Dom Mintoff
| Dom Mintoff | |
|---|---|
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| 8th Prime Minister of Malta | |
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In office 21 June 1971 – 22 December 1984 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| President |
Anthony Mamo Anton Buttigieg Albert Hyzler (Acting) Agatha Barbara |
| Governor-General |
Maurice Henry Dorman Anthony Mamo |
| Preceded by | Giorgio Borg Olivier |
| Succeeded by | Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici |
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In office 11 March 1955 – 26 April 1958 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Robert Laycock |
| Preceded by | Giorgio Borg Olivier |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 August 1916 Bormla, Malta |
| Died | 20 August 2012 (aged 96) Tarxien, Malta |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse(s) | Moyra de Vere Bentinck (1947–1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Dominic "Dom" Mintoff (Maltese: Duminku Mintoff; often called il-Perit, "the Architect"; 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012) was a Maltese politician, journalist, and architect 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 was notable due to the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state.
Mintoff was born in Bormla. He attended a seminary before enrolling at the University of Malta. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and, later, as an architect and civil engineer (1937). That same year he received a Rhodes Scholarship and pursued his studies at Hertford College, Oxford, where he received a Masters in Science and Engineering in 1939.
After a brief stint as an official of the Bormla Labour Party club, Mintoff was Labour's Secretary General between 1935 and 1945 (resigning briefly to pursue his studies abroad). He was first elected to public office in 1945 to the Government Council. In the same year, Mintoff was elected Deputy Leader of the Party with a wide margin that placed him in an indisputable position as the successor, if not a challenger, to the Leader Paul Boffa. After Labour's victory at the polls in 1947, Mintoff was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction, overseeing large post-War public projects.
Mintoff's strong position and ambition led to a series of Cabinet crises. A split in the Labour Party came about when Boffa, who was ready for compromise and moderation with the colonial authorities, resigned and formed the Malta Workers Party and Mintoff refounded the Labour Party as the "Malta Labour Party" of which he assumed leadership. The split resulted in the weakening of both parties and it was not until 1955 after remaining out of government for three consecutive legislatures, that the Labour Party was elected in office with Mintoff as Prime Minister. This government's main political platform – integration with the UK – led to a deterioration of the Party's relations with the Catholic Church, leading to interdiction by the Church. The Labour Party lost the subsequent two elections in 1962 and 1966 and boycotted the Independence celebrations in 1964.
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