Meet Roberta Metsola, lawmaker re-elected as president of European Parliament

New Delhi: Roberta Metsola, a prominent Maltese politician, has been re-elected as the President of the European Parliament. Metsola received a resounding majority of 562 votes out of the 720-seat parliament during its first session in Strasbourg, France, with new MEPs in attendance.

Member of the European People's Party (EPP)

Metsola, a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (PN) and the European People's Party (EPP), will continue to serve as the President of the European Parliament for another two and a half years. Her re-election underscores her influential role in European politics.

Who is Roberta Metsola? How did she end up chief of EU parliament? 

Roberta Metsola was born on January 18, 1979, in Swieqi, Malta. She has been actively involved in politics from a young age, starting with her participation in various youth political organizations. She holds a law degree from the University of Malta and a diploma in European studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.

In 2013, Metsola was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the First Vice-President of the European Parliament in November 2020. Following the death of the then-incumbent president, David Sassoli, Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament on January 18, 2022. At 43, she became the youngest person to hold this position, the first Maltese, and the first woman to do so since 2002.

A peek at Metsola's personal life

Roberta Metsola is married to Ukko Metsola, a Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party. The couple, who met in 1999 and married in 2005, have four sons. Interestingly, they both ran for the European Parliament elections in 2009, making history as the first married couple to run in the same election from different member states.

Metsola's re-election is seen as a testament to her effective leadership and dedication to European unity and governance. Her continued presidency is expected to bring stability and a strong voice to the European Parliament amid various challenges facing the EU.