Evarist Bartolo was born on 14 October 1952 in the northern village of Mellieha in Malta, then a British Colony.

Evarist has three brothers and three sisters. His father worked as a primary school teacher. He is married to Gillian (née Sammut), and they have two children, Katrin and Louisa, and one granddaughter, Georgia.

He currently lectures in Communication Studies at the University of Malta and has been a member of parliament since 1992, serving mainly in Education, European Affairs and Tourism.