Carmelo Abela was born on 10 February 1972 in Malta.[2]
He won his first general election in 1996,when he was named to the 8th Parliament of Malta.[2] He has since won in 1998,2003,2008,and 2013. He was elected Deputy Speaker of the Tenth Parliament on 6 March 2003 and re-appointed on 5 October 2008,resigning as speaker on 5 July 2010.[2]
He has served as Government Whip in the Malta Legislature.[2]
In December 2014,he became Minister for Home Affairs and National Security.[2] As Home Affairs Minister,in January 2017 he stated that the government had “no plans”to extend Maltese citizenship to children born in Malta with migrant parents. Prior to 2001,all children born in Malta were entitled to citizenship,with the law changed to apply to only those born before 1989 in 2001.[3] On 8 June 2017 he was elected Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion.[1]
Criminal allegations
On April 9, 2021 former Nationalist MP and lawyer Jason Azzopardi made public allegations on social media that Abela had received a €300,000 payment for his alleged role in a botched 2010 HSBC bank robbery. At the time of the incident in 2010,Carmelo Abela was an employee of the bank.[4]
Abela categorically denied the allegations and immediately sued Azzopardi for libel.
Defamation case victory
On 30 September 2024,three and a half years after the allegations were made,the Court found Jason Azzopardi guilty of libel over the allegations and fined him €7,000. The Court held that Azzopardi’s specific accusations were based purely on allegations made by convicted criminals to obtain a presidential pardon and that the police and other investigative authority never considered Abela as an accomplice in the failed heist at any time nor was he ever indicated as a suspect person. The Court held in favour of Abela and found Azzopardi guilty of libel.[5]
Azzopardi appealed the sentence however the Court of Appeal on June 25,2025 confirmed the first sentence and rejected the appeal.[6]
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