Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici: His 8 Biggest Moments, Highs And Lows
Former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici passed away at the ripe old age of 89 last week. Today, we look back at the highs and lows of his career.
1. Rise to Power
A former lawyer to the General Workers Union and a lecturer in Industrial and Fiscal Law at the University of Malta, the unassuming Mifsud Bonnici was handpicked by Dom Mintoff to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1980. After playing an instrumental role in Labour’s electoral campaign in the 1981 election, Mintoff put Mifsud Bonnici’s name forward as Designate Leader of the Labour Movement.
2. Unassuming character
In effectively sealing his fate as Mintoff’s successor, critics immediately pointed to the obvious. The stark contrast between the captivating, tempestuous nature of Dom Mintoff and the pious, uncharismatic persona of Mifsud Bonnici was indicative of the latter’s willingness to be subservient to the former.
In 1984, following Mintoff’s resignation from Parliament, Mifsud Bonnici became the first Maltese Prime Minister since independence to be sworn in without ever standing for election.
3. Education reform
Prior to being appointed Prime Minister, Mifsud Bonnici was appointed Minister of Education in 1983. He brought wholesale reform, culminating in the provision of free education for all, in spite of fierce disputes on the boundaries between church and state.
4. Attack on the Curia offices
Following a divisive speech delivered by Mifsud Bonnici in 1984, months after being elected prime minister, around 30 drydock workers broke away from the crowd and ransacked the offices of the Curia in Floriana.
5. EgyptAir Hijack
In 1985, EgyptAir Flight 648 was hijacked on the Luqa runway. Unfortunately, 60 of the 92 passengers were killed. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici led the authorities’ negotiation with hijackers…
“…the authorities took a firm stand in denying fuel to the hijackers but made no sensible provisions, through political bias and lack of experience, to meet the circumstances that arose from this decision…. “
– Massacre in Malta, John A. Mizzi (1989)
6. Political violence
Civil unrest preceded Mifsud Bonnici’s tenure as Prime Minister and sadly, it continued unabated during his premiership. Tensions culminated with the murder of Raymond Caruana in a Nationalist Party club in Gudja in 1986.
7. Retirement
After Labour lost the 1987 general election, Mifsud Bonnici stayed on as party leader. However, a second electoral defeat in 1992 resulted in his resignation and succession by the young Alfred Sant.
8. Later years
The latter years of Mifsud Bonnici’s career were spent campaigning against Malta’s accession to the EU, as part of the Campaign for National Independence (CNI) and Front Maltin Inqumu (Maltese Arise Front). Following Malta’s accession to the EU in 2004, Mifsud Bonnici gradually retired from public life.
Sources:
Massacre in Malta, John A. Mizzi (1989)
Biċċiet Minni, Sammy Meilaq (2013)
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative series by Spunt.mt and Lovin Malta.
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What was the highlight of KMB’s career in your view? Sound off in the comments below