Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici

The Honourable Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici MP
Minister for Home Affairs and Local Government
Incumbent
Assumed office 6th January 2012
Preceded by	Tonio Borg
Personal details
Born	17 February 1960 (1960-02-17) Floriana
Political party	Partit Nazzjonalista
Spouse(s)	Sandra nee’ Gatt
Children	Clement Anselmo Gregorio
Residence	Xgħajra, Malta
Religion	Roman Catholic

Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (also known as Carm Mifsud Bonnici) (born February 17, 1960) is the Minister for Home Affairs and Local Government of Malta.He was first elected as a member Member of Parliament in 1998. He was subsequently appointed as Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs (Maltese: Ministru tal-Ġustizzja u l-Intern) in 2003 and confirmed in the same post in 2004. Following the March 2008 election he was appointed as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs. On 6th January 2012 he became Minister of Home Affairs and Local Government and Leader of the House of Representatives.

Background, education and family

Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, the son of former President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, was born in Floriana. He was educated at St. Aloysius’ College, Birkirkara, then at De La Salle College in Cospicua. He graduated from the University of Malta in 1984 as Doctor of Laws.

As lawyer, he practiced in criminal, civil and commercial fields. At present, he is a senior lecturer in Roman Law at the University of Malta. Dr Mifsud Bonnici occupied the post of President of the MKSU as a university student and was active in the Nationalist Party Youth Movement (MZPN) since 1982, occupying different posts in the executive of the said movement.

Bonnici is a distant relative of former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. He is married to Sandra née Gatt and has three children.

Early political career

Bonnici was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 as a member of the Partit Nazzjonalista (Nationalist Party). He was appointed by Parliament as the Chairman of Committees in the same year, and was a permanent member of a number of other Committees. Between October 2001 and March 2003 he served as a Board Member of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, and was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 2003.

Cabinet appointments

In April 2003 Bonnici was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs. Following the swearing-in of Lawrence Gonzi as Prime Minister and the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle in March 2004, he was re-confirmed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs. During this period he drove the implementation of several reforms and introduction of new concepts in the Maltese judicial system.

After the March 2008 general election, Mifsud Bonnici was appointed as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs. His portfolio includes the responsibility for the Courts of Justice, the Attorney General's Office, the Police Corps, Immigration, Airport Security, Correctional Services, Civil Protection and Data Protection.

In February 2009, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici unveiled the White Paper on Restorative Justice which is intended to serve as a basis for public discussion for a deep reform in Malta's penal system. It proposes the introduction of a number of new concepts, including parole, which is as yet unavailable in Malta.

Literary works

Mifsud Bonnici is the author of three publications ‘Żewg Minuti Flimkien’ (1998), ‘Il-Prinċipji Hemm Jibqgħu’ (2003) and “Sens u Sustanza” (2008).

He also writes weekly columns in the Sunday papers Il-Mument and Illum.