Martin Seychell is a graduate in chemistry and pharmaceutical technology and specialised in chemical analysis. He has held important positions on several Government Commissions in Malta, including the Food Safety Commission and the Pesticides Board. He occupied the post of Head of Directorate at the Malta Standards Authority between 2001 and 2006.
He has been responsible for the implementation of a number of EU directives in the areas of risk assessment, food safety, chemicals and cosmetic products legislation, and has actively participated in negotiations on major technical proposals such as the new chemicals legislation, REACH and in screening processes in the areas of free movement of goods, environment and agriculture during the process leading to Malta's accession to the EU. He held the post of Director of Environment in Malta between 2006 and 2011.
As Director, he was responsible for a broad range of functions arising from the Maltese Environment Protection Act. He was appointed Deputy Director General for Health and Consumers at the European Commission in March 2011. Between 2014 and June 2020 he was Deputy DirectorGeneral for Health in the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE), responsible for directorates dealing with public health and health systems and products.
In July 2020 he moved to the Directorate General for International Partnerships and between July 2020 and January 2021 was Deputy Director-General – International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO). Since 16 January 2021 he has been Deputy Director-General responsible for Directorates G and R in DG International Partnerships.