Eddie Fenech Adami

Edoardo "Eddie" Fenech Adami, (born 7 February 1934) is a Maltese politician and Nationalist politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996, and again from 1998 until 2004.

He was called to the bar in 1959, and started his career in the law courts.

He contested two unsuccessful campaigns in 1962 and 1966, becoming a Member of Parliament in 1969 following a by-election for the newly vacant seat of Ġorġ Caruana.

Prime Minister Borġ Olivier was instrumental in picking Fenech Adami for this co-option to Parliament.

Originally a lawyer, Fenech Adami was co-opted Member of Parliament (MP) in 1969.

He served in a number of senior party positions, including president of the Administrative and General Councils, and was elected to succeed Dr Giorgio Borġ Olivier as party leader.

Believing that the Borġ Olivier administration ought to seize the initiative, Fenech Adami pleaded with Borġ Olivier to reshuffle the cabinet, and call early elections in 1970 when the British were negotiating the renewal of the islands' financial and defence agreement.

The Nationalist Party was returned to the Opposition in 1971, with the Party's clubs being in the islands' villages and towns being vandalised or destroyed – a trend which continued right up to the late eighties.

Fenech Adami served as spokesman for the Opposition on labour relations and social services.

His political frailty peaked with his agreement with Mintoff to declare a Maltese republic in 1974, without consulting the electorate; at the time, Guido de Marco called this "an unacceptable act of betrayal."

Borġ Olivier's growing weakness led to a successive electoral defeat in 1976.

Fenech Adami resisted strongly the Party's proposal to abolish income tax as not being credible.

Ultimately, the loss of two successive elections brought about Borġ Olivier's downfall and opened up the Nationalist Party for the choice of a new leader, and modernisation.

From April 1977 onwards, Fenech Adami led the Nationalist opposition in a campaign of civil disobedience against the Mintoff and Mifsud Bonnici administrations of the late seventies and eighties, focusing on a message of respect for democratic principles and human rights.

This only happened following a 1977 Opposition parliamentary group meeting in de Marco's Ħamrun home, which forced Borġ Olivier to accept a designate-leader in his stead.

A relative newcomer to the Party, Fenech Adami contested the party leadership election against two other established MPs, Ċensu Tabone and de Marco in 1977.

Fenech Adami swept the leadership contest in April 1977 with a two-thirds majority; upon his election, Fenech Adami chose to keep his two contenders in highly visible roles.

Taking the lead from Borġ Olivier in 1978, Fenech Adami immediately set out to reform the Nationalist Party, adapting to the needs of a more socially aware electorate.

He led his party to win four general elections, in 1987, 1992, 1998 and 2003, as well as the majority of votes in 1981.

Staunchly pro-European, Fenech Adami was fundamental for Malta's accession to the European Union.

Upon moving into Auberge de Castille in 1987, Fenech Adami began a policy of national reconciliation, initiating a series of political and economic reforms intended to open up the economy, reverse high unemployment and the islands' problems following sixteen years of socialist policies.

His political ideology and economic policies highlighted deregulation, more flexible labour markets, the overhaul of the country's physical infrastructure and the privatisation of state-owned companies.

The legal and business structures were also overhauled and trade liberalised.

The communications, financial services and banking sectors were deregulated or privatised.

Malta also began a period of integration with the EU, formally applying for membership in 1990.

Fenech Adami was re-elected with a modest majority in 1992; his popularity, however, wavered during his second term of office amid further economic reforms, particularly the introduction of VAT, and the re-branding of the main opposition party with a new and more dynamic leader, Alfred Sant.

Losing power in 1996, Fenech Adami was returned as prime minister within twenty-two months, after the Labour government's decision to call a snap election backfired.

Reversing the unpopular economic policies of the Labour Party, Fenech Adami reactivated Malta's EU membership application and initiated further economic reforms.

He successfully led the pro-EU movement in the 2003 EU membership referendum campaign and won the successive election.

He signed Malta's Accession Treaty with the European Union and represented Malta in various EU Summits and Commonwealth meetings.

Subsequently, he was the seventh president of Malta from 2004 to 2009.

Fenech Adami resigned as Leader of the Nationalist Party in February 2004, resigning his premiership and giving up his parliamentary seat in March 2004.

He became the seventh President of Malta in April 2004.

Edward (Edoardo) Fenech Adami was born in Birkirkara, British Malta, the son of Josephine Fenech Adami, née Pace, and Luigi Fenech Adami, a customs officer.

The fourth boy in a family of five children, his early childhood was marked by the air raids and deprivation in Malta during the Second World War.

He began his education at St Aloysius' College in Birkirkara, continuing his studies there until sitting for his matriculation exams.

He attended the Royal University of Malta, studying economics, classics, and then law.

He was married to Mary née Sciberras, who died in 2011.

The couple had five children – John, Beppe (a Nationalist MP), Michael (a Nationalist Local Councillor for Birkirkara), Maria and Luigi.

Fenech Adami joined the Nationalist Party in the early sixties, first as a constituency official, then as president of the Administrative and General Councils, assistant secretary general, and editor of its newspaper Il-Poplu (English: The People).