Malta - Floriana - Triq Sarria - The Mall 26 ies

Sir Adrian "Adriano" Dingli (8 October 1817 – 25 November 1900) was Chief Justice of Malta.

Life

He was born in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

, the son of Sir Paolo Dingli, a lawyer who became President of the Court of Appeal.Maltese Commemorative Coins - The Central Bank of Malta
He studied at the Bishop's Seminary at Mdina and read Law at Malta University, obtaining a doctorate in law in 1836 aged 19. He furthered his knowledge of languages and law in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and then practised as an advocate. Following the granting to Malta of the Constitution of 1849 Sir Adrian was one of the eight Maltese members elected to the Council of Government to represent the people. He was elected to represent the people of Gozo. In 1852 he established the Malta Militia. He was appointed

Crown Advocate Crown advocate is a title used in some former British colonies (and until recently in Britain) for a government prosecutor. In former British Colonies and certain British extraterritorial courts the title is (or was) used by the senior government ...

(1854) and in this capacity he effected the consolidation of the Civil Laws. He was also the Governor's consultant and the Government's administrator. He promoted the enlargement of the

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, a ...

and the building of the Market and the Royal Theatre in Valletta and the Lunatic Asylum in H’Attard. In 1862 he went to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

to negotiate an

extradition treaty Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. During his time as Crown Advocate he laid down juridical doctrine, particularly in the sphere of civil law, by drafting and promulgating in 1868 and 1873 Malta’s Civil Laws in codified form. In 1880 he was elevated to the highest judicial office in Malta by being appointed President of the Court of Appeal, with the title of Chief Justice which had been abolished forty years earlier. He represented both the local and the Imperial Government on missions abroad on several occasions, including

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

where the Cypriots requested that he be appointed Civil High Commissioner. He became the de facto Governor of Malta. In all these activities, and on the frequent occasions when his advice was sought by the Government, his patriotic spirit and deep sense of social welfare were evident. Dingli was married twice; firstly to Catherine Mamo-Mompalao (died 1857), and secondly to Amy Mildred Charlton. Sir Adrian Dingli died on 25 November 1900, aged 83. A monument bearing his bronze bust by

Antonio Sciortino Antonio Sciortino ( Ħaż-Żebbuġ; 25 January 1879 – 10 August 1947) was a Maltese artist, considered Malta’s foremost sculptor of the twentieth century. His career unfolded almost entirely in Rome, where he resided from 1900 till 1936.Sand ...

was erected in the Mall,

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

, and unveiled by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1907. Various streets, squares and schools around Malta carry Adrian Dingli's name, and in 2003 the Central Bank of Malta issued a commemorative coin depicting a portrait of Sir Adrian, the third in its Distinguished Maltese Personalities Series.

Honours

He was awarded the following honours : * Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB, 1859) * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG, 1860) * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG, 1868)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dingli, Adrian 1817 births 1900 deaths Chief justices of Malta Companions of the Order of the Bath Heidelberg University alumni Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century Maltese judges Maltese knights People from Valletta University of Bologna alumni University of Paris alumni Crown Colony of Malta judges Maltese expatriates in Italy Maltese expatriates in France