Civil servant Lorenzo Vella, who headed Commission delegation to Malta, passes away at 43

Lorenzo Vella, a prominent civil servant and member of the European Union’s civil service who headed the Commission’s delegation to Malta, has passed away at 43.

Vella had been serving as the head of the EC delegation to Malta since early 2023, before being taken ill towards the end of that year.

He leaves to mourn his wife and two children.

Prior to his European role, in 2021 Vella had been the Permanent Representative of Malta to the Council of Europe.

Vella was also a former policy officer in the DG Employment in Brussels, where he provided advice on the employment policies of the Maltese government. In 2014 he moved to the Permanent Representation of Malta to the EU as technical attaché, and during the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, chaired the Social Questions Working Party. In 2017, Vella was appointed deputy permanent representative of Malta to the EU, before returning to Malta in 2020 as chief of staff to deputy prime minister Chris Fearne.

Vella had also been an activist in the Labour youth league and students’ group Pulse. Tributes poured in from all the top brass in Labour, with Prime Minister Robert Abela, past and present ministers, and other party officials expressing condolences for Vella’s loss on their social media.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, who recalled Vella from her days as a student activist, said he had “distinguished himself as a leader, a diplomat and as a committed public servant.”

“I’ve known him since his days as an activist at University, arguing student motions and counter-motions to make this world a little bit better for everyone. In all our conversations since, he never lost sight of that aim, working tirelessly to bring people around the same table. He fought hard and bravely - always. I will miss him. Malta will miss him. Europe will miss him.”

The PL's youth arm, Żgħażagħ Laburisti paid tribute to Vella, who had served as the body's General Secretary, as they offered their condolences to his loved ones.

The Nationalist Party spoke of Vella as someone who served his country with diplomacy, noting that all of Europe will mourn his loss. PN leader Bernard Grech offered his condolences to Vella's friends and family.

The outgoing European Commissioner Helena Dalli also paid tribute to Vella. “He discharged his duties in a serious and professional manner with every role he was entrusted. He will be sorely missed, especially within the EU fora.”

Vella had been a casualty of the 2016 terrorist attacks at the Brussels airport, suffering back injuries in a bomb attack that lad to fractures in his spinal cord. His then-pregnant wife assisted him in running as best as they could from the terminal building after a second explosion.

Vella and his wife had been about 10 metres away from the blast as they waited at a check-in desk before a flight to the US.