MYRIAM SPITERI DEBONO was approved as Malta’s next President of the Republic. Mark Laurence Zammit asks high-profile individuals to shed light on the notary with a relatively low profile.

The woman appointed as Malta’s 11th president is highly intelligent, meticulous, virtuous, opinionated, affable and with a strong sense of social justice, according to her friends, colleagues and political acquaintances.

Myriam Spiteri Debono was born in Victoria, Gozo, on October 25, 1952, but lived in Birkirkara for most of her life, during which she was actively involved in the Labour Party.

She will be the third woman president after Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and Agata Barbara and the third Gozitan president, after Ċensu Tabone and Anton Buttigieg.

Spiteri Debono contested four successive general elections on the Labour party ticket – in 1981, 1987, 1992 and 1996 – but was never elected.

After her 1996 run, newly elected prime minister Alfred Sant appointed her the first female speaker of the house – a position she held for almost two years.

Myriam Spiteri Debono presiding over parliament as speaker. She held the position between 1996 and 1998. Photo: Screen grab from TVM news

It was a short, but remarkably turbulent political period, during which former prime minister and then-backbencher Dom Mintoff eventually brought down his own government, forcing Sant’s one-seat-majority administration to call an election, which Labour lost.

‘An upright speaker at a difficult time’ – Sant

Contacted for comment, Alfred Sant said Spiteri Debono back then proved to be an upright speaker “at a difficult time”.

“She led effectively with prudence and correctness during a time of political manoeuvres that could have practically been considered as a parliamentary coup d’état,” he said.

“Parliament’s unanimous decision to appoint her as president was a good choice.”

The first woman speaker in history, Spiteri Debono took over the role from Lawrence Gonzi, who had held the role since 1988.

 ‘She can now put Daphne speech into practice’ – Gonzi

Gonzi said he first got to know Spiteri Debono during her tenure as speaker and described her as an affable and well-mannered person with a strong sense of social justice.

“I disagreed with her on some decisions she took as speaker, but that did not dent the reciprocal respect we always showed each other,” he said.

“I admired her even more when she had the courage to address the national wound that was created with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia – a wound that continues to bleed to this day.”

Lawrence Gonzi (right) was Spiteri Debono’s predecessor as speaker of the house. Photo: Screen grab from TVM news

The former prime minister congratulated her on her new role which now, more than ever, will allow her to use the country’s highest constitutional office to put that speech into practice, even more so because she enjoys practically everybody’s support.

Before she was elected speaker, Spiteri Debono also led the Labour Party’s female branch between 1993 and 1996. Her friend and colleague Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca took over the role after Spiteri Debono assumed the speaker’s seat.

‘A woman of integrity’ – Coleiro Preca

Coleiro Preca had but words of praise for her old friend, saying she is fit for president primarily because of her strong sense of integrity and honesty.

“She is not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, and can rise above partisan politics,” she said.

“She is a most competent notary public and therefore her knowledge will also help her in this new role.”

When he was just starting as a notarial student, now-Qormi mayor Josef Masini Vento could not find an established notary who would join forces with him and the continuous rejection was getting frustrating, until he called Spiteri Debono, who welcomed him with open arms.

If the work was not in line with her principles, she would turn it away- Qormi mayor Josef Masini Vento

She is highly intelligent in her profession, intense and meticulous in her work, and has a brilliant grasp of the Maltese and English languages, he said. She is a “political animal” driven by the highest ethical and moral standards and a good heart that is open to everyone.

“I never saw her accept any work that was not up to her high ethical and moral standards. She would turn that work away, even if going ahead with it would have been technically legal and very lucrative,” he said.

“She was exigent for proper work and if it was not in line with her principles, she would turn it away.”

1996 - Myriam Spiteri Debono being announced speaker of the house by then-prime minister Alfred Sant in the presence of then-president Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. Photo: Screen grab from TVM news

Masini Vento said it was wise for the government to propose her for the post and mature for the opposition to support the appointment. The country needs a virtuous person as this is no easy time, he said.

Masini Vento worked in her office for more than five years and has been close friends with her ever since.

The Victory Day speech

Spiteri Debono was seldom seen in public fora in recent years, until she delivered a Victory Day address on September 8, 2021.

She paid tribute to assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, calling on the nation to “redeem ourselves anew” and commit to the necessary reforms in the wake of the murder.

“This was an execution, intimately connected with the investigations she conducted in the exercise of her profession as a journalist. It would help everyone to strengthen the respect and appreciation we should have for all those who work in investigative journalism and who spread the news. Let us remember that journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy,” she had said.

Academic Vicki Ann Cremona lauded her for being the only Labour politician to have had the courage to recognise Caruana Galizia’s murder and call for the protection of journalists in an official state ceremony.

“I also admire her for calling on the nation to rise above partisan politics and unite for the common good,” said Cremona, a member of NGO Repubblika.

“And thanks to constitutional amendments, we can finally say we had a proper, mature discussion that led to an appointment that was reasonable and acceptable by everyone.”

‘Start discussion on constitution’

Cremona also urged the new president to start a widespread national discussion on constitutional reform, which was promised by her predecessor George Vella but for some reason never properly took off.

Myriam Spiteri Debono (bottom left) beside then-MLP leader Dom Mintoff during a mass meeting in the 1980s. Photo: Screen grab from TVM news

“It must be a broad discussion between government entities, political parties, unions, NGOs, local councils, civil society and all sections of society. The discussion should strive to primarily strengthen the judiciary, legislative and administrative democratic pillars to be able to work independently and curb corruption, and to have journalism enshrined as the fourth pillar of democracy,” she said.

“Let’s hope she manages to kick off this discussion effectively and finds no interference from people with ulterior interests.”

Following changes to the constitution in 2020, Spiteri Debono was the first president to require a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives. The president of Malta is a largely ceremonial role. But a president’s signature is the final step in the legislative process and no law can come into force without it.

She was unanimously approved in parliament as Malta’s next president last Wednesday, following a brief period of negotiations between Robert Abela and Bernard Grech.

Spiteri Debono is married to notary Anthony Spiteri Debono and they have three children.