Helen D'Amato | |
---|---|
Commissioner of Children of Malta | |
In office 20 May 2010 –5 January 2016 | |
Preceded by | Carmen Zammit |
Succeeded by | Pauline Micelli |
Member of the Parliament of Malta | |
In office 5 December 1996 –4 February 2008 | |
Preceded by | Ninu Zammit |
Succeeded by | Franco Debono |
Personal details | |
Political party | Nationalist Party |
Spouse | Carmel D'Amato |
Children | 3 |
Helen D'Amato is a Maltese politician and educator who was a member of the Parliament of Malta from 1996 to 2008 and Commissioner for Children of Malta from 2010 to 2016. She is a member of the Nationalist Party.
Before she was elected to Parliament,D'Amato was a schoolteacher and a judicial assistant in Malta's juvenile court. [1] [2]
D'Amato was first elected to Parliament as a member of the Nationalist Party on 14 November 1996,and was sworn in the following month on 5 December. She was re-elected to the legislature two years later, [3] and chaired the Social Affairs Committee from 1998 to 2004. [2] In the 2003 general election,she received fewer votes than Ninu Zammit and Louis Galea,but filled Galea's seat because he was also elected in a separate district. [4] D'Amato actively supported Lawrence Gonzi's successful 2004 campaign for prime minister,and was appointed by Gonzi as parliamentary secretary for the elderly and community care in March 2004,shortly after he took office. [2] [5] She ran for re-election in 2008 but was defeated by Franco Debono. [6] She was considered a potential contender for Speaker of the House in 2010 after the departure of then-Speaker Galea,but the position was ultimately filled by Michael Frendo. [5] [7]
D'Amato was nominated to succeed the outgoing Commissioner for Children,Carmen Zammit,in May 2010. [2] After discussion in the Parliament's Social Affairs Committee,she was officially appointed to a three-year term as commissioner on 20 May. [8] D'Amato was the third person to hold the position,which was established in 2003. [9]
After media reports of underage Maltese girls being paid to dance in lingerie outfits at teen parties,D'Amato drafted legislative proposals to regulate the parties,including imposing a mandatory curfew and age limit,banning pole dancing,conducting background checks on party organisers,and increasing restrictions on alcohol. [10] [11] In 2013,she and Helena Dalli introduced a proposal to update safety standards for children's indoor play facilities. [12] She also proposed an increase in the legal drinking age in Malta from 17 to 18 years old. [13] D'Amato successfully advocated for amendments to Malta's Education Act to prohibit corporal punishment. [14] She opposed a 2015 proposal to lower Malta's age of consent from 18 to 16 years old. [15]
Though D'Amato's three-year term as commissioner was set to officially expire in May 2013,she remained in the role until a replacement was appointed in November 2015. [16] [17] After the government consulted hundreds of children on the ideal qualities for a commissioner,educator and Naxxar city councillor Pauline Micelli was selected to succeed D'Amato beginning on 5 January 2016. [18] [19]
In June 2020,the Nationalist Party appointed D'Amato to an eight-member Candidates Commission to recruit election candidates for the party. [20]
She is married to Carmel D'Amato. They have two sons and a daughter. [1]
Lawrence Gonzi,is a Maltese politician,retired Nationalist politician and lawyer,who served for twenty-five years in various critical roles in Maltese politics. Gonzi was Prime Minister of Malta from 2004 to 2013,and leader of the Nationalist Party. He also served as speaker of the House from 1988 to 1996,and Minister of Social Policy from 1998 to 2004,as well as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004. He served in practically all positions in Parliament,being also Leader of the House,an MP and Leader of the Opposition.
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General elections were held in Malta on 9 March 2013 to elect all members of the House of Representatives.
Ċensu Galea is a Maltese former politician and architect who served as a Nationalist MP in the House of Representatives of Malta. He is a former Minister in various posts that he retained until 2008 when he lost his place in cabinet. He also served as Deputy Speaker.
Louis Galea is a Maltese politician who was Malta's representative on the European Court of Auditors from 2010 till 2016. Previously he served in the government of Malta as Minister of Education from 1998 to 2008 and was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta from 2008 to 2010.
Franco Debono is a Maltese criminal trial lawyer and former Nationalist member of Parliament.
The Nationalist Party Shadow Cabinet of Dr Simon Busuttil was announced on May 14,2013. It was formed following the 9 March election which replaced the PN majority with a Labour majority.
Caterina Chinnici is an Italian magistrate and politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2014.
The Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta located in Valletta,Malta. The building was constructed between 2011 and 2015 to designs by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate Project,which also included building a new City Gate and converting the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre. Construction of the Parliament House generated considerable controversy,mainly due to the modern design of the building and the cost of construction,which amounted to around €90 million.
Francis Zammit Dimech is a Maltese politician who served in domestic Maltese politics as a member of the House of Representatives of Malta between 1987 and 2017 and as a Member of the European Parliament from 2017 till 2019. During his tenure within Maltese politics,Zammit Dimech held office as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of Lawrence Gonzi from 28 November 2012,until the defeat of Gonzi's government in the 2013 Maltese general election. He previously held numerous other ministerial responsibilities including communications,infrastructure,tourism,culture,and environment. Before being appointed Foreign Affairs Minister he served as Chair of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to entering politics,Francis Zammit Dimech worked as a lawyer and broadcaster.
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