Joseph Howard,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1862 – 20 May 1925) was the first

Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The Pr ...

, holding this office from 1921 to 1923.Office of the Prime Minister of Malta
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Biography

Howard was born in Valletta in 1862. He studied at the Lyceum and abroad, also serving at the French Military academy. Upon return to Malta, he had a career in business in the

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

industry, up to being appointed director of Cousis Cigarettes. From 1914 to 1925 he served as consul of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in Malta and President of the Chamber of Commerce. He also chaired the ''Società dell'Arte, Manifattura e Commercio'' and ''La Società Filarmonica La Valette''. In 1912 Malta's ''Comitato Patriottico'' appointed him as member of the Council of Government. He chaired the Government emigration committee, and in 1919 headed the delegation which discussed the employment of Maltese emigrants with the French authorities. At the 1921 elections Howard joined Msg. Ignazio Panzavecchia's

Maltese Political Union The Maltese Political Union ( it, Unione Politica Maltese, mt, Unjoni Politika Maltija) was a political party in Malta. History The party was established in 1920 by a merger of the Malta Political Association and the Patriotic Committee.Vincent ...

(''Unjoni Politika Maltija'', UPM) and was elected Senator in the first Maltese Parliament. With 14 seats, UPM was the first party, but short of a majority. Governor

Lord Plumer Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, (13 March 1857 – 16 July 1932) was a senior British Army officer of the First World War. After commanding V Corps at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, he took command ...

offered the premiership to Howard, as Panzavecchia could not accept it. Howard led the first autonomous Maltese government from 1921 to 1923 with the support of the Malta Labour Party, which held 7 seats. According to Rudolf, the appointment of Howard was deemed unusual, as he held personal views closer to the rival Constitutional Party, which also held 7 seats.Uwe Jens Rudolf, ''Historical Dictionary of Malta''
/ref> As a first act in government, Howard proclaimed

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

as the official religion of the country (Religion of Malta Declaration Act). His capacity to conduct politics were linked to his administrative experience and sense of tolerance, being seen as a true gentleman. Howard was also made Officer of the British Empire (OBE). He died aged 63 in 1925. During his premiership mandate, Joseph Muscat paid yearly tribute to Howard on the day of his birth from 2015 to 2018. The green areas separating

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...

from

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

have been named Howard Gardens.Maltese gardens
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Joseph 1862 births 1925 deaths Prime Ministers of Malta Maltese Political Union politicians People from Valletta 20th-century Maltese politicians Crown Colony of Malta people

Biography

See also

References