Rev. Professor Emmanuel Agius, member of the Department of Moral Theology and former Dean of the Faculty of Theology, was honoured by H.E. the President of Malta George Vella with the 'Midalja g魔all-Qadi tar-Repubblika' in recognition of his contribution to the field of bioethics and professional ethics.
Professor Agius distinguished himself both in Malta and internationally as a scholar in bioethics and professional ethics. He introduced undergraduate and postgraduate courses in these fields at the University of Malta, particularly the successful M.A. in Bioethics programme. He is an ethical advisor in European institutions and, in September 2005, was appointed by the Presidents of the European Commission as member of the prestigious European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Agius is the author and co-editor of several books. His articles on bioethical, social and environmental issues and marriage have appeared in a number of international peer-reviewed academic journals.
Born in 1954, Professor Agius graduated in Sacred Theology from the University of Malta in and furthered his degree with the licentiate. After his priestly ordination in 1981, he followed his postgraduate studies at KU Leuven, Belgium, where he obtained a M.A. in Philosophy and a doctorate in Theology. He then pursued his post-doctoral research in bioethics at the University of Tubingen, Germany, at Georgetown University in Washington DC, and at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. He was Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta between 2007 and 2019.
