List of prime ministers of Malta

• Top left: Joseph Howard was the first prime minister of Malta.
• Top right: Giorgio Borġ Olivier was the 7th prime minister and presided over Malta's achievement of independence.
• Bottom left: Dom Mintoff was the longest-serving prime minister in Maltese history and presided over Malta's transition to a republic.
• Bottom right: Robert Abela is the current prime minister of Malta.

The prime minister of Malta (Maltese : Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The Prime Minister holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the Parliament, as such they sit as Member of Parliament.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, in doing so, the President is of the opinion that the appointed individual is the most able to command the majority of the House of Representatives; typically, this individual is the leader of a political party or coalition of parties that hold the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.

Fourteen people have served as prime minister of Malta since the office was established in 1921. The post did not exist in the period between 1933 and 1947 and also in the period between 1958 and 1962. Joseph Howard was the inaugural holder of the role, while Robert Abela is the incumbent. As of 2022, there have been 5 Nationalist Party prime ministers, 6 Labour Party prime ministers, 2 Political Union-affiliated prime ministers, 1 Constitutionalist prime minister and one Workers Party-affiliated prime minister.

List of officeholders

Political parties

   Political Union (UPM)

   Nationalist Party (PN)

   Constitutional Party (PK)

   Labour Party (PL)

   Workers Party (MWP)

Symbols

^† Died in office

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Joseph Howard (1862–1925)	1921	26 October 1921	13 October 1923	1 year, 352 days	UPM
2		Francesco Buhagiar (1876–1934)	—	13 October 1923	22 September 1924	345 days	UPM
3		Ugo Pasquale Mifsud (1889–1942)	1924	22 September 1924	1 August 1927	2 years, 313 days	PN
4		Lord Strickland (1861-1940; was known as Sir Gerald Strickland between 1897 and January 1928)	1927	9 August 1927	21 June 1932	4 years, 317 days	PK
(3)		Sir Ugo Pasquale Mifsud (1889–1942; he was knighted in 1927)	1932	21 June 1932	2 November 1933	1 year, 134 days	PN
Office Abolished (2 November 1933 – 4 November 1947)
5		Paul Boffa (1890–1962)	1947	4 November 1947	26 September 1950	2 years, 326 days	PL (until 1949)
			—				MWP
6		Enrico Mizzi (1885–1950)	1950	26 September 1950	20 December 1950 [†]	85 days	PN
7		Giorgio Borġ Olivier (1911–1980)	—	20 December 1950	11 March 1955	4 years, 81 days	PN
			1951
			1953
8		Dom Mintoff (1916–2012)	1955	11 March 1955	26 April 1958	3 years, 46 days	PL
Office Abolished (26 April 1958 – 5 March 1962)
(7)		Giorgio Borġ Olivier (1911–1980)	1962	5 March 1962	21 June 1971	9 years, 108 days	PN
			1966
(8)		Dom Mintoff (1916–2012)	1971	21 June 1971	22 December 1984	13 years, 184 days	PL
			1976
			1981
9		Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici (1933–2022)	—	22 December 1984	12 May 1987	2 years, 141 days	PL
10		Eddie Fenech Adami (born 1934)	1987	12 May 1987	28 October 1996	9 years, 169 days	PN
			1992
11		Alfred Sant (born 1948)	1996	28 October 1996	6 September 1998	1 year, 313 days	PL
(10)		Eddie Fenech Adami (born 1934)	1998	6 September 1998	23 March 2004	5 years, 199 days	PN
			2003
12		Lawrence Gonzi (born 1953)	—	23 March 2004	11 March 2013	8 years, 353 days	PN
			2008
13		Joseph Muscat (born 1974)	2013	11 March 2013 [1]	12 January 2020	6 years, 308 days	PL
			2017
14		Robert Abela (born 1977)	—	12 January 2020 [2]	Incumbent	5 years, 34 days	PL
			2022

Timeline

See also

• Prime Minister of Malta
• President of Malta
• Government of Malta
• House of Representatives of Malta

References

1. "Joseph Muscat sworn in, goes to Castille, as huge crowd celebrates". timesofmalta.com. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
2. Balmer, Crispian; Elgood, Gils (13 January 2020). "Robert Abela sworn in as Malta's new prime minister". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.