Rosianne Cutajar

Cutajar attended the Qormi Primary School, going on to the Maria Assunta Girls school in Hamrun for her secondary education. She attended the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School.{{cite web |title=Commissioner for Simplification |url=https://simplification.gov.mt/en/Pages/The-Commissioner.aspx |url-status=dead |accessdate=15 January 2020 |website=simplification.gov.mt |language=en |archive-date=15 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115160537/https://simplification.gov.mt/en/Pages/The-Commissioner.aspx }} She graduated with a BA with Honours Degree as well as a Postgraduate Certificate from the University of Malta.{{cite news |last1=Vassallo |first1=Raphael |title=It's not just about numbers : Rosianne Cutajar |url=https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/interview/79500/its_not_just_about_numbers__rosianne_cutajar#.W8Bg4fZRfIU |accessdate=12 October 2018 |work=Malta Today |date=7 August 2018}}

Elected to Malta's House of Representatives in 2017, Rosianne Cutajar worked on the introduction of legislation for civil rights, gender and equality in Malta, as well as the updating of existing laws. She has spoken out on a number of social, policy and bio-ethical concerns. Cutajar’s portfolio included the drafting of a new equality law which is still currently pending. She was also involved in Malta's Gender Balance Reform,2,158{{Cite web |title=Gender corrective mechanism to boost women MPs clears Second Reading in parliament |url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/107132/gender_corrective_mechanism_to_boost_women_mps_clears_second_reading_in_parliament |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=MaltaToday.com.mt |language=en}} the drafting of Malta’s National Action Plan against Racism and Xenophobia (NAPRAX),{{Cite web |title=First national action plan against racism and xenophobia |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/first-national-action-plan-against-racism-and-xenophobia.823615 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Times of Malta |date=9 October 2020 |language=en-gb}} the updating of Malta's divorce laws, the securing of financial commitment towards Malta's first-ever LGBTIQ+ Community Hub, as well as securing Malta's winning bid for the hosting of EuroPride 2023.{{Cite web |title=Malta bids to host Europe's largest gay pride event in 2023 |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-bids-to-host-europes-largest-gay-pride-event-in-2023.810387 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Times of Malta |date=8 August 2020 |language=en-gb}} Cutajar worked on IVF legislation,{{Cite web |last=Diacono |first=Tim |date=2021-07-01 |title=Rosianne Cutajar Calls For Surrogacy: 'We Must Consider Women Born Without A Uterus' |url=https://lovinmalta.com/news/news-politics/rosianne-cutajar-calls-for-surrogacy-we-must-consider-women-born-without-a-uterus/ |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Lovin Malta |language=en-GB}} the lowering of the voting age threshold to sixteen,{{Cite web |last=Diacono |first=Tim |date=2019-03-17 |title=Sweet Sixteen And Your Town At Your Feet: Labour Politicians Want To Give Teens Shot At Local Council Elections |url=https://lovinmalta.com/news/sweet-sixteen-and-your-town-at-your-feet-labour-politicians-want-to-give-teens-shot-at-local-council-elections/ |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Lovin Malta |language=en-GB}} action against domestic abuse,{{Cite web |title=[WATCH] Women seen as men's property, equality secretary says of Malta's patriarchal 'wound' |url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/xtra/100237/women_seen_as_mens_property_malta_equality_secretary_says_of_patriarchal_social_wound |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=MaltaToday.com.mt |language=en}} opened up the debate on a regulatory framework for prostitution, as well as working on a reform to decriminalise the responsible personal use of cannabis.{{Cite web |title=Malta will be no Amsterdam, says Rosianne Cutajar as PN lambasts cannabis legalisation |url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/113333/rosianne_cutajar_malta_will_not_become_another_amsterdam |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=MaltaToday.com.mt |language=en}} Cutajar has also been responsible for the launch of a 24/7 helpline for victims of domestic violence.

In the 2022 elections, Rosianne Cutajar did manage to get elected into parliament while obtaining 2,158 first count votes on the 6th district. She was faced with harsh criticism from the PN party with allegations amounting to tax evasion. https://electoral.gov.mt/ElectionResults/General , https://www.parlament.mt/14th-leg/political-groups/independent/cutajar-rosianne/

Prior to her election to the Parliament of Malta, she was the first youngest female mayor of Qormi – one of Malta’s largest localities, a position she held for two consecutive terms.

In February 2021, Cutajar resigned from her position as parliamentary secretary, pending an ethics investigation.{{cite news |title=Rosianne Cutajar resigns pending outcome of ethics investigation |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/rosianne-cutajar-offers-to-resign.854083 |access-date=25 February 2021 |agency=timesofmalta.com}}

The resignation came after a number of reports in local papers that were published throughout February 2021. On the 14th of February the Times of Malta alleged that Cutajar took a €9,000 cut from a €40,000 in cash given to her by Yorgen Fenech as part of a 2019 property deal.{{cite news |title=Rosianne Cutajar took €9,000 cut from cash pile given by Yorgen Fenech. |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/labour-mp-took-cut-from-cash-pile-given-by-yorgen-fenech.851357 |access-date=25 February 2021 |agency=timesofmalta.com}}{{cite news |title=Hyzler says ethics probe into Rosianne Cutajar's dealings with Yorgen Fenech ongoing |url=https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/107745/hyzler_says_ethics_probe_into_rosianne_cutajars_dealings_with_yorgen_fenech_ongoing#.YDkUKmhKhPY |access-date=26 February 2021 |agency=Malta Today}} Fenech was accused of complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia on 30 November 2019. Standards Commissioner George Hyzler had evaluated a complaint about Cutajar's conduct after Times of Malta alleged she was being chased by the seller to repay a €46,500 brokerage fee.{{cite news |title=Yorgen's €3.1 million Mdina deal, Rosianne Cutajar, and the judge's husband |url=https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/106595/yorgens_31_million_mdina_deal_rosianne_cutajar_and_the_judges_husband#.YDkXmGhKhPZ |access-date=26 February 2021 |agency=maltatoday.com.mt}}

On 21 February 2021, the Times of Malta further alleged that Cutajar had solicited Yorgen Fenech's help for a political survey in her district in 2019.{{cite news |title=Rosianne Cutajar solicited 'help' from Yorgen Fenech for 2019 survey |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/rosianne-cutajar-solicited-help-from-yorgen-fenech-for-2019-survey.852956 |access-date=26 February 2021 |agency=timesofmalta.com}} In the same article it was alleged that Fenech promised some money to Cutajar in an exchange that read "I had to give you some money", to which she replied that they could speak about it at a later date. The alleged exchange came just a few weeks before Cutajar criticised a reference to 17 Black (Fenech's company) in a report{{cite web |url=https://pace.coe.int/en/files/27724 |website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe |date=23 January 2018 |title=Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination and the rule of law in Malta and beyond: ensuring that the whole truth emerges}} drawn up by Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt on journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's death during a Council of Europe sitting, and 5 months before Fenech was arrested for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It was by then known that Yorgen Fenech was the owner of 17 Black, a company that was to pay $2 million into ex-Minister Konrad Mizzi, and the ex-Chief of Staff, Keith Schembri's Panama companies, as revealed by the Panama Papers.{{cite news |title=Exclusive: 17 Black owner identified as local power station businessman|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/exclusive-17-black-owner-identified-as-local-power-station-businessman.692998|access-date=26 February 2021 |agency=timesofmalta.com}}

On 4 April 2023, the Times of Malta reported{{Cite web |title=Rosianne Cutajar resigns from Labour's parliamentary group |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/rosianne-cutajar-resigns-labours-parliamentary-group-with-heavy-heart.1023320 |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Times of Malta |date=3 April 2023 |language=en-gb}} that Rosianne Cutajar resigned from the Labour's parliamentary group. This after the author Mark Camilleri released transcripts of 2,200 chats{{Cite web |last=camillerimark |date=2023-03-21 |title=Here are the full chat transcripts between Rosianne Cutajar and Yorgen Fenech |url=https://markcamilleri.org/2023/03/21/here-are-the-full-chat-transcripts-between-rosianne-cutajar-and-yorgen-fenech/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Mark Camilleri |language=en-US}} between herself and Yorgen Fenech, who is awaiting trial for alleged involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The chats revealed an intimate relationship between the pair at a time when Cutajar was publicly dismissing calls to investigate suspected corruption linked to Fenech. They also confirmed that Fenech gave Cutajar money as part of a property deal and show Cutajar asked Fenech for help on some occasions.

Cutajar has been in a relationship with businessman Daniel Farrugia since 2019.{{cite web |last1=Diacono |first1=Tim |title=Watch: Rosianne Cutajar Publicly Asks Her Boyfriend To Propose To Her |url=https://lovinmalta.com/news/election-2022/watch-rosianne-cutajar-publicly-asks-her-boyfriend-to-propose-to-her/ |website=Lovin Malta |date=22 March 2022 |access-date=27 September 2022}} Farrugia is owner of The Londoner British Pub chain in Sliema and Smart City and co-owner of Approved Ltd.{{cite news |title=The Londoner Pub to open at SmartCity Malta |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/The-Londoner-Pub-to-open-at-SmartCity-Malta.513136 |access-date=27 September 2022 |work=Times of Malta |publisher=Allied Newspapers Ltd |date=30 March 2014}} In March 2023, Cutajar and Farrugia announced they were expecting their first child, a girl.{{cite news |last1=Karl |first1=Azzopardi |title=One week after 'Yorgen' chats, Rosianne Cutajar shares gender reveal photo |url=https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/122050/one_week_after_yorgen_chats_rosianne_cutajar_shares_gender_reveal_photo#.ZE49r3ajiug |access-date=30 April 2023 |work=MaltaToday |publisher=MediaToday Co. Ltd |date=27 March 2023 |language=en}} The child was born in July 2023.{{Cite web |last=Gaddari |first=Ibrahim |date=2023-07-19 |title=Rosianne Cutajar Welcomes Her First Baby Girl, Chloé Rose |url=https://lovinmalta.com/news/rosianne-cutajar-her-first-baby-girl-chloe-rose/ |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=Lovin Malta |language=en-GB}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Members of the House of Representatives of Malta

Category:21st-century Maltese women politicians

Category:21st-century Maltese politicians

Category:Labour Party (Malta) politicians

Category:Women mayors of places in Malta

Category:1988 births

Category:Women members of the House of Representatives of Malta