The Executive Committee takes charge as from the first day it is elected and remains in office until the next election takes place. Unless or otherwise stipulated in the Articles of Association, eligible members (*) of the German-Maltese Circle can be nominated for election to the Executive Committee. Vacancies in the Committee during the year are filled by the members who at the last election polled the highest number of votes among those who failed to get elected, in the absence of which the Executive Committee has the right to co-opt any other eligible member.
(*) Para 12 of the Association’s Statute:
For the purpose of Chapters IV and V, the words “eligible members” wherever they occur will mean “persons who have had their membership paid-up for at least three (3) calendar months prior to a General Meeting”.
Hon. Patron: H.E. Mr Walter Haßmann (Ambassador of Germany to Malta)
Honorary President: Dr Albert Friggieri
President: Ing. Arthur Ciantar
Vice President: Mr Bernd Ritschel
General Secretary: Ms Sirka Vella Facklam
Treasurer: Mrs Lorraine Heinrichs
Officer i.c. Courses: Ms Claire Scicluna
Members: Ms Priscilla Cassar, Vacant
The Articles of Association provide for the convening of an Annual General Meeting of all paid-up members of the German-Maltese Circle to be held in January. The business of this Annual General Meeting includes inter alia the election of the officials and of the members which would form the Executive Committee.
Extraordinary General Meetings during the year can be called by the Executive Committee or by members of the German-Maltese Circle acting in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association.
President: Ing. Arthur Ciantar
Born in 1962. Secondary education at De La Salle College. Graduated in 1987 from the University of Malta as Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Honours) specialising in Power Systems. Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK) and registered with the Engineering Council (UK) as a Chartered Engineer. He was engaged for several years in the design and manufacture of medium and high voltage switchgear systems and transformer stations. Ing Ciantar currently provides consultancy services. He is also an active member in engineering associations in Malta, and has a particular interest in the promotion and development of cultural, industrial and commercial ties with Germany. Married to Anita neé Ferro with two daughters, Jessica and Alison. Decorated in 2019 by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier with the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande.
General Secretary: Ms Sirka Vella Facklam
Sirka Vella Facklam was born in 1968 in the former GDR. In 1996 she graduated with a Master’s degree in German linguistics and literature from the University of Leipzig and moved to Malta the same year for personal reasons. She has been employed in the private sector until 2017 and founded her own company in 2018. Her interest in German Culture and the German Language brought her to the German Maltese Circle, where she volunteered as discussion leader in conversation classes and organised reading and art sessions for German speaking children in Malta. Sirka Vella Facklam has been a member of the Executive Committee of the German Maltese Circle since 2007 and is behind the German Film Festival, which is being held annually in November since 2009.
Treasurer: Mrs Lorraine Heinrichs
Born in 1954. Secondary education Maria Regina Grammar School and Junior College in Valletta. Lorraine earned a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Malta which was eventually followed by a post graduate certificate in education. Lorraine taught for a number of years in Malta. She joined the German-Maltese Circle in 1981. Spent four years (from 1984) in Rwanda in Central Africa and another three years in Montserrat in the Caribbean due to her husband’s work with DW. Back in Malta, Lorraine taught German for beginners at the German Maltese Circle following which she moved to Germany where for some time she was employed as the Public Relations Officer at the Embassy of Malta in Bonn. In 1999 she taught Mathematics in Bonn till moving back to Malta in 2017. Presently, she is a principal examiner for the International Baccalaureate (IB) and she also facilitates online and face-to-face workshops for teachers of Mathematics. She is also a textbook author for Mathematics (Oxford University Press) and a curriculum developer for the IB. Other interests include Maltese Lacemaking, cooking, travelling and reading.
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