Sir Paul Boffa,

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 ...

(30 June 1890 – 6 July 1962) was a Maltese

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(1947–1950) who took office after self-rule was reinstated by the British colonial authority following the end of World War II.Office of the Prime Minister
/ref>Historical Dictionary of Malta
by Uwe Jens Rudolf, 2018

Life

Born in

Vittoriosa Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

on 30 June 1890, Paul Boffa was educated at the Lyceum and at 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 ...

from where he graduated as a medical doctor in 1912. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served with the Royal Medical Corps in Malta, Salonika and on hospital ships. After the war he set up in private practice in Paola. In 1921, he married Genoveffa Cecy and had two sons and two daughters: Salvino (a.k.a. Vivi), Hilda, Joseph (a.k.a. Profs), Carmelina (a.k.a. Melina). He died at his residence in

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment *Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consisting of two sisters born i ...

and is buried at the All Souls Cemetery in

Tarxien Tarxien ( mt, Ħal Tarxien) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Its population stood at 8583 in March 2014. The town is most notable for the Tarxien Temples, a megalithic temple complex which is among the oldest freestanding structur ...

. Former King George V (KGV) Hospital - a memorial to the men of the Merchant Navy who died in World War 1 - was renamed to Sir Paul Boffa Hospital in 1976.

Politics

Paul Boffa entered politics when Malta was granted self-government in 1921 and joined the Labour Party in 1923. He was returned to Legislative Assembly under the Amery-Milner Constitution in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and elected Leader of the Labour Party in 1927. The Labour and the

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

Parties formed an electoral agreement (known as the "Compact") for the 1927 elections. Thanks to this the Constitutional Party was able to form a government with the support of Labour although this was not a coalition in the true sense of the word as Labour refused to assume any ministerial portfolios. In 1932 Boffa was the only Labour Party candidate elected to the Legislative Assembly until it was dissolved in 1933. He was nominated as a member of the Executive Council from 1936 to 1939 and was elected, again as the sole Labour representative, to the Council of Government in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. During the

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 opposin ...

, Boffa served with distinction as district Commissioner and ARP Medical Officer in the

Cottonera The Three Cities ( mt, It-Tlett Ibliet) is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Birgu, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Vittoriosa, which has existed since prior to the Middle A ...

and

Luqa Luqa ( mt, Ħal Luqa, , ) is a town located in the Southern Region of Malta, 4.3 km away from the capital Valletta. With a population of 5,945 as of March 2014, it is a small but densely populated settlement which is typical of Malta's old ...

areas. He was awarded the

in 1941.

In the 1945 elections, Boffa was again elected in the Labour Party's interests. He reached the peak of his political career in November 1947, when he became the first Labour

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Sir Paul Boffa: The doctor and politician
- Times of Malta leading a majority government of 24 Labour members. In 1949, following the Labour Party's ultimatum to Britain concerning financial help, the Labour Party split up; but Boffa continued as Prime Minister. He later founded and led the Malta Workers' Party (MWP). The MWP lost the 1950 Elections. Boffa was re-elected to the legislature in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and again in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

. Though he never again held the Prime Minister's office, he joined a coalition government with the Nationalist Party led by

Giorgio Borġ Olivier Giorgio Borg Olivier, ( mt, Ġorġ Borg Olivier) (5 July 1911 – 29 October 1980) was a Maltese statesman and leading politician. He twice served as Prime Minister of Malta (1950–55 and 1962–71) as the Leader of the Nationalist Party. H ...

. In this cabinet, Boffa assumed the portfolio of Health and Social Services. The MWP did not contest the 1955 elections and in that year, he resigned from parliament for health reasons. He nonetheless retained an interest in politics, and was nominated Honorary President of the

Christian Workers' Party The Christian Workers' Party ( mt, Partit tal-Ħaddiema Nsara; ''CWP'') was a political party in Malta during the 1960s. Creation The party was established in 1961 by Toni Pellegrini, a former secretary general of the Labour Party.Vincent E McH ...

(CWP). Boffa was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1956 New Year's Honours List in recognition of distinguished public services. He was also awarded the 1914-18 Star, the General Service Medal, the Victory Medal, the Coronation Medal and the Defence Medal. Boffa was instrumental in obtaining recognition of the Maltese language in the law courts and the introduction of compulsory

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

and old-age

pensions A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

as well as the granting of the vote to women.

References

External links

Official biography
(Malta Department of Information) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boffa, Paul 1890 births 1962 deaths Prime Ministers of Malta Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire Labour Party (Malta) politicians Maltese knights People from Birgu Politicians awarded knighthoods Malta Workers Party politicians Leaders of political parties in Malta University of Malta alumni 20th-century Maltese politicians

Life

Politics

See also

References

External links