Lawrence Gonzi

Lawrence Gonzi
Prime Minister of Malta
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2004
President	Guido de Marco Eddie Fenech Adami George Abela (Elect)
Deputy	Tonio Borg
Preceded by	Eddie Fenech Adami
Personal details
Born	(1953-07-01) 1 July 1953 Pietà, Malta
Political party	Nationalist Party
Spouse	Catherine Callus
Children	David Mikela Paul

Lawrence Gonzi (born 1 July 1953) is the incumbent Prime Minister of Malta. He is also the leader of the governing Nationalist Party (Maltese: Partit Nazzjonalista). He became Prime Minister on 23 March 2004, following the resignation of Eddie Fenech Adami.

Family

Lawrence Gonzi is the son of Luigi Gonzi [1] and Ines Galea and grandnephew of Mgr. Mikiel Gonzi, the former Archbishop of Malta. His younger brother is Michael Gonzi. Gonzi is married to Catherine née Callus, and they have three children: David, Mikela and Paul.

Political life

In 1987 Lawrence Gonzi contested the general elections unsuccessfully with the Nationalist Party. He was appointed Speaker of the House in 1988 and in 1992 he was reappointed to the post with a unanimous vote. Gonzi contested the general elections again in 1996 and this time he was successful. As an opposition MP he served as Shadow Minister for social policy, secretary of the Nationalist parliamentary group, party whip and later general secretary of the party.

In 1998 he was returned and appointed Minister for Social Policy. In May 1999 he successfully contested the post of Deputy Leader of the party and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House.

Gonzi was again successful in 2003.

Prime Minister

Following the resignation of Eddie Fenech Adami as Prime Minister and party leader, Gonzi won the leadership contest held in March 2004. He was appointed Prime Minister shortly afterwards. From 2004 onwards, Gonzi took under his responsibility the finance portfolio as Minister of Finance. As Minister of Finance, he successfully managed the process to achieve the Maastricht criteria, propelling Malta into the Eurozone.

In the general election held on 8 March 2008, Gonzi was again elected as Prime Minister, having defeated narrowly (by 1500 votes more) Alfred Sant. Apart from Prime Minister his portfolio includes European, national and local governing, planning and environment, military, sustainable development, and tourism portfolios. Assisting him as Parliamentary Secretaries there will be Mario de Marco, as Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, and Chris Said, as Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information.

Gonzi was confirmed as Leader of the Nationalist Party for the second time at the general council on 4 May 2008.

See also

• Politics of Malta