Paul Zahra has been appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Finance and Employment, effective immediately.
Mr Zahra is succeeding industry stalwart Alfred Camilleri, who held said position from 2006 and has now reached retirement age.
Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana thanked Mr Camilleri for his service.
Mr Zahra joined the Malta Public Service in 1984, serving at the Economic Division within the Office of the Prime Minister. Between 1989 and 1992, he was the Personal Assistant to the Economic Secretary and Chief Economics Officer at the Ministry of Finance.
A year after that, Mr Zahra was appointed Director (Economic Strategy) and, later on, Director General (Economic Policy) within the same Ministry.
Since 2001 Mr Zahra has discharged duties as Permanent Secretary in a number of Government Ministries, including the Ministry for Economic Services, Ministry of Finance, Ministry for Fair Competition, Small Business and Consumers and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Mr Zahra was appointed Permanent Secretary for EU Funds at the Office of the Prime Minister in November 2020. In April 2022, he took on the same role within the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds, and Lands.
He held the latter position up until his latest appointment. Mr Zahra also sits on a number of Government boards and committees.
He takes over from Alejandro Gosttuski, who will now take on the role of an Advisor.
The company, set to launch soon, will seek to provide clients with ‘customer-centric and innovative’ financial services.
The Malta Stock Exchange recently joined other exchanges for the inaugural Ring the Bell for Climate initiative.
Family businesses account for more than 70% of Malta’s SMEs, and are hence vital components of the local economy.