Carmelo "Carm" Mifsud Bonnici (born 17 February 1960) is a Maltese politician who has served in a number of Ministerial posts in the

Government of Malta A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Background, education and family

Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, the son of former President

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, (born 8 November 1932) is a Maltese politician and was the fifth president of Malta from 1994 to 1999. Early life, education, and family Ugo Mifsud Bonnici was born in Cospicua as the son of Professor Carmelo Mifsud Bonnic ...

, was born in

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 ...

on 17 February 1960. He was educated at St. Aloysius' College, Birkirkara, then at De La Salle College in

Cospicua Cospicua ( mt, Bormla ), also known by its titles Città Cospicua or Civitas Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities, located within the Gran ...

. Bonnici is a distant relative of former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Prime Minister

Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, (17 July 19335 November 2022) was a Maltese politician who served as Prime Minister of Malta from December 1984 to May 1987.

. During his student days, Mifsud Bonnici occupied the post of President of the MKSU as a university student and was active in the Nationalist Party Youth Movement (MŻPN) as from 1982, occupying different posts in the executive of the said movement. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1984 as Doctor of Laws. When graduating, as a lawyer, he practiced in criminal, civil and commercial fields. At present, he is a senior lecturer in Roman Law at the University of Malta.

Family

He is married to Sandra (née Gatt); the couple has three children.

Early political career

Mifsud Bonnici was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 as a member of the Nationalist Party. He was appointed by parliament as the Chairman of Committees in the same year and was a permanent member of a number of other committees. Between October 2001 and March 2003 he served as a board member of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, being re-elected to the House of Representatives in 2003.

Cabinet appointments

In April 2003, Carm Mifsud Bonnici was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs. Following the swearing-in of

Lawrence Gonzi Lawrence Gonzi, (born 1 July 1953) is a Maltese politician, retired Nationalist politician and lawyer, who served for twenty-five years in various critical roles in Maltese politics. Gonzi was Prime Minister of Malta from 2004 to 2013, and ...

as Prime Minister and the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle in March 2004, he was re-confirmed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs. During this period he drove the implementation of several reforms and introduction of new concepts in the Maltese judicial system. After the March 2008 general election, Mifsud Bonnici was appointed as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs. His portfolio includes the responsibility for the Courts of Justice, the Attorney General's Office, the Police Corps, Immigration, Airport Security, Correctional Services, Civil Protection and Data Protection. In February 2009, Mifsud Bonnici unveiled the White Paper on Restorative Justice which is intended to serve as a basis for public discussion for a deep reform in Malta's penal system. It proposes the introduction of a number of new concepts, including parole, which is as yet unavailable in Malta. In January 2012 he was made Minister for Home and Parliamentary Affairs which included the role of Leader of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. However, he resigned as Minister the following 30 May after an Opposition motion of no confidence in him was carried, which was supported by all

-Parliamentarians along with Nationalist

Franco Debono Franco Debono (born 9 March 1974) is a Maltese criminal trial lawyer and former Nationalist member of Parliament. In 1998, while still a university law student, he contested the general election on the Nationalist Party ticket and received 4 ...

Literary works

Carm Mifsud Bonnici is the author of four publications: ''Żewg Minuti Flimkien'' (1998), ''Il-Prinċipji Hemm Jibqgħu'' (2003), ''Sens u Sustanza'' (2008) and ''Il-Politika tas-Sewwa'' (2013). He also writes weekly columns for the Sunday papers ''Il-Mument'' and ''Illum''.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud Bonnici, Carmelo 1960 births Living people Members of the House of Representatives of Malta Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians People from Floriana Children of presidents 20th-century Maltese politicians 21st-century Maltese politicians