Alfred Sant, KUOM MEP (born 28 February 1948) [1] [2] [3] is a Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008. [4] [5] [6] Sant is an established writer and playwright and has published several books. [6]
Sant graduated from the University of Malta as Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics in 1967 and as Master of Science in Physics in the following year. He studied public administration in 1970 at the Institut International d'Administration Publique of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in Paris. [6]
Sant served as second,and then first secretary at the Mission of Malta to the European Communities in Brussels between 1970 and 1975 when he resigned to undertake full-time studies in the USA. He completed a Master of Business Management (with honors) from Boston University Graduate School of Management in 1976 and graduated a Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1979. [6]
Between 1977 and 1978 Sant served as advisor on general and financial management at the Ministry of Parastatal and People's Industries in 1977–1978,and then as the managing director of Medina Consulting Group in 1978–1980. Sant returned to the public sector in 1980 as executive deputy chairman with the Malta Development Corporation. As of 1982 he started working as a private consultant. [6]
Sant's first political post with the Labour Party was as chair of its Department of Information (1982–92). During this time he also served as President of the Party (1984–88) and chaired the Guze Ellul Mercer Foundation of the Malta Labour Party and the General Workers' Union. [6] He served a stint as the editor of the Party weekly Il-Ħelsien (1987–88).
In 1988–89,he chaired a party working group on the relations with the European Community,whose report was then published in English and Maltese. Another study by Sant,entitled "Malta's European Challenge",was published in 1995,and focused on the need for Malta to establish the best possible relations with the European Union compatible with Malta's position at the centre of the Mediterranean. [6]
Sant first stood for election in 1987;although he was unsuccessful,he was co-opted to Parliament later that year. In 1992,following the resignation of Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici,he was elected as party leader.
The Labour Party won the October 1996 elections under Sant who campaigned for the removal of the Value Added Tax (VAT) that had been introduced in 1995 as an unpopular but required step towards EU accession. [5] A year after taking office,the government replaced VAT by a similar indirect tax,the Customs and Excise Tax (CET). The government also froze Malta's application for EU membership,which had been submitted by the previous Nationalist government.
Sant's tenure as Prime Minister lasted only 22 months. Enjoying only a one-seat majority in Parliament,the Government was vulnerable to threats from former Prime Minister and Labour leader Dom Mintoff. Things came to a head in the summer of 1998 when a row with Mintoff over a coastal concession to a private company resulted in the Government being defeated on the motion transferring the land. Sant felt that the government's parliamentary majority was compromised and asked the President to dissolve the House. In the subsequent snap elections held in September 1998 the Labour Party was defeated. [5]
The Nationalist party,back in power,reactivated Malta's EU membership bid. Alfred Sant stayed on as leader of the opposition and campaigned against Malta's accession into the European Union. [5]
In the run-up to the March 2003 referendum on EU accession,Sant was also critical of what he called a "sham referendum" insisting that a general election alone would settle the EU membership issue. He called on Labour supporters to either vote No,abstain or invalidate their vote. He himself abstained. The Yes side won the referendum by 54% with over 90% turnout - but Sant claimed that this was fewer than half of all eligible voters. On the basis of this "puzzling" interpretation,both sides were claiming victory in the streets. [5] In view of the lack of consensus on the interpretation of the result,Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami asked the President to dissolve the Parliament and call for fresh elections. These were held in April 2003 and the Labour Party was again defeated at the polls.
Sant tendered his resignation as party leader. He did,however,stand for election for Party leader again which was contested by two other candidates for the post,John Attard Montalto and Angelo Farrugia. Sant was re-elected party leader with 66% of votes cast by Labour Party delegates and returned to lead the Party.
The Labour Party,spearheaded by Sant,presented a new programme Pjan għal bidu ġdid (Plan for a new beginning) and called for Bżonn ta' Bidla (The need for a Change) after the 20 years (save for his brief stint from 1996 to 1998) of Nationalist government. The electoral programme contained references to overhauls in the educational system (which proved to be extremely controversial),reduction of an electricity surcharge by half,and tax breaks on overtime work. [ citation needed ]
At the 2008 Maltese general election Sant was defeated for the third consecutive time,this time by Lawrence Gonzi,on a slim margin of only 1,580 votes. Following the loss of the election,Sant resigned as leader of the Labour Party on 10 March 2008,and as Leader of the Opposition on 5 June 2008;he was succeeded as party leader by Joseph Muscat and as leader of the opposition by Charles Mangion. He retained his Parliamentary seat.
Sant announced that he would stand as a Labour Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election,despite his previous opposition to EU membership for Malta. [7] He received 48,739 votes,which elected him outright,acquiring more votes than any other candidate. [8] He was re-elected in 2019. [9]
Alfred Sant is also an established and prolific novelist,short story writer and playwright. His published works include plays,short stories,novels,and non-fiction. [5]
Sant edited Tomorrow,a monthly English-language magazine (1982–1985),and of Society,a quarterly opinion magazine,apart from authoring numerous articles. Sant also contributed regularly to the General Workers' Union's Sunday Maltese-language newspaper It-Torċa until March 2008. [26] [21] [27] [28]
Malta :Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1996) by right as a Prime Minister of Malta [29] 
The politics of Malta takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,whereby the president of Malta is the constitutional head of state. Executive authority is vested in the president of Malta,with the general direction and control of the Government of Malta remaining with the prime minister of Malta,who is the head of government and the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Malta,which consists of the president of Malta and the unicameral House of Representatives of Malta with the speaker as the presiding officer of the legislative body. Judicial power remains with the chief justice and the judiciary of Malta. Since independence,the party electoral system has been dominated by the Christian democratic Nationalist Party and the social democratic Labour Party.
The Nationalist Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Malta,along with the Labour Party.
Dominic Mintoff was a Maltese Socialist politician,architect,and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984,and was 8th Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958,when Malta was still a British colony,and again,following independence,from 1971 to 1984. His tenure as Prime Minister saw the creation of a comprehensive welfare state,nationalisation of large corporations,a substantial increase in the general standard of living and the establishment of the Maltese republic,but was later on marred by a stagnant economy,a rise in authoritarianism and outbreaks of political violence.
Edoardo "Eddie" Fenech Adami,is a Maltese politician and Nationalist politician 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. He led his party to win four general elections,in 1987,1992,1998 and 2003,as well as the majority of votes in 1981. Staunchly pro-European,Fenech Adami was fundamental for Malta's accession to the European Union.
The Labour Party,formerly known as the Malta Labour Party,is one of the two major political parties in Malta,along with the Nationalist Party. It sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
John Attard Montalto is a Maltese politician who was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2014. He is a member of the Labour Party,which is part of the Party of European Socialists. He served in the government of Malta as Minister for Industry and Economic Affairs from 1996 to 1998.
Simon Busuttil is the Secretary General of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. Formerly,he was Leader of the Opposition. and Leader of the Nationalist Party in Malta and a Member of the European Parliament for Malta.
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020 and leader of the Labour Party from 2008 to 2020.
Maltese literature is any literature originating from Malta or by Maltese writers or literature written in the Maltese language.
A referendum on European Union membership was held in Malta on 8 March 2003. The result was 54% in favour. The subsequent April 2003 general elections were won by the Nationalist Party,which was in favour of EU membership,the opposition Labour Party having opposed joining. Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
Evarist Bartolo is a Maltese politician affiliated with the Labour Party and formerly the Minister for European &Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Education &Employment.
George Abela,is a Maltese politician who was the eighth president of Malta from April 2009 to April 2014.
George William Vella is a Maltese politician who has served as president of Malta since 2019. 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. In 2013,he returned as foreign affairs minister,an office he held until 2017 under prime minister Joseph Muscat.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is a Maltese former Member of Parliament who served as the Executive Chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology for 13 years - till December 2022,and is currently the Executive Chairman of the National Skills Council.
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday,3 June 2017 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The elections were contested by the Labour Party,led by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat,the Nationalist Party,led by opposition leader Simon Busuttil,and four other parties,making it the elections with most parties participating since 1962.
Roderick Galdes is a Maltese politician elected in the Maltese Parliament,on behalf of the Labour Party,since 2004. He is currently a member of the Cabinet of Ministers serving as Minister of Social Accommodation.
The 2014 European Parliament election in Malta elected Malta's delegation to the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019. This was the third such election held in Malta. The elections were held on Saturday,24 May 2014.
Lino Spiteri was a Maltese writer and politician. He served as Finance Minister from 1981 to 1983,and again from 1996 to 1997.
The 2019 European Parliament election was held in Malta on 25 May 2019. 8 different political parties took part in the election,of which,only 2 won seats in the European Parliament;the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party,with 4 and 2 seats respectively.
Lorry Sant was a Maltese activist,trade unionist and Malta Labour Party politician who held a number of ministerial offices between 1971 and 1987. Sant was a controversial figure who had an aggressive leadership approach. In the 1980s he was involved in incidents of political violence,and he has been held responsible for violating the human rights of his employees.
Media related to Alfred Sant at Wikimedia Commons| Before Abolishment of 1933-1947 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| After Abolishment of 1933-1947 | ||
| After Abolishment of 1958-1962 | ||
| State of Malta | ||
| Republic of Malta | ||
 Current Members of the European Parliament from Malta (2019–2024) | |
|---|---|
| List of members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (2019–2024) | |
|---|---|
| Austria | |
| Belgium | |
| Bulgaria | |
| Croatia | |
| Cyprus | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Denmark | |
| Estonia | |
| Finland | |
| France | |
| Germany | |
| Greece | |
| Hungary | |
| Italy | |
| Latvia | |
| Lithuania | |
| Luxembourg | |
| Malta | |
| Netherlands | |
| Poland | |
| Portugal | |
| Romania | |
| Slovakia | |
| Slovenia | |
| Spain | |
| Sweden | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
