When Colonel Mark Mallia takes up on his new job as the prime minister's right-hand man it will be his fourth government appointment in the space of just six months. 

Mallia, who was announced as the successor to Glenn Micallef on Wednesday, has a storied, and occasionally controversial, history within government circles.

Earlier this year, he was announced as the new CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services, replacing Carmen Ciantar, who had stepped down after a cabinet reshuffle.

That plan turned out to be short-lived.

Just days later, news emerged that Mallia would instead be taking the helm at an entirely different government agency, the behemoth that is Transport Malta.

At the time, Transport Malta was dealing with the fallout from the driving licence racket, which saw officials from the agency irregularly fast-tracking candidates hoping to obtain a driving licence. Mallia was Transport Malta’s third CEO in the space of a year.

Mallia had previously spent two years heading Identity Malta, last year telling Times of Malta of the agency’s plans to combat abusive employment of third-country nationals.

President’s right-hand man

Mallia's new role as the prime minister's Head of Secretariat won’t be his first stint working closely with the Abela family.

He served as aide-de-camp to Robert Abela’s father, George, between 2009 and 2013.

At the time, George Abela was Malta’s President, with a fresh-faced Robert making his name as an up-and-coming lawyer in the family’s law firm.

Mallia was described by George Abela as the “decision-maker” within his team, telling an inquiry into the fateful Paqpali Għall-Istrina incident that Mallia was responsible for chairing a central committee which would oversee several sub-committees working on various fundraising events.

Mallia is also believed to be close to the family of Robert Abela’s predecessor, Joseph Muscat, indicating that he could act as a bridge-builder between the two camps who are believed to not always see eye-to-eye.

In 2015, Mallia helped to rope in Muscat’s wife Michelle to mediate in a conflict between the army’s top brass and a disgruntled gunner.

Controversial promotions

Mallia's name first hit the news over a decade ago, when he was named AFM's Deputy Commander in December 2013.

That promotion, along with others within AFM at the time, proved to be controversial, with the Ombudsman describing the process as "intended to produce a desired outcome".

The Ombudsman found that Mallia, who was made a Major in 2011, had received three promotions in the space of three months. He was first appointed Lieutenant Colonel in September 2013, then given the rank of Colonel just a fortnight later, and finally named AFM’s Deputy Commander in December of the same year.

Mallia has a background in business administration, having obtained a Masters degree in the subject from the University of Malta in 2009.