Malta

Malta, 1974 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. Malta came under British rule as a crown colony in the early 19th century and served as the headquarters of the British Mediterranean Fleet. The country gained independence in 1964, and established its current parliamentary republic in 1974.

Seat of power: Valletta

Rulers

Anthony Mamo

President of Malta, 1974–1976

He was the first president of Malta and before that was the last governor-general of the State of Malta before the country became a republic. He was also the first Maltese citizen to be appointed Governor-General, and before independence, was briefly acting governor.

Portrait of Anthony Mamo: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Anton Buttigieg

President of Malta, 1976–1981

He was a Maltese politician and poet who served as the second president of Malta from 1976 to 1981. Prior to his tenure as president he was a member of the Parliament of Malta and president of the Labour Party.

Portrait of Anton Buttigieg: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Agatha Barbara

President of Malta, 1982–1987

She was the first woman to serve as president of Malta, and remains the longest-serving woman Member of Parliament in Maltese political history.

Portrait of Agatha Barbara: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Paul Xuereb

President of Malta, 1987–1989

He served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta from July 1986 to February 1987 and the acting president of Malta from February 1987 to April 1989.

Portrait of Paul Xuereb: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Ċensu Tabone

President of Malta, 1989–1994

He was the fourth president of Malta who also served as Minister and Nationalist MP.

Portrait of Ċensu Tabone: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici

President of Malta, 1994–1999

He is a Maltese politician and was the fifth president of Malta from 1994 to 1999. Following in his father's footsteps, he contested the General Elections in the interests of the Nationalist Party in 1966.

Portrait of Ugo Mifsud Bonnici: Department of Information, Malta, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Guido de Marco

President of Malta, 1999–2004

He was a Maltese politician, who served as the sixth president of Malta from 1999 to 2004. He was elected President of the 45th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1990, and Chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation in 2004.

Portrait of Guido de Marco: United States Navy, Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Todd Reeves, Public domain, file

Eddie Fenech Adami

President of Malta, 2004–2009

He is a Maltese politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996, and again from 1998 until 2004. Subsequently, he was the seventh president of Malta from 2004 to 2009. Staunchly pro-European, Fenech Adami was fundamental for Malta's accession to the European Union.

Portrait of Eddie Fenech Adami: Department of Information (Malta) and Lino Arrigo Azzopardi, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

George Abela

President of Malta, 2009–2014

He is a Maltese politician who was the eighth president of Malta from April 2009 to April 2014. In 1982, after serving as Qormi FC president, George Abela was elected as the chairman of the Malta Football Association.

Portrait of George Abela: Owner of the Copyright: Hon. George Abela, Presidency of Malta., CC BY 3.0, file

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

President of Malta, 2014–2019

She is a Maltese politician who was president of Malta from 2014 to 2019. She served as the minister for the family and social solidarity from 2013 to 2014 under Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Portrait of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca: Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

George William Vella

President of Malta, 2019–2024

He is a Maltese politician who served as the tenth president of Malta from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he previously served as deputy prime minister of Malta and foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 1998 under prime minister Alfred Sant.

Portrait of George William Vella: Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, CC BY-SA 2.0, file

Myriam Spiteri Debono

President of Malta, 2024 to today

She is a Maltese politician who is the 11th and current president of Malta. She is the first Gozitan woman to be elected to the position. She was also the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta from 1996 to 1998, the first woman to hold that position.

Culture

Malta's history of foreign rule and its proximity to both Europe and North Africa have influenced its art, music, cuisine, and architecture.
It has close historical and cultural ties to Italy, especially to the island of Sicily, with 66 percent of Maltese people speaking or having significant knowledge of the Italian language.
Valletta is noted for its fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches.
The country was an early centre of Christianity, and Catholicism is the state religion, although the country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

Picture

Valletta is the capital city of Malta, and its 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller.

Image: Mandyy88, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.