Silvio Schembri was born in Luqa on May 21, 1985, and is the second child among four siblings. His father, John Schembri, has been occupying the office of Mayor of Luqa since 2001. Silvio is married and has two children.
Schembri is a Maltese politician and academic currently serving as Minister for the Economy, EU Funds and Lands on the Labour Party ticket.
Previously, he was the Minister responsible for the Economy and Industry, and before this served as Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation.
Education
Schembri had attained a master's degree in Economy right after graduating with a Bachelors of Honours in Economics from the University of Malta. Before attending the University, Silvio studied at the Junior College following St Augustine College as a secondary education and Luqa Primary School respectively.
General Elections
2013 Election
Schembri was elected to Parliament after obtaining 2,823 first count votes from the sixth district in the 2013 Maltese general election.
2017 Election
Schembri was elected to Parliament for a second time from both the 6th and 7th districts after obtaining 3,950 and 1,184 first count votes respectively.
2022 Election
Schembri was elected to Parliament once again, garnering a total of 6,776 first count votes from both the 6th and 7th districts.
Professional career
Schembri started off his career by working in a private bank, and was later tasked with the role of Supervisor Economist within the Central Bank of Malta.
Schembri had also served as the chairperson of the Responsible Gaming Foundation Malta on a voluntary basis, an independent institution which was set up with the aim of helping, educating and preventing problems related to gambling. He accepted the responsibility on a voluntary basis. As a Member of Parliament, Schembri also chaired the parliamentary committee for economic and financial affairs and worked as an advisor for the then Economy Affairs Ministry.
He was also the founding member and general manager of the Gal Xlokk foundation. It was officially recognised as a Local Action Group responsible for implementing the Leader Programme in Malta aimed to improve the development potential of rural areas focusing on bringing together the different public and private local mothers.
Political biography and achievements
At the age of 27 he was elected to Parliament on the Labour ticket, for the first time in March 2013. Previously, he had contested the local council elections for Luqa on the Labour Party ticket, where at the age of 18, he became Malta’s youngest Councillor. While studying at Junior College, Schembri was president of the PULSE JC movement (Social Democratic Students of Malta), president of the Students’ Council, Public Relations Officer of the General Workers’ Union Youths’ Section (largest trade union in Malta) and Education Secretary at the Luqa Labour Party Local Committee.
During his tenure as Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation he was the brains behind Malta's first Artificial Intelligence Strategy which is considered to be among the top 10 AI strategies in the world as well as the launch of the AI Certification Programme - the first of its kind worldwide. Another significant milestone is that of putting the Maltese Government among the first in the world to draw up a strategy for the country tied to the Esports and Videogame Development industries, a step which caught the attention of big players in the field across the globe. Schembri was also behind Malta becoming the world’s first Blockchain regulated state. He also worked on seeing that Malta was the first country to put education certificates on Blockchain.
As Minister for the Economy and Industry, he reached a number of milestones in such a short span, most especially during the pandemic, where he played a central and vital role in creating and implementing aid packages on behalf of the Maltese Labour Government to support families and businesses. Known as the Covid-19 economic regeneration plan – it consisted of wage supplements, rent and electricity subsidies, tax incentives and the highly successful voucher scheme. The voucher scheme led to a significant economic cash injection in a time of crisis as it helped bring about confidence in spending. Under his watch, Malta can boast of the lowest unemployment levels and highest rates of employment, and at times, even during the pandemic, Malta surpassed its pre-COVID successes.
Today, Schembri is entrusted with one of the Maltese Government’s largest portfolios, which includes the Economic, EU funds and Lands’ sectors.