1.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
2.
Joseph Muscat
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Joseph Muscat, KUOM is a Maltese politician who has been Prime Minister of Malta since 2013. Muscat has been leader of the Labour Party since 6 June 2008, previously he was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008. After the Labour Partys victory in the March 2013 general election, Muscat received his secondary education at St Aloysius College, Malta. He received his education at the University of Malta and the University of Bristol. Muscat worked as a journalist with the radio station, Super One Radio. He later took on a role at Super One Television. He was also editor of the online newspaper, maltastar. com between 2001 and 2004. Muscat was as a member of the section of the Labour Party. He later served as Education Secretary in the Central Administration of the Party, during the Labour government of 1996-98 he was a member of the National Commission for Fiscal Morality. In 2003 he was nominated to a group led by George William Vella. As an MEP he supported a reduction in the tax for satellite television, the right for customers to watch sport events for free, and he formed part of a team responsible for a report on the roaming mobile phone bills and sale of banks. Muscat resigned his seat in the European Parliament in 2008 to take up a seat in the Maltese Parliament, four months previously, he had been elected Leader of the Labour Party. Before his resignation his report proposing new regulations for the EU’s financial services sector was adopted by the European Parliament, although at the time Muscat was not a member of the Maltese House of Representatives, he was elected as the new party leader on 6 June 2008. On taking up the Leadership post Muscat introduced a number of changes to the Party, notably the change of official name, on 11 March 2013 he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Malta. Muscat was elected as Prime Minister in the March 2013 general election, the Labour Party won this election with a margin of about 35,000 votes, with 54. 8% of popular votes. On 10 March 2013, following his victory, Muscat was congratulated in a statement by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. On April 7,2014, Muscat suffered from temporary blindness caused by UV radiation probably related to burns to his cornea, like 60 other people with similar symptoms, he had participated at a political rally the day before
3.
Labour Party (Malta)
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The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Malta. Along with the Nationalist Party, the Labour Party is one of two major political parties in Malta. It is the party in the Maltese House of Representatives following its victory over the Nationalist Party in the March 2013 general election. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists, the General Conference is largely made up of delegates from the Partys other constituent structures and is the Partys highest organ. The National Executive brings together the Party Administration as well as elected representatives of other constituent structures, the Party Congress is made up of all members of the Party and elects the Leader and the two Deputy Leaders and determines the Partys broad policy outlines. The Party Administration is made of the Party Leader, Deputy Leaders, the Parliamentary Group and the Councillors Section bring together the Partys elected representatives in parliament and local councils. The Party is organised geographically in the committees and district. Finally, the Branches of the Party include the womens, youth, senior, although not formally part of the Partys structures, the PL owns a number of media and communication outlets. The Labour Party was founded as the Chamber of Labour in 1921 by one of the union affiliated with the Imperial Government Workers Union. Band clubs and other organisations were invited to send delegates to the Partys founding meeting on 15 March 1921, significantly, led by Colonel William Savona, the Party contested the general elections held in 1921 and 1924 under the new Constitution that gave the country a measure of self-government. The Labour-Constitutional alliance won the 1927 general elections, but Labour lost ground, gaining 13. 9% of votes, Labour leader Savona was not elected, and the leadership of the Labour parliamentary group was temporarily entrusted to Colonel Michael Dundon. The Presidency of the Party and leadership of the group was taken up by Paul Boffa later that year. Labour gained nine seats out of ten in the elections held during November,1945, in which, contrarily to previous elections, the Partys electoral programme, for the first time in Labours history, did not make any reference to religion. However, Labour deputies resigned from their posts in July 1946 due to mass redundancies at the Dockyards, in the meantime, the MacMichael Constitution had been introduced, granting self-government to the Maltese. Labours participation in the subsequent October,1947 elections was again supported by the General Workers Union. The Party won 59. 9% of the vote and twenty-four seats out of the possible forty within the Legislative Assembly, Paul Boffa became Prime Minister whilst Dom Mintoff became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction. The Labour Government introduced Income Tax and Social Services for the first time in Malta, the Labour Party was re-founded in 1949 as a successor to the Labour Party founded in 1921. Boffa formed the Malta Workers Party while Mintoff re-organized the Labour Party as the Malta Labour Party, the Malta Labour Party contested its first elections for the Malta Legislative Assembly the following year
4.
Parliamentary system
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In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a different person from the head of government. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, eventually these councils have slowly evolved into the modern Parliamentary system. The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages, for example in 1188 Alfonso IX, the modern concept of parliamentary government emerged in the Kingdom of Great Britain and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden. In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, the monarch, in theory, chaired cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George Is inability to speak English led the responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the minister, literally the prime or first minister. By the nineteenth century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who was prime minister, hence the use of phrases like Her Majestys government or His Excellencys government. Nineteenth century urbanisation, industrial revolution and, modernism had already fueled the political struggle for democracy. In the radicalised times at the end of World War I, a parliamentary system may be either bicameral, with two chambers of parliament or unicameral, with just one parliamentary chamber. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies, the Westminster and Consensus systems, the Westminster system is usually found in the Commonwealth of Nations and countries which were influenced by the British political tradition. These parliaments tend to have a more style of debate. The Australian House of Representatives is elected using instant-runoff voting, while the Senate is elected using proportional representation through single transferable vote, regardless of which system is used, the voting systems tend to allow the voter to vote for a named candidate rather than a closed list. The Western European parliamentary model tends to have a more consensual debating system, Consensus systems have more of a tendency to use proportional representation with open party lists than the Westminster Model legislatures. The committees of these Parliaments tend to be more important than the plenary chamber, some West European countries parliaments implement the principle of dualism as a form of separation of powers. In countries using this system, Members of Parliament have to resign their place in Parliament upon being appointed minister, ministers in those countries usually actively participate in parliamentary debates, but are not entitled to vote. Some countries such as India also require the prime minister to be a member of the legislature, the head of state appoints a prime minister who will likely have majority support in parliament. The head of state appoints a minister who must gain a vote of confidence within a set time. The head of state appoints the leader of the party holding a plurality of seats in parliament as prime minister
5.
Republic
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It is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology, composition, in the classical and medieval period of Europe, many states were fashioned on the Roman Republic, which referred to the governance of the city of Rome, between it having kings and emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition, today referred to as humanism, is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust. Republics were not equated with classical democracies such as Athens, but had a democratic aspect, Republics became more common in the Western world starting in the late 18th century, eventually displacing absolute monarchy as the most common form of government in Europe. In modern republics, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage, for instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government. The term originates as the Latin translation of Greek word politeia, cicero, among other Latin writers, translated politeia as res publica and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic. The term politeia can be translated as form of government, polity, or regime, and is therefore not always a word for a specific type of regime as the modern word republic is. And also amongst classical Latin, the term republic can be used in a way to refer to any regime. In medieval Northern Italy, a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments, in the late Middle Ages, writers, such as Giovanni Villani, began writing about the nature of these states and the differences from other types of regime. They used terms such as libertas populi, a free people, the terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer using classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states writers, most importantly Leonardo Bruni, adopted the Latin phrase res publica. While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term can quite literally be translated as public matter. It was most often used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, in subsequent centuries, the English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica, and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica. Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, likewise, in Polish, the term was translated as rzeczpospolita, although the translation is now only used with respect to Poland. Presently, the term republic commonly means a system of government which derives its power from the rather than from another basis. After the classical period, during the Middle Ages, many cities developed again. The modern type of itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the era that are today still called republics
6.
Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
7.
Legislature
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
8.
President of Malta
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The President of Malta is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The President is appointed by a resolution of the House of Representatives of Malta for a term, taking an oath to preserve, protect. The President of Malta also resides directly or indirectly in all three branches of the state and they are part of Parliament and responsible for the appointment of the judiciary. Executive authority is vested in the President, but is in practice exercised by the Prime Minister. The office of the President of Malta, came into being on 13 December 1974, Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state and Queen of Malta, and the last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, became the first President of Malta. Before assuming office the nominee must take the oath of office before the House of Representatives of Malta. The oath reads, I, solemnly swear/affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President of Malta, among the powers of the President, The President promulgates laws. The President may dissolve the House of Representatives of Malta acting on the request of the Prime Minister of Malta or following the passage of a no confidence motion in the Government. The President names the Prime Minister with the President making his or her decision based on the situation within the Maltese parliament, the President names most members of constitutional bodies. The President is ex officio Chairman of the Commission for the Administration of Justice of Malta, the President is ex officio Head of the Maltese Honours. The President is ex officio Chairman of the Malta Community Chest Fund, the President’s spouse is the Deputy Chairperson. The President authorises recognition in Malta of honours, awards and decorations, no title of nobility, honour, award, decoration, membership or office may be used in Malta unless it is authorised by the President. The names of persons so authorized are published in the Government Gazette. The role of the President is detailed in a publication called Il-Manwal tal-President tar-Repubblika written by former President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, the official office of the president is the Grandmasters Palace in Valletta. Other presidential residences include, San Anton Palace at Attard - official residence, verdala Palace at Buskett - summer residence. The President of Malta used the flag as their presidential standard prior to 12 December 1998. The flag is flown on the Presidents official residences and offices, List of Presidents of Malta Prime Minister of Malta List of heads of state of Malta Official Website Maltese Honours System
9.
Prime Minister of Malta
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The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government, which is the highest official of Malta. The office of Head of Ministry was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921, the 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked. On the first occasion the Head of Ministry and his cabinet were retained, following the second suspension in 1934 the cabinet was dismissed. The constitution was revoked in 1936 and the post did not exist for as long as Malta was under colonial administration. The office was re-established with the grant of self-government in 1947 with the post being renamed as Prime Minister of Malta, the Prime Minister advises the President on the appointment of the other Ministers. The Prime Minister is constitutionally obliged to keep the President fully informed on the conduct of the government. Whenever the prime minister is away from Malta, the President may authorise any other member of the Cabinet to perform those functions and it is usually the Deputy Prime Minister who fills in this role as Acting Prime Minister. As minister in his own right the Prime Minister is responsible for a number of departments of government, the OPMs mission is to support the Prime Minister in providing leadership and direction for a stable and effective government. The core departments of OPM include the Cabinet Secretariat, the Management and Personnel Office, villa Francia is the official residence of the Prime Minister, while the Girgenti Palace is the summer residence. However they are not widely used with the exception of public ceremonies, receiving notable people, list of Prime Ministers of Malta President of Malta Government of Malta House of Representatives of Malta
10.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Malta)
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The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, formerly called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for maintaining Maltas external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The current Minister of foreign affairs is Honourable George William Vella, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is currently housed at Palazzo Parisio, a historic building situated in Merchants Street, Valletta. Malta attained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and has maintained independent, the Palazzo Parisio has housed certain government operations starting in 1886 with Maltas General Post Office and, after World War I, the nations Audit Office. George William Vella has been the minister of foreign affairs since March 2013, Vella was born on 24 April 1942 at Zejtun and graduated in medicine at the University of Malta in 1964. In 1977, he was awarded a Certificate in General Aviation Medicine, Vella started his parliamentary career within the Labour Party in 1978. He was subsequently elected Member of Parliament at the elections held in 1981,1992,1996,1998,2003,2008 and 2013. From 1978 to 1987, Vella served as Leader of the Malta Delegation to the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, between January and May 1987, he was appointed as Maltas Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe. In 1992, he was elected as the Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs and he also served as Vice Chairman of the Malta/EU Joint Parliamentary Committee. In 1995 and 1996, Vella was a member of the House Business Committee, during his political career, he led many delegations abroad and attended numerous conferences and seminars, delivering speeches, in many European capitals. Vella was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Environment in October 1996, dr Vella is married to Miriam née Grima, the couple has two daughters and a son, as well as seven grandchildren. The ministry also holds responsibility for matters related to trade, expatriates and citizenship. Several of its missions, including those to large nations like Brazil and Japan, are accredited to it through embassies in Rome. There are no Maltese diplomatic missions physically located in South America, refugee camps and the handling of matters of immigration and visitor status are the responsibility of the ministry. Foreign Minister Borg has called for Libyas Transitional National Council to accede to the Geneva Convention, in Maltas Order of Precedence of foreign ambassadors and other heads of mission, the Vaticans Apostolic Nuncio is listed first, regardless of the incumbent Nuncios time in office. The Nuncio is then followed by a traditional precedence based on the foreign representatives length of appointment, Palazzo Parisio List of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Malta Government of Malta House of Representatives of Malta Official Ministry website
11.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
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Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, KUOM is a Maltese politician and the 9th President of Malta since her appointment on 4 April 2014. Born in Qormi, Coleiro Preca studied at the University of Malta where she graduated with a BA in Legal and Humanistic Studies, within the Labour Party, Coleiro Preca served as a member of the National Executive, the Assistant General Secretary, and as the General-Secretary. She was the woman to have served in such a senior post of a Maltese political party. She served as MP in the Maltese Parliament from 1998 to 2014, in the 2008 general election she was the first elected MP by the. As an Opposition MP Coleiro Preca served as Shadow Minister for Social Policy, after Alfred Sant resigned as Leader of the Labour Party in 2008, Coleiro Preca unsuccessfully contested the Leadership election. On 1 March 2014, Coleiro Preca accepted the nomination for President, succeeding George Abela, she was sworn in as President on 4 April 2014. Coleiro Preca is the youngest person to assume the office of President, sworn in at the age of 55, UN Women executive director Lakshmi Puri described Coleiro Preca as a true champion for gender equality not just in Malta but in the Commonwealth. Hosted Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015
