Alfred Sant is a
MalteseMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
politician. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as
Prime Minister of MaltaThe Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...
between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008.
Alfred Santa is also a member of the
Institute for Cultural DiplomacyThe Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is an international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Berlin. Founded in 1999 by Mark Donfried, its activities focus on promoting and developing the field of cultural diplomacy by conducting research, initiatives and programs, holding...
advisory board.
Education
Sant graduated from the
University of MaltaThe University of Malta is the highest educational institution in Malta Europe and is one of the most respected universities in Europe. The University offers undergraduate Bachelor's Degrees, postgraduate Master's Degrees and postgraduate Doctorates .-History:The University of Malta was founded in...
as Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics in 1967 and as Master of Science in Physics in the following year. He studied public administration in 1970 at Institut International d'Administration Publique at the
École Nationale d'AdministrationThe École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...
(ENA) in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and bought a Master of Business Management (with honors) from Boston University Graduate School of Management (specialising in international business and business policy) and a Doctor of Business Administration from
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Career
Sant served as Second, and then First Secretary at the Malta Mission to the European Communities in Brussels between 1970 and 1975 when he resigned to undertake full-time studies in the USA. Between 1977 and 1978 on his return to Malta Sant served as advisor on general and financial management at the Ministry of Parastatal and People's Industries and between 1978 and 1980 he served as the Managing Director of Medina Consulting Group. Sant returned to the public sector in 1980 as Executive Deputy Chairman with the Malta Development Corporation.
Politics
Sant's first political post with the Labour Party was as chairman of its Department of Information (1982–92). During this time he also served as President of the Party (1984–88). He served a stint as the editor of the Party weekly Il-Ħelsien (1987–88).
Sant first stood for election in 1987; although he was unsuccessful, he was co-opted to Parliament later that year. In 1992, following the resignation of
Karmenu Mifsud BonniciCarmelo Bonnici was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987. He is a member of the Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Malta and is known to be an expert in industrial relations law.-Early politics:Mifsud Bonnici was from a family that staunchly supported the Partit...
, he was elected as Party leader.
22-month government (1996-98)
The Labour Party (PL) won the October 1996 elections under Sant who successfully campaigned for the removal of the
Value Added TaxA value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
(VAT) that had been introduced in 1995. A year after taking office the PL under Sant replaced VAT by a similar
indirect taxThe term indirect tax has more than one meaning.In the colloquial sense, an indirect tax is a tax collected by an intermediary from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax...
, the Customs and Excise Tax (CET).
Alfred Sant's tenure as Prime Minister lasted only 22 months. Enjoying only a one-seat majority the Government was vulnerable to threats from former Prime Minister and Labour leader
Dom MintoffDom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
. Things came to a head in the summer of 1998 when a row with Mintoff over a coastal concession to a private company resulted in Government being defeated over the motion transferring the land. Sant felt that, in the circumstances, the government's parliamentary majority was compromised and asked the President to dissolve the House. In the subsequent elections held in September 1998 the Labour Party was defeated and returned into opposition.
2003 Referendum and election
Sant campaigned heavily against Malta's
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership. During the run-up to the March 2003 referendum, Sant was also critical of what he called a "sham referendum" insisting that a general election alone would settle the EU membership issue. He called on Labour supporters to either vote No, abstain or invalidate their vote. He himself abstained.
The Yes side won the referendum by a 54% to 46% margin but Sant claimed to have won the referendum as the Yes vote was less than half of registered voters. In view of the lack of consensus on the interpretation of the result, Prime Minister
Eddie Fenech AdamiEdward “Eddie” Fenech Adami is a Maltese politician who was Prime Minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996 and again from 1998 until 2004...
asked the President to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections. These were held in April 2003 and the Labour Party was again defeated at the polls.
Sant tendered his resignation as party leader. He did, however, stand for election for Party leader again which was contested by two other candidates for the post,
John Attard MontaltoJohn Attard Montalto is a Maltese politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004. He is a member of the Labour Party, which is part of the Party of European Socialists...
and
Angelo FarrugiaAngelo "Anġlu" Farrugia is a Maltese politician, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for work, workers' rights and parliamentary affairs.- Family :...
. Sant was re-elected party leader with 66% of votes cast by Labour Party delegates and returned to lead the Party.
2008 general election
The Labour Party, spearheaded by Sant, presented a new programme
Pjan għal bidu ġdid (Plan for a new beginning) and called for
Bżonn ta' Bidla (The need for a Change) after the 20 years (save for his brief stint from 1996 to 1998) of
Partit NazzjonalistaThe Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
government. The electoral-programme contained references to overhauls in the educational system (which proved to be extremely controversial), reduction of an electricity
surchargeA surcharge may mean:*an extra fee added onto another fee or charge** Fuel surcharge, sky freight charges which represents additions due to jet fuel prices.** Bunker adjustment factor, sea freight charges which represents additions due to oil prices....
by half and tax holidays on overtime work.
Sant was defeated for the third consecutive time, this time by
Lawrence GonziLawrence Gonzi is a Maltese politician who has been Prime Minister of Malta since 2004. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta from 1988 to 1996, Minister of Social Policy from 1998 to 1999, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004...
(Partit Nazzjonalista) in the
2008 general electionThe latest Maltese general election for the renewal of the House of Representatives of Malta was held on March 8, 2008. The incumbent ruling party the Christian democratic Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, narrowly won over the social democratic Malta Labour Party led by...
. This election was lost by the PL on a slim margin of 1580 votes. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as leader of the Labour Party on 10 March 2008, and as Leader of the Opposition on 5 June 2008; he was succeeded as PL leader by
Joseph MuscatJoseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who has been leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta since 2008.- Education :...
and as Leader of the Opposition by Dr
Charles MangionCharles Mangion is a Maltese politician. A Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives of Malta since 1987, he served in the government as Minister of Justice and Local Government from 1996 to 1998. He was briefly Leader of the Opposition in 2008.- Personal life and family :Mangion was...
. Sant retained his Parliamentary seat.
Literary works and journalism
Dr Sant is an established novelist, short story writer and playwright. His published works include the collected plays
Min Hu Evelyn Costa? (1979),
Fid-Dell tal-Katidral (1994) and
Qabel Tiftaħ l-Inkjesta (1999); the short story collections
Kwart ta' Mija (1995) and
Pupu fil-Baħar (2009); and the novels
L-Ewwel Weraq tal-Bajtar (1968),
Bejgħ u Xiri (1981),
Silġ fuq Kemmuna (1982),
La Bidu, La Tmiem (2001) and
L-Għalqa tal-Iskarjota (2009). His non-fiction works include the collection of political essays
L-Impenn għall-Bidla (1986), the political chronicle
It-28 ta' April 1958 (1988),
Malta's European Challenge (1995), the autobiographical
Confessions of a European Maltese (2003) and
Is-Soċjaliżmu fi Żminijietna (2004).
Sant was also the editor of
Tomorrow, a monthly English-language magazine (1982–1985), and of
Society, a quarterly opinion magazine, apart from authoring numerous articles. Sant also contributed regularly to the
General Workers' UnionThe General Workers' Union is a national trade union center in Malta.The GWU was founded in 1943 and has been politically identified with the Labour Party as the trade union is the major left-wing trade union in Malta...
's Sunday Maltese-language newspaper
It-Torċa until his Party's defeat at the polls in March 2008.
Illness
In December 2007 Sant was admitted to hospital where, it was later announced, he was treated for colon cancer. In January 2008 it was announced in a Labour Party conference that Alfred Sant was recovering well from surgery and was fit to remain leader of the PL.
See also
- Prime Minister of Malta
The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...
- List of Prime Ministers of Malta
- Frans Sammut
Frans Sammut was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.-Life:Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta. He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius' College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta Rome University and Perugia University Frans Sammut (November 19, 1945 –...
(2008): Alfred Sant: Il-Vizjoni ghall-Bidla