Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, (born 8 November 1932) is a Maltese politician and was the fifth

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 1994 to 1999.

Early life, education, and family

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici was born 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 ...

as the son of Professor Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, and his wife, Maria (née Ross). He was educated at the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

and the Royal University of Malta. He graduated as a

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 1952 and as a

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 1955. As a lawyer, he has practised in all the Law Courts of Malta. On 3 May 1959, he married Gemma (née Bianco); the couple has three childrenː Carmelo, Anton and Jeanne-Pia.Profile of Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici
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Entry to politics

Following in his father's footsteps, he contested the

General Elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in the interests of the Nationalist Party in 1966. He was elected from the 2nd District which comprised

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 ...

Senglea Senglea ( mt, L-Isla ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittorios ...

Kalkara Kalkara ( mt, Il-Kalkara) is a village in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,014 as of March 2014. The name is derived from the Latin word for lime (Calce), and it is believed that there was a lime kiln present there sin ...

and

Fgura Fgura ( mt, Il-Fgura, it, Figura) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a population of 13,066 as of 2021. Its northern fringes are bordered by the Cottonera Lines of fortifications while it merges with the towns of Żabbar to ...

. He was re-elected in all subsequent General Elections that he contested. For fifteen years (1972–1987) he was the Nationalist Party's spokesman for Education. In 1977 he was also elected President of the Party's General and Administrative Councils.

Cabinet Member

In 1987 the Nationalist Party was elected to Government and Bonnici was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Education. His portfolio included Education, Environment, Broadcasting, Culture, Youth, Museums and Sport. In 1990 he became Minister of Education and the Interior. Following the 1992 elections Mifsud Bonnici was appointed Minister of Education and Human Resources. As a Member of Parliament, he took an active interest in the updating of Malta's legislation. He was a member of numerous Select Committees including the Committee set up to draft the Constitutional changes that declared Malta a Republic. As a Minister, he worked on the drafting of important legislation such as the ''Education Act'', the ''Environment Act'', the ''National Archives Act'' and the ''

Occupational Health and Safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

Promotion Act''. He made a strong effort to improve the standards at public schools.

Presidency

He was inaugurated as President of Malta on 4 April 1994, and served his term in full, ending five years later to the day. He was succeeded by

Guido de Marco Guido de Marco, (22 July 1931 – 12 August 2010) was a Maltese politician, who served as the sixth president of Malta from 1999 to 2004. A noted statesman and lawmaker, de Marco also served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interi ...

in 1999.

Writings

Dr. Mifsud Bonnici is a prolific writer. His articles have appeared in various newspapers; some were published in two books: ''Il-Linja t-Tajba - L-Aħjar Artikli ta' Dottor Ugo Mifsud Bonnici'' and ''Biex il-Futur Reġa' Beda''. He also spent some years as editor of a literary magazine ''Malta Letterarja''.Profile, 3
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Honours

National Honours

* : Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1994) ''"by right as a President of Malta"''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud Bonnici, Ugo 1932 births Living people Presidents of Malta Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians Maltese Roman Catholics Companions of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta) People from Cospicua 20th-century Maltese politicians