Mario Cutajar has retired as Malta’s Principal Permanent Secretary, ending a nine-year career at the top of the civil service.

Cutajar, who has served in the top role ever since the PL won the 2013 election, announced his retirement at a public sector conference this morning. 

He said he had informed Robert Abela of his intention to retire last September, but that the Prime Minister asked him to see out the end of the legislature and the start of the new one.

“I have no words to thank every one of you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said to applause from civil servants in the audience.

“I learned a lot through this journey. I never had any ambitions of reaching this position but I will leave it with great privilege.” 

A few days ago, Cutajar had said an internal review is underway to cut down on waste in the public sector to mitigate the impact of energy subsidies on public finances.