Christian "Chris" Cardona is a Maltese politician and lawyer. He is a Member of Parliament for the Maltese Labour Party and the Deputy Leader for Party Affairs for the Party as from June 2013. In 2013 he became Malta's Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business. In 2016 he was elected .Cardona was born in 1972 and graduated as Notary Public and Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta. He furthered his studies in International Maritime Law at the United Nations International Maritime Organisation where he obtained a first Class master's degree in Shipping Law. Dr. Cardona is the author of the thesis entitled United Nations Commission on International Trade Law – A Maltese Perspective. He was first elected to Parliament in 1996 and was re-elected in the 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013 general elections. In 2008, he contested the post of Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs of the Labour Party. In 2013, he has been elected by the Labour Party's delegates as Deputy Leader for Party Affairs. During the 2008 – 2013 legislature he served as the Labour Party main Spokesperson for the Industry, Self Employed and Foreign Investment. In previous legislatures he even served as the Labour Party Spokesperson for Competition, Communication and IT. Cardona also served as a member in the Malta EU Parliamentary Committee during the negotiation process of Malta’s application to join the European Union as a full member. Prior to his appointment as Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, Cardona was a Senior Partner at law firm CV Advocates. On June 11 2016, Cardona won the deputy leadership race, succeeding Konrad Mizzi as Deputy Leader for Party affairs of the Labour Party.