Anton Buttigieg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd President of Malta | |
| In office 27 December 1976 – 27 December 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Dom Mintoff |
| Preceded by | Sir Anthony Mamo |
| Succeeded by | Albert Hyzler (Acting); Agatha Barbara |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1912 Qala, Crown Colony of Malta |
| Died | 5 May 1983 (aged 71) Qala, Malta |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse(s) | Carmen Bezzina (1944-1953) Connie Scicluna (1953-1975) Margery Patterson (1975-1983) |
| Children | 3 |
Anton Buttigieg, KUOM (Maltese: Anton Buttiġieġ [antɔn butːid͡ʒɪːt͡ʃ]; 19 February 1912 – 5 May 1983)[1] was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second president of Malta from 1976 until 1981.
Anton Buttigieg was born in Qala, Gozo, on 19 February 1912, the third child of Salvatore and Concetta (née Falzon) Buttigieg. He was educated at the Government Primary School, Qala (from 1916 to 1922), the Gozo Seminary (from 1923 to 1927), St Aloysius' College Malta (from 1928 to 1930) and the University of Malta, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1934, and Doctor of Laws in 1940.
In 1944 he married Censina and had three children – John, Rose and Emanuel. She then died.
In 1953 he married Connie Scicluna, who also predeceased him.
In 1975, he married, lastly, to Margery Patterson.
During World War II (1942–1944), he served in the Maltese Police Force as an Inspector, and after he practised the law. In 1955, he also served as an acting Magistrate. He was the law reporter and leader writer of the Times of Malta from 1946 to 1948, and the Editor of The Voice of Malta from 1959 to 1970.
He embarked on a political career and was first elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Labour Party in 1955. He was re-elected in all subsequent elections and held his seat in Parliament up to the time of his resignation in October 1976. From 1959 to 1961 he was President of the Malta Labour Party and from 1962 to 1976 its Deputy Leader. When the present administration took office in 1971, he served his country as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
He was a delegate to the Malta Constitutional Conferences held in London in 1958 and in 1964. He was also a representative to the Consultative Assembly in the Council of Europe (1967–1971), where he was elected vice-president (1967–1968). In October 1976 he resigned from the House of Representatives. [citation needed]
On 27 December 1976, he was elected as the second President of Malta to replace Sir Anthony Mamo.
Buttigieg also distinguished himself in the field of literature. During his undergraduate days he was one of the founder members of the 'Għaqda tal-Malti – Università' (26 January 1931). He was a Member of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti (Academy of the Maltese Language). [citation needed]
