Parliamentary Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud has confirmed Health Commissioner Carmel Messina for a further five years and appointed new commissioners for Education and the Environment. 

Charles Caruana Carabez succeeds Charles Farrugia, who is retiring, as Education Commissioner while Alan Saliba will take over as Environment and Planning Commissioner from David Pace. 

Commissioners are independent officers of parliament which enjoy security of tenure. They work independently of each other but coordinate their work with the Office of the Ombudsman. 

All three commissioners took their oath of office this morning. 

Health Commissioner

Mr Messina was first appointed Health Commissioner in August 2012, having retired from a career within the civil service in 2008. He is the recipient of a Medalja għal Qadi tar-Republika and will now serve a second term as Health Commissioner. 

Education Commissioner

Charles Caruana Carabez served as teacher, lecturer and head of department at the Technical Institute, Gian Frangisk Abela Upper Secondary and Junior College, before moving on to the private sector as the director of studies at an English-language school. 

He has been a member of the University council and sat on the boards of the ITS, National Book Council and the National Commission for Further and Higher Education

Planning Commissioner

Alan Saliba began his career as an architect within the public sector, working on social housing projects. He later set up his own private practice, performed valuations for a leading local bank and served as project architect on various recreational and community projects. 

He is a court expert on building litigation and valuations and has also served as an arbitrator for more than a decade. Since 2011, Mr Saliba is a technical member on the land arbitration board, rent regulation board and rural leases control board.