Eddie Fenech Adami
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Image:Maltapolitics.jpg Edward Fenech-Adami (born February 7, 1934, Birkirkara) was the Prime Minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996 and from 1998 until 2004. He took office as the seventh President of the Republic of Malta on April 4, 2004, succeeding Guido de Marco.
Edward Fenech-Adami was born in 1934, the son of a customs officer. He was educated at the Jesuits College and the University of Malta, where he first studied economics and the classics and later law. He was called to the bar in 1959.
Dr. Fenech-Adami joined the Partit Nazzjonalista in the early 1960s, establishing a reputation as a reserved but determined and capable constituency official. He entered parliament in 1969 and, after having served in a number of senior party posts, including that of Party General Secretary, he was elected party leader, succeeding Giorgio Borg Olivier.
In 1981, although the Nationalist Party obtained an absolute majority of votes, it did not succeed to win a majority of seats in Parliament, and therefore remained in Opposition. Constitutional changes were then made to guarantee that the party winning an absolute majority of votes would have a parliamentary majority as happened in 1987 when Partit Nazzjonalista was returned to office with Fenech-Adami at the helm.
Between 1987 and 1996, Fenech-Adami ushered a major period of change for Malta. The country's physical infrastructure was completely overhauled as were the legal and business structures. Trade was liberalized, whilst telecommunications, banking and financial services were deregulated or privatised. Malta also applied to join the European Economic Community on 16th July 1990.
Between 1996 and 1998 Fenech-Adami served as Leader of the Opposition until his Party was returned to Government in September 1998. Malta's EU application, which was put on hold by the previous Labour government, was reactivated and negotiations concluded by December 2002. This was confirmed be a referendum in March 2003 and general election held in April 2003 which confirmed the Partit Nazzjonalista in government and Fenech-Adami as Prime Minister.
A few days later, on the 16th April, 2003, Dr Fenech-Adami signed Malta's Accession Treaty with the European Union, together with nine other Heads of Government of countries set to become EU members on the 1st of May 2004. In December 2003, Dr Fenech-Adami received the European of the Year 2003 Award from the influential Brussels-based newspaper European Voice in recognition of his unfaltering efforts to bring Malta into the European Union.
On the 7th February 2004, upon reaching his 70th birthday, Dr Fenech-Adami tendered his resignation as Nationalist Party Leader. On the 23rd March 2004, Dr Edward Fenech-Adami resigned his premiership as well as his parliamentary seat.
Edward Fenech-Adami is happily married to Mary nee Sciberras and they have five children, John, Beppe, Michael, Maria and Luigi.
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