Born on August 2, 1970, Sharon Ellul-Bonici is best known for her leading role against Malta's EU membership before the referendum. Less known is her pioneering role in the European Parliament following EU membership. By May 2004, having long recognised that with EU membership the European Parliament would be our parliament at a federal level, she moved to Brussels with her family, where she spent the next five years working in the European Parliament in the field of political communications in line with her critical views.
By 2005, Mrs Ellul-Bonici was instrumental in co-founding the EUDemocrats, one of nine European political parties partially funded by the European Parliament. EUD includes left-leaning, social-liberal and centre-right MEPs and MPs from various countries, united in safeguarding local democracy and pushing for decision making at the lowest possible levels.
She held the post of EUD secretary general and later EUD vice president, until she relinquished her post in June 2008.
Returning to Malta to launch her MEP campaign, Mrs Ellul-Bonici believes her experience in the European Parliament has given her the necessary insight into the political and administrative workings of the parliament, gaining her diverse contacts in the process.
Her inclusion as a Labour candidate for the 2009 European Elections signifies the pluralism that exists within Malta's only social democratic party. Her campaign presents ‘seven issues' under the general theme, "Safeguarding our Rights". Her aim is to strive for our full rights as EU citizens within the Union, while keeping an eye on current and forthcoming obligations. It is also Mrs Ellul-Bonici's aim to keep the people informed and to push for a free and open debate about the development of the EU.
She is married to Kevin and they have three boys - Stevey, Jamie, and Zakk. She holds a post-graduate diploma in communication studies, and is concluding her M.A. in Mass Communications with the University of Leicester, UK.