H.E. Joseph Cole
High Commissioner of Malta in the United Kingdom
Ambassador Joseph Cole joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on December 14, 1977. He served as Consul General for Malta in New South Wales, Australia, from 1983 to 1985, and was part of a presidential trade delegation that visited Australia and Singapore in 1986.
Ambassador Cole served at the Ministry of Finance & Commerce, from June 2, 1997 to January 22, 1998, when he returned to the Maltese Foreign Ministry, where he remains today.
Ambassador Cole was appointed as Deputy High Commissioner at the Malta High Commission in London, UK, where he served from 1998 to 2001. For the next several years, Ambassador Cole represented Malta at various international forums. In 2002, he served as Malta’s representative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. He also attended the preparatory conferences (leading to the Summit) held in Singapore and Bali, Indonesia.
At the end of 2002, Ambassador Cole accompanied the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on an official delegation to China.
From 2003 to 2006, Ambassador Cole represented Malta at various European Union (EU) meetings, including the EU General Affairs Council, the Foreign Affairs Council, and the EU Working Groups on the Law of the Sea, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe & the Council of Europe, and Human Rights. He also attended the Director Generals’ Development Meetings.
In January 2004, Ambassador Cole served as head of Malta’s delegation attending the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Ten Year Review of the Barbados Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States held in The Bahamas. In June, he was head of Malta’s delegation at the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation Asian/Mediterranean Regional Consultative Meeting held in Sri Lanka.
In April 2006, Ambassador Cole was appointed vice-chairman of Malta’s National UNESCO Commission and, concurrently serving as Director for Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until March 31, 2009. In July 2009, Ambassador Cole was appointed Director General for European and Economic Affairs, as well as chairman of the Malta Sanctions Monitoring Board, (the entity responsible for Malta’s participation in international economic sanctions). He served in both capacities from July 1, 2009 to July 12, 2012. He was also a member of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, from September 2009 to August 2010.
Ambassador Cole was appointed in the rank of ambassador, resident in Malta, effective October 25, 2011.
In July 2012 Ambassador Cole presented his Letters of Credence as Malta’s Ambassador to the United States of America to the former US President Barack Obama and, in February 2013 he presented his Letters of Credence to the Governor General of Canada as Malta’s High Commissioner to Canada.
In March 2013 Ambassador Cole was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
In May 2014 Ambassador Cole was appointed as Malta’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands presenting his Letters of Credence to His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander.
In June 2014 Ambassador Cole presented his Letters of Credence to the Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as Malta’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW.
During his tour of duty in The Netherlands, Ambassador Cole was also Malta’s representative to the International Criminal Court, The Hague Convention, Eurojust and Europol.
In November 2014 Ambassador Cole was appointed as Malta’s non-resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden. He presented his Letter of Credence to His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf Folke Hubertus.
In January 2015 Ambassador Cole was appointed as Malta’s non-resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway. He presented his Letter of Credence to His Majesty the King of Norway Harald V.
In March 2015 Ambassador Cole was appointed as Malta’s non-resdent Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. He presented his Letter of Credence to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark Margrethe II.
In August 2018 Ambassador Cole was appointed as Malta’s resident High Commissioner to the Court of St James’s. He presented his Letter of Credence to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Ambassador Cole is married to Bernardina Cole nee’ Bunce and they have one daughter, Christine.