Roberta Metsola

Born on 18 January 1979 in San Ġiljan, Malta, she grew up in Gżira with her parents and two sisters. She studied at St Joseph School in Sliema and St Aloysius' College, then graduated in law from the University of Malta in 2003 and earned a diploma in European studies from the College of Europe in Bruges in 2004. She has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lisbon.

Metsola has been active in politics since her youth, volunteering with the PN and serving in various roles, including as Secretary General of the European Democrat Students. In 2002, she became one of the vice-presidents of the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe. She campaigned for Malta's EU membership in 2003 and ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament in 2004 and 2009. She joined the Permanent Representation of Malta to the EU in 2004, where she worked for eight years as a legal and judicial cooperation attaché, participating in negotiations of the Lisbon Treaty and working on the set-up of the European Asylum Support Office in Malta.

In 2013, she became one of Malta's first female MEPs, filling a casual vacancy. She was re-elected in 2014 and 2019, and in 2024 she secured a record number of first-preference votes. She served as a vice-chair of the Committee on Petitions, led the EPP in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and was rapporteur on the European Border and Coastguard Regulation. In November 2020 she became the First Vice-President of the European Parliament.

Following the death of David Sassoli in January 2022, Metsola was elected president of the European Parliament on her 43rd birthday. She was re-elected in July 2024 with 90% of the votes cast. As president, she was the first leader of an EU institution to visit Ukraine after Russia's invasion, and she spoke at a pro-European rally in Moldova. She has consistently voted against abortion, though she has said she will represent the Parliament's position while in office.

Metsola met her Finnish husband, Ukko Metsola, in 1999; they married in 2005 and have four sons. In 2009, they became the first married couple to run for the European Parliament from different member states. She has also served on the boards of several think tanks. Her presidency has been marked by high-profile moments, including a public confrontation with Malta's then prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2019, when she refused to shake his hand.