MALTA
Society
Society
Cities in MALTA
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Society
State structure
Malta Parliament BuildingPhoto: Continentaleurope at English wikipedia CC 4.0 no changes made
From 1964 to 1974, Malta was independent, but the British Queen was still the head of state. Since 1974, Malta has been a republic headed by a president. The President is elected by the Parliament (House of Representatives) for a five-year term. Since 1987, the Parliament has had 65 members elected by universal suffrage in thirteen constituencies. An amendment to the constitution ensured that the party with an absolute majority of votes would receive as many additional seats in parliament as necessary until there was a majority of seats. The President appoints the MP who has the majority of the parliament behind him as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister appoints the other ministers and state secretaries, who have to be members of parliament. There is a separate Minister who looks after the interests of Gozo. The maximum term of office for the Parliament is five years, but the Prime Minister can always call new elections within this period and must do so if a government proposal is rejected. Malta has no administrative division into provinces and municipalities, but is traditionally divided into parishes.
Politics
Coat of Arms of MaltaPhoto: Public domain
Since 1966, only two political parties have remained in parliament: the Malta Labour Party, and the Christian Democratic Partit Nazzjonalista (PN). The PN, which has ruled since 1987, is pro-Western and pro-European and has a following mainly among academics, clergy, bourgeoisie, middle class and farmers, although it also has a fair number of workers. The parties play a major role in daily life. The newspapers, for example, represent the point of view of one of the two parties. Malta is a member of the following international organisations: the United Nations, a number of sub-organisations of the UN, and the Council of Europe. It applied for membership of the EU in 1990. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth. In April 1995 the parliament approved the NATO Partnership for Peace. For the current political situation see History.
Education
University of MaltaPhoto: Chevaliero78 CC 4.0 International no changes made
Maltese children are in compulsory education from the age of six until the age of sixteen. Malta is proud of its university which has been established on the island since 1592. It is the oldest Commonwealth university outside Britain. There is also a tourist school on the island. Every year, 1,500 Maltese graduate from it as cooks, waiters or guides.
Sources
Boulton, S. / Malta
Kosmos
Cutajar, D. / Malta en Gozo
Publications Ltd.
Encarta Encyclopedie
Leeuwen, G. van / Malta
ANWB
Strijbos, E. / Malta en Gozo
Gottmer
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles Minbuza
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