Anton Buttigieg, ( mt, Anton Buttiġieġ ; 19 February 1912 – 5 May 1983)
Profile of Anton Buttigieg
/ref> was a Maltese political figure
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
. He served as the second president of Malta
The president of Malta ( mt, President ta' Malta) is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The President is indirectly elected by the House of Representatives of Malta, which appoints the president for a five-year term and requires them to ...
from 1976 until 1981.
Early life
Anton Buttigieg was born in Qala, Gozo, on 19 February 1912, the third child of Salvatore and Concetta (née Falzon) Buttigieg. He was educated at the Government Primary School, Qala (from 1916 to 1922), the Gozo Seminary (from 1923 to 1927), St Aloysius' College Malta (from 1928 to 1930) and the University of Malta
The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...
, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in 1934, and Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...
in 1940.
Marriages
In 1944 he married Censina and had three children – John, Rose and Emanuel. She then died.
In 1953 he married Connie Scicluna, who also predeceased him.
In 1975, he married, lastly, to Margery Patterson.
Career
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(1942–1944), he served in the Maltese Police Force as an Inspector, and after he practised the law. In 1955, he also served as an acting Magistrate. He was the law reporter and leader writer of the ''Times of Malta
The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...
'' from 1946 to 1948, and the Editor of '' The Voice of Malta'' from 1959 to 1970.
Political life
He embarked on a political career and was first elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Labour Party in 1955. He was re-elected in all subsequent elections and held his seat in Parliament up to the time of his resignation in October 1976. From 1959 to 1961 he was President of the Malta Labour Party
The Labour Party ( mt, Partit Laburista, PL), formerly known as the Malta Labour Party ( mt, Partit tal-Ħaddiema, MLP), is one of the two major political parties in Malta, along with the Nationalist Party. It sits on the centre-left of the p ...
and from 1962 to 1976 its Deputy Leader. When the present administration took office in 1971, he served his country as Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
and Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
He was a delegate to the Malta Constitutional Conferences held in London in 1958 and in 1964. He was also a representative to the Consultative Assembly in the Council of Europe (1967–1971), where he was elected vice-president (1967–1968). In October 1976 he resigned from the House of Representatives.
Presidency
On 27 December 1976, he was elected as the second President of Malta
The president of Malta ( mt, President ta' Malta) is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The President is indirectly elected by the House of Representatives of Malta, which appoints the president for a five-year term and requires them to ...
to replace Sir Anthony Mamo
Sir Anthony Joseph Mamo, (9 January 1909 – 1 May 2008) was the first president of Malta and previously served as the last Governor-General of the State of Malta before the country became a republic. He was also the first Maltese citiz ...
.
Poetry
Buttigieg also distinguished himself in the field of literature. During his undergraduate days he was one of the founder members of the 'Għaqda tal-Malti – Università' (26 January 1931). He was a Member of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti (Academy of the Maltese Language).
Awards
* In 1971 he won First Prize for Poetry by the Maltese government.
* In 1972 he won the Ġuzé Muscat Azzopardi prize for poetry.
* In 1975 the Circolo Culturale Rhegium Julii of Reggio Calabria awarded him with a silver plaque for his poetry.
* In 1977 he won the International Prize of Mediterranean Culture for Poetry, awarded by the Centro di Cultura Mediterranea of Palermo.
* In 1979 he was awarded First Prize and a Special Diploma for Poetry in the First Category by the Centro Culturale Artistico Letterario – Città di Brindisi.
* In 1979 he won the Malta Literary Award's 1st prize for the first volume of his auto-biography ''Toni tal-Baħri'' (''Toni, the Seaman's Son'', published 1978).
Publications
Lyrical poetry
* ''Mill-Gallarija ta' Żgħożiti'' (''From the Balcony of my Youth''; 1949)
* ''Fanali bil-Lejl'' (''Lamps in the Night''; 1949)
* ''Fl-Arena'' (''In the Arena''; 1970)
* ''Ballati Maltin'' (''Maltese Ballads''; 1973)
* ''Il Mare di Malta'' (''The Sea of Malta'', a selection of poems written in Italian in 1974)
* ''Il-Għanja tas-Sittin'' (''The Song of the Sixty Year Old''; 1975)
* ''The Lamplighter'' - poems translated into English (1977)
* ''Qabs el Mosbah'' - poems translated into Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
(1978)
* ''Poeżiji Miġbura – L-ewwel Volum'': the first two books, ''From the Balcony of my Youth'' and ''Lamps in the Night'' were published in 1978 in one volume under the title ''Collected Poems''
Humorous poetry
* ''Ejjew nidħku ftit'' (''Let us laugh a little''; 1963)
* ''Ejjew nidħku ftit ieħor'' (''Let us laugh a little more''; 1966)
Haiku and tanka
* ''Il-Muża bil-Kimono'' (''The Muse in Kimono''); this was translated both into both Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
and English in 1968
References
External links
www.antonbuttigieg.com
- with all the literary works of Anton Buttigieg.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttigieg, Anton
1912 births
1983 deaths
Presidents of Malta
People from Qala, Malta
University of Malta alumni
Maltese male poets
Labour Party (Malta) politicians
Maltese police officers
Maltese Roman Catholics
Deputy Prime Ministers of Malta
20th-century Maltese poets
20th-century male writers
Haiku poets
20th-century Maltese politicians