Anton Buttigieg


Anton Buttigieg, was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second President of Malta from 1976 until 1981.

Early life

Anton Buttigieg was born in Qala, Gozo, on 19 February 1912, the third child of Salvatore and Concetta Buttigieg. He was educated at the Government Primary School, Qala, the Gozo Seminary, St Aloysius' College Malta and the University of Malta, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1934, and Doctor of Laws in 1940.

Marriages

In 1944 he married Censina and had three children – John, Rose and Emanuel . She then died. In 1953 he married Connie Scicluna, who also predeceased him.
In 1975, he married, lastly, to Margery Patterson.

Career

During World War II he served in the Police Force as Inspector and after he practised the Law. In 1955 he also served as an acting Magistrate. He was the Law reporter and leader writer of the Times of Malta from 1946 to 1948 and the Editor of The Voice of Malta from 1959 to 1970.

Political life

He embarked on a political career and was first elected to the House of Representatives of Malta for the Labour Party in 1955. He was re-elected in all subsequent elections and held his seat in Parliament up to the time of his resignation in October 1976. From 1959 to 1961 he was President of the Malta Labour Party and from 1962 to 1976 its Deputy Leader. When the present administration took office in 1971, he served his country as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
He was a delegate to the Malta Constitutional Conferences held in London in 1958 and in 1964. He was also a representative to the Consultative Assembly in the Council of Europe, where he was elected Vice-President. In October 1976 he resigned from the House of Representatives.

Presidency

On December 27, 1976, he was elected as the second President of Malta.

Poetry

Buttigieg also distinguished himself in the field of literature. During his undergraduate days he was one of the founder members of the 'Għaqda tal-Malti – Università'. He was a Member of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti.

Awards

Lyrical poetry