Arnold Cassola

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Arnold Cassola is a Maltese politician, an Associate Professor in Comparative Literature at the University of Malta and the author and editor of various books and academic papers. He is presently Secretary General European Green Party (since 1999) and (since 2006) deputy in the Italian Chamber of Deputies elected by Italian expatriates in the Europe constituency, with the centre-left coalition L'Unione.

Cassola was one of the co-founders of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party of Malta. Between 1990 and 1997 he was the Party's delegate to the European Green Party (EGP). He unsuccessfully contested national elections with the Party in 1992, 1998, 1998 and 2003. Between 1994 and 1997 he served as local councillor in Swieqi. His best result in Maltese politics was in the 2004 election for the European Parliament when he obtained 9.33% of the first preference votes, just failing to be elected one of Malta's five MEP.

In European politics Cassola was elected member of the Executive Committee of the European Green Party in 1997, eventually being elected Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the (EGP). Between 2001 and 2006 he was one of the three European representatives on the Global Greens Coordination, a European Union electoral observer in Burundi (2005) and editor of the official organ of the European Greens "Green Update" (since 1998).

In 2003 Cassola was made Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana by Italian President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.