Dr. George Abela was elected President of the Republic of
Malta on the 4th April 2009 following a
Parliamentary resolution which unanimously approved his
nomination as the eighth President of Malta. His nomination
marks a historical development in the constitutional history
of our Island since, for the first time after thirty four
years, the President was elected by the unanimous approval
of both political parties represented in Parliament. It is
also the first time that the Government of the day nominated
a President with different political leanings.
Dr. Abela was born in Qormi on the 22nd April
1948 and is the son of a registered port worker. He was
educated at the Lyceum and the University of Malta where he
first obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English,
Maltese and History and later on his Law Degree. He
furthered his studies in European Law and obtained his
Magister Iuris Degree in 1995. He also holds a Diploma to
practise as a lawyer before the Ecclesiastical Tribunals in
marriage annulment cases.
Dr. Abela worked in private practice for thirty-three years
and has been a practising lawyer specialising in Civil,
Commercial and Industrial Law. He acted for twenty five
years as the legal consultant of the General Workers’ Union
and he represented the workers’ interests, affiliated in
four separate trade unions, in the negotiations concerning
the Air Malta rescue plan in 2002. He also represented port
workers in the port reform of June 2007, which reform has
been hailed by the European Commission as a model in social
dialogue to be followed by other member states. He also
served as legal advisor to the Medical Association of Malta
and other house unions.
For many years, Dr. Abela has been deeply involved in the
administration of sports in Malta, particularly in
football. He first served as a treasurer in his village
football club, Qormi F.C., and later on as its President.
In 1982, after serving as Vice-President, he was elected to
the post of President of the Malta Football Association,
which position he held for ten years. During his
presidency, the local football association witnessed major
changes at its administrative and technical level. Large
infrastructural investments were made in the resurfacing of
the turf pitch at the National Stadium Ta’ Qali, which
became wholly managed for the first time by the football
association; new training grounds with turf pitches were
built; floodlights were installed both at the National
Stadium and in the adjoining training areas; a physiotherapy
clinic and a fully equipped gymnasium were also opened.
Foreign full time coaches, assisted by top Maltese coaches,
were engaged to take charge of the National teams and
courses in coaching and refereeing were held under the
auspices of the European and international football bodies.
The players of the National team were engaged for the first
time on a full-time professional basis and the international
matches of the Maltese team started to attract the wide
support of the Maltese sporting public once again. Football
nurseries all over the island were inaugurated. Dr. Abela
represented the local Association in many committees of
UEFA. He also sat as an arbitrator in the Court of
Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Furthermore, Dr. Abela was also involved in the Kerygma
Movement, where he acted for some years as Chairman for the
Campaign – Solidarity Through Sports, in aid of
Philanthropic Institutions.
In 1992, after ten years in the top echelons of the Maltese
football, Dr. Abela was elected as Deputy Leader of the
Malta Labour Party in charge of Party Affairs. In 1996, the
Malta Labour Party won the general election. Subsequently,
he was appointed as the legal consultant to the Prime
Minister and invited to attend cabinet meetings.
Dr. George Abela served for a number of years as Director of
the Central Bank of Malta and as Executive Director for the
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. He was also a member of the
Electoral Commission responsible for the running of the
general elections in 1987. He actively participated in the
Malta E.U. Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) in
pre-accession negotiations for membership in the European
Union, where he formed part of the core group focusing on
the legal and social aspects of membership. After
membership, he sat again on MEUSAC as the Labour Party
representative.
Dr. Abela is married to Margaret nee’ Cauchi and they have
two children, Robert and Maria.
The Prime Minister
DR. LAWRENCE GONZI
Lawrence Gonzi took office as Prime
Minister of Malta on 23 March 2004. After the March 2008
general elections, Lawrence Gonzi was re-elected Prime
Minister and set out to continue transforming the Maltese
Islands into a modern and dynamic European country and
attain the Vision 2015 targets.
Lawrence Gonzi was born in
Valletta on 1 July 1953 and is the elder of four siblings.
He received his formal education at St Joseph school and
later at St Aloysious College and The Archbishop’s
Seminary. Lawrence Gonzi was also a member of the Circolo
Gioventu` Cattolica.
He graduated from the University of Malta as a lawyer in
1975. Following that he practiced law in a private firm and
later on worked as a company lawyer with the Mizzi
Organisation for whom he served as Group Chairman between
1989 and 1997.
Lawrence Gonzi has been actively involved in the voluntary
sector, particularly in the disability rights movement and
mental health sector. He was also the General President of
the Malta Catholic Action between 1976 and 1986.
In November 1987, Lawrence Gonzi was appointed as the first
Chairman of the National Commission for the Disabled and he
retained this role until April 1994.
On 10 October 1988 he was elected Speaker of the House of
Representatives for the sixth legislature (1988-1992) and on
the 5 April 1992 he was unanimously re-elected Speaker for
the seventh legislature (1992-1996). His nomination for
Speaker was submitted by the Prime Minister and seconded by
the Leader of the Opposition. During his term as Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Lawrence Gonzi overhauled the
methods in which Parliament used to operate, such as the set
up of permanent committees. While serving as Speaker,
Lawrence Gonzi introduced new procedures with regards to the
time established for the debate between the two sides of the
House. His tenure as Speaker of the House of
Representatives exposed his modest but firm bearing, which
has helped calm frayed tempers during quite difficult
moments for the house.
Lawrence Gonzi contested the October 1996 General Elections
and was elected to Parliament. In November 1996, he was
appointed Opposition Party Whip, Secretary to the
Parliamentary Group and Shadow Minister for Social Policy.
One year after he was elected Secretary General of the
Nationalist Party.
Following the September 1998 General Elections, Lawrence
Gonzi was appointed Minister for Social Policy and Leader of
the House of Representatives. He also served as Deputy Prime
Minister between May 1994 and March 2004.
In the election of 12 April 2003, Lawrence Gonzi was
re-elected and appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
for Social Policy.
On 23 March 2004, Lawrence Gonzi was sworn in as Prime
Minister, including in his portfolio the Ministry of Finance
between 2004 and 2008.
On 1 May 2004, Malta joined the European Union and as Prime
Minister, Dr Gonzi attended the EU enlargement official
ceremony which took place in Dublin, Ireland, where the
Maltese flag was hoisted for the first time alongside those
of the 24 member states.
As Head of the Maltese Government, Lawrence Gonzi hosted the
2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which
was held in Malta.
During the first term of his premiership, Lawrence Gonzi
guided Malta through a restructuring process that resulted
in Malta’s economy fulfilling the required criteria for the
adoption of the euro as Malta’s national currency from 1
January 2008. He also embarked upon a drive to improve
the management of public finances, focused sharply upon
improving Malta’s competitiveness in the international
market and accelerated the restructuring process of the
public sector.
On 8 March 2008, Lawrence Gonzi was re-elected Prime
Minister. In his first message to the nation at the
beginning of this legislature Lawrence Gonzi said that the
work of his government should be based on sustainable
development with an emphasis on the country’s environment.
Lawrence Gonzi is married to Catherine nee` Callus and they
have three children: David, Mikela and Paul.
The Chief Justice
Dr. Vincent De
Gaetano
Born in Sliema on 17 August, 1952, Dr
De Gaetano was educated at the Jesuit College of St.
Aloysius, at the Royal University of Malta and at the
University of Cambridge.
He was
called to the bar in 1976.In 1979 he was appointed Senior Counsel for the
Republic and in 1988 Assistant Attorney General in the
Attorney-General’s Office. Between 1989 and 1994 he served
as Deputy Attorney General. Whilst
serving in the Attorney General’s Office, Dr De Gaetano
was one of the prosecutors before the Criminal Court and
Court of Criminal Appeal. He
was also responsible for providing general legal advice to
Government in matters of public law and contributed to the
legislative drafting particularly in the fields of public
law and criminal law.
In 1994 Dr
De Gaetano was appointed as a Judge of the Superior Courts.
Dr
Degaetano has served on various international Boards and
Committees. Between
1988 and 1994 he was a member of the ad hoc Committee of
Experts on the Legal Aspect of Territorial Asylum, Refugees
and Stateless Persons of the Council of Europe. In 1988 he was also appointed Malta’s representative on the
Steering Committee on Legal Co-operation of the Council of
Europe. Dr De
Gaetano was elected Chairman of this Committee in January
1998, a post he held until December 1999. He
was also the Chairman of the Multidisciplinary Group on
Corruption of the Council of Europe between 1995 and 1997.
Dr De Gaetano is a founding member of the Association of
Judges and Magistrates of Malta. In
April 2002 he was elected from among the Judges to be a
member of the Commission for the Administration of Justice.
Dr De
Gaetano has published various papers and articles both
locally and abroad.
He is
married to Marie-Therese nee’ Ambrogio and has two
children.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Hon. Dr. Louis Galea
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Hon. Tonio Borg, LL.D., M.P.
Dr Tonio Borg was born in Floriana, Malta on the 12th of May,
1957. He was educated at St Aloysius' College, Birkirkara and the
University of Malta, from where he graduated as Doctor of Laws in
1979.
As a lawyer in private practice, Dr Borg specialised in Human
Rights cases. Dr Borg is also lecturer in Public Law at the
University of Malta. He was active in the Nationalist Party Movement
and between 1983 and 1985 he was a member of the Executive of the
European Union Young Christian Democrats. Between 1988-1995 Dr Borg
was President of the General Council of the Nationalist Party.
Between 1987 and 1992, Dr Tonio Borg was Director of Mid-Med Bank
Ltd.
In 1990, Dr Borg was appointed member of the European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Punishment or
Treatment. In this capacity he formed part of the Council of Europe
delegations which visited prisons in Sweden, Italy, Greece, the
United Kingdom and Bulgaria. He was a member of the Malta
Environment and Planning Authority between September 1992 and April
1995.
Dr Borg was elected to Parliament in 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2003 in
the interests of the Nationalist Party.
Between 1992 and 1995, he was member of the Maltese Parliamentary
Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
and was also member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the
European Parliament and Maltese House of Representatives 1992 - 1995
and 1996 - 1998.
Dr Borg was Minister for Home Affairs between April 1995 and
October 1996 and was Party spokesman for Home Affairs between
October 1996 and September 1998.
Following the Nationalist Party victory at the General Election
of September 1998, Dr Tonio Borg was re-appointed Minister for Home
Affairs on 8th September 1998.
Dr Tonio Borg was appointed Minister for Justice and Home Affairs
following the Nationalist Party general elections victory in April
2003. In March 2004, Dr Tonio Borg was elected deputy leader of the
Nationalist Party and subsequently he was appointed as Deputy Prime
Minister, Minister for Justice and Home Affairs and Leader of the
House of Representatives by the new Prime Minister Dr Lawrence
Gonzi.
Following the return to power of the Nationalist Party in the
March 2008 general elections, Dr Tonio Borg was appointed by Prime
Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Representatives.
Dr Borg is married to Adele née Galea, and they have three
children Daniela, Mark and Adriana.
