Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando

Pullicino Orlando has been involved in a number of notable campaigns. He successfully campaigned against the establishment of a cement plant in the central part of the island which could have had a detrimental impact on his constituents’ health, a waste landfill next to the prehistoric temples of Mnajdra and an underground museum which could have potentially damaged St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. He had the wide support of civil society on these issues. These campaigns often brought him at odds with big business concerns.

Pullicino Orlando accepted to contest the 2017 general elections with the Labour Party on the insistence of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Notwithstanding a very short 10 day campaign, he managed to get a good result but failed to get re-elected. His clinic in Zebbug was targeted by arsonists a few days after these elections in what was clearly a politically motivated attack. His candidature with the Labour Party had been met with fierce criticism from die-hard Nationalists.

He has overseen the development of Malta’s National Interactive Science Centre (Esplora), a state of the art facility which has become one of Malta’s foremost visitor attractions. The development of Esplora involved the rehabilitation of the former Bighi Naval Hospital, which was in a state of imminent collapse, into a 22,000 square metre complex which includes a unique Planetarium and well over 200 interactive exhibits. This complicated project, which was partly financed by EU Structural Funding, was completed in two and a half years. Esplora was inaugurated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on 28 October 2016. The Centre was selected by the European Commission as one of the Emblematic Projects for the 30th Anniversary of the Cohesion Policy in April 2018.

He set up the Anti-Cyberharassment Alliance in August 2013, together with a number of prominent individuals such as the former Chairperson of the pro-divorce movement, Parliamentary Secretary Dr Deborah Schembri, and former minister Jesmond Mugliett. The Alliance successfully put the issues of Cyberharassment and Cyberbullying on the national agenda.

He resigned from the Nationalist Party (Malta) on 20 July 2012, hence making him an Independent MP. He cited serious differences with high ranking Party officials as the reason for doing so. He did not contest the following elections in 2013.

He militated against abortion in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[1] He campaigned for the introduction of divorce in Malta in 2011 (2011 Maltese divorce referendum). He set up what was probably the only political movement in Maltese history to include individuals hailing from all parts of the political spectrum - Moviment IVA ghad-Divorzju, IVA ghaz-zwieg (The pro-divorce movement). This movement successfully campaigned against the joint might of the Nationalist Party in Government and the Church.

He was appointed Chairman of the Council in March 2010 by Nationalist Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. His term was extended twice by the Labour administration led by Joseph Muscat. His reappointment as Executive Chairman was confirmed by the administration led by Prime Minister Robert Abela in 2020, immediately after he took over as Prime Minister. Under his stewardship, the MCST has grown considerably. The number of employees has increased from less than 10 in 2010 to over 130 at present. Its remit has expanded to include areas such as Space and PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area) and there has been an exponential increase in international collaborative initiatives in Research and Innovation (R and I).

He was the first councillor elected to represent the Nationalist Party on the Żebbuġ Local Council in 1992. He subsequently contested the 1996, 1998, 2003 and 2008 General Elections successfully. He was elected from two districts in the 2008 elections, being the first MP elected from one of them and the Nationalist Party MP to get the greatest number of votes from the other. His total number of first count votes was 5131. A controversy surrounding land he owned at Mistra became a major issue in the run-up to these elections. Joseph Muscat, the leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, has revealed that this was a mise en scène concocted by the Nationalist Party to discredit his predecessor, Alfred Sant (). The ruse was instrumental in the PN victory in those elections ().

Orlando was educated at De La Salle College, Malta and the University of Malta. He graduated as a dental surgeon in 1987. He lives in Żebbuġ, Malta.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando (born 27 November 1963) is a Maltese former Member of Parliament, and now the executive chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology.