Lawrence Gonzi
Lawrence Gonzi Edward Fenech Adami | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Edwin Grech |
Succeeded by | Dolores Cristina |
Speaker of the House of Representatives | |
In office October 1988 – September 1996 | |
Preceded by | Jimmy Farrugia |
Succeeded by | Myriam Spiteri Debono |
Personal details | |
Born | Valletta, British Malta | 1 July 1953
Political party | Nationalist |
Spouse | Catherine Gonzi née Callus[1] |
Children | 3 |
Signature | |
Lawrence Gonzi
Taking over as prime minister from
Gonzi stressed the need to ensure
Family and early life
Lawrence Gonzi was born on 1 July 1953, in
He began his education at the Archbishop's Seminary in
He is married to Catherine "Kate" Gonzi, née Callus. The couple have three children (David, Mikela and Paul), five grandchildren and live in
Political career
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The political and religious turmoil in Malta during the 1980s moved him to get involved in local politics.
During his term as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gonzi overhauled the methods with which Parliament operated, including the set up of its permanent committees. He also introduced new procedures with regards to the timing of debates between the two sides of the House. His tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives exposed his modest but firm bearing, which calming fraying tempers in difficult moments for the house.[15]
Member of Parliament
Gonzi contested the October 1996 general elections and was elected to Parliament on 29 October 1996.[14] In November 1996, he was appointed as Whip for the Opposition, secretary to the Opposition Parliamentary Group, and Shadow Minister for Social Policy. The following year, he was elected Secretary General of the Nationalist Party. After the Nationalist Party won the 1998 election, Gonzi was appointed Minister for Social Policy and Leader of the House of Representatives on 8 September 1998.[14] He also served as deputy prime minister from May 1999 to March 2004.[14]
His negotiating skills and business acumen helped in restructuring the local economy. As Minister for Social Policy, he was driving force behind many social and economic reforms including two milestones which revolutionised social dialogue and
Gonzi was re-elected in the 2003 election, and appointed as deputy prime minister and Minister for Social Policy on 15 April 2003.[14]
Prime Minister
Following the resignation of Eddie Fenech Adami as party leader, a party leadership contest was held in March 2004. Nominations opened for a week on 9 February. Gonzi, John Dalli and Louis Galea submitted their nominations, with the first round of elections held on 28 February.[17] Gonzi obtained 508 party delegate votes (59.3 percent), Dalli polled 219 votes (25.3 percent) and Galea received 133 (15.4 percent). Galea was eliminated after placing third, and Dalli withdrew his candidature, leaving Gonzi to face the second round of voting alone on 3 March. Lawrence Gonzi was elected leader, obtaining 808 of the 859 votes cast, securing 94.1 per cent of the vote.[17]
Lawrence Gonzi was appointed prime minister and Minister of Finance on 23 March 2004.[14] George W. Bush, Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and Pope John Paul II, and many other foreign leaders,[18] congratulated Lawrence Gonzi on his new, important responsibilities at a critical time in Malta's history.[19] Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and as prime minister, Gonzi attended the EU enlargement official ceremony which took place in Dublin, Ireland, where the Maltese flag was hoisted for the first time alongside those of the other member states.
Gonzi, in his responsibility for the finance portfolio, successfully managed the process to achieve the
The first priority of Gonzi's government was to move the country forward, reforming different sectors of the economy such as the restructuring of Air Malta, the Malta shipyards, the Gozo Channel shipping line, public transport and others.[21] These became a priority following Malta's accession to the EU, economic reform became crucial to the country's development. Even if unpopular, Gonzi also pushed for a reform of the pension system, to guarantee its future sustainability.[21] Despite the cost to his party and personal popularity, Lawrence Gonzi continued to push through these reforms, trying to ensure Malta took the best advantage of EU funding available to new member states.[11]
Financial crisis and 2008 re-election
Gonzi was re-elected Prime Minister on 8 March 2008, in a
Gonzi's second government focused on crucial aspects of the Maltese economy, dealing with the repercussions of the
Throughout his administration as prime minister, the restructuring of the Maltese economy was accelerated; Malta became an attractive location for foreign direct investment in financial services, information technology, maritime and aviation hubs and high value-added manufacturing clusters.[26]
Libya policy
The
Lawrence Gonzi also made it clear, back in March 2011, that Gaddafi's exit from Libya was "inevitable", a message he reiterated in early April. Gonzi told the visiting Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister, Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi, that Gaddafi and his family "must go", and the Libyan people's wish for democracy should be respected. Malta's support for the Libyan revolution was appreciated by the country's new rulers, and the chairman of the
Backbench rebellion and 2013 election
The weak, one seat majority of the second Gonzi administration was open to internal divisions and backbencher rebellions.
In another crisis,
Within half an hour of the start of the vote counting, Gonzi conceded defeat[41] and held a press conference in which he expressed his desire to resign from the PN leadership.[42] Gonzi shouldered "total and complete responsibility" for the electoral defeat,[43] later admitting that mistakes were made "in attitude, arrogance" by his second cabinet. However he insisted that the results achieved by Malta, as an exception to the rest of the EU, were down to his cabinet's performance in the midst of a backbench rebellion.[23] His detractors criticised his lack of resolve in confronting the three dissident backbenchers, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Franco Debono and Jesmond Mugliett.[44] Additionally, Gonzi's principled unwillingness to vote in favour of the introduction of divorce in Parliament, following its approval by the electorate, proved unpopular.[45] His conscientious vote against divorce, however, did not stop him from ensuring there were enough votes on both sides of the House for its ultimate approval.[46]
Gonzi became Leader of the Opposition on 20 March 2013, resigning from this post on 13 May 2013.[14] He was succeeded by Simon Busuttil. Lawrence Gonzi resigned from parliament on 17 July 2013, saying that his seat ought be occupied by someone "who can give the electorate all his energy".[47] Gonzi has since retired from active political life.[48] However, he attends and has given guest lectures in a number of universities and various conferences.[49][50][51] His recollections of the critical decisions leading up to Malta's break with Gaddafi were published as a memoir in December 2013.[52] Gonzi also led the Commonwealth Observer Group for the 2013 Maldivian presidential election.[53][54]
Honours
National Honours
- Malta:
- Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (2004) by right as a Prime Minister of Malta
Foreign Honours
- United Kingdom:
- Honorary Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire[55] (2005)
- Spain:
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic[56][57] (2009)
See also
References
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- ^ a b "Lawrence Gonzi - a tribute to a gentleman". The Malta Independent. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
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- ^ Camilleri, Joe (16 December 2012). "We're all different, we're all equal". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Borg, Annaliza (11 February 2013). "Kate Gonzi: The woman behind the man". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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- ^ a b Vella, Gejtu (23 July 2013). "Lawrence Gonzi, cum laude". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Mapping out the contest". 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "Gonzi congratulated". Times of Malta. 2 April 2004. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2004.
- ^ "Pope, Bush, Annan congratulate Fenech Adami, Gonzi". MaltaMedia. 23 April 2004. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Mizzi, Daniel (17 July 2013). "Lawrence Gonzi resigns from Parliament". di-ve.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ a b Spiteri Paris, Angele (14 June 2004). "We Expected it – Lawrence Gonzi". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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- ^ a b c Vella, Matthew (19 August 2013). "Regrets, I've had a few…". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "Remarks by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council following his meeting with Prime Minister of Malta, Lawrence Gonzi" (PDF). Council of the European Union. 13 April 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Peregin, Christian (10 January 2013). "Merkel lauds Malta's 'excellent' economy". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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- ^ Scicluna, Chris (1 March 2011). "Malta refuses to return Libyan fighter - PM". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- ^ "Juncker writes foreword to second edition of Gonzi's recollections". Times of Malta. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
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- ^ Christopher Scicluna. "Video: Angry Franco Debono says he is building a new democracy". timesofmalta.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
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- ^ "PM says he will vote No on divorce in parliament". Times of Malta. 13 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Dalli, Miriam (5 June 2011). "Gonzi stands by 'free vote' but says divorce bill will pass". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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- ^ Casa, David (27 July 2013). "Lawrence Gonzi retires from politics". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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