EU accession, Zammit Dimech served as member of the EU-Malta joint Parliamentary Committee.

Zammit Dimech has been heavily involved in the Maltese Nationalist Party since serving as the President of the Youth Branch in 1985. Other positions that Mr. Zammit Dimech obtained in the National Party include, information secretary, and president of the Administrative Council. Additionally, he became a member of the Nationalist Party Executive Committee, in 1987.

Zammit Dimech served briefly as a Member of the European Parliament from 2017 till 2019. During this period, Zammit Dimech served as the EPP Group rapporteur on media pluralism and freedom.^[3] He is serving on the following parliamentary committees and delegations:^[4]

• Poll of '76 ^[5] (Published in 1980)
• The Untruth Game – Broadcasting Under Labour (Published in 1986)
• Eddie – The People's Choice (published in 1987)