Sir Ugo Pasquale Mifsud (12 September 1889 – 11 February 1942) was a Maltese politician, the 3rd

Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta () is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The prime minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The prime minister holds office b ...

under British home rule, and the first to serve a full term in power.Historical Dictionary of Malta
by Uwe Jens Rudolf, 2018 He held office from 1924 to 1927 and from 1932 to 1933. He was a member of the Nationalist Party and the

Maltese Italian Maltese Italian is the Italian language spoken in Malta. It has received some influences from the Maltese language. History For many centuries since the Middle Ages and until 1934, Italian was the official language of Malta. Indeed, it had bee ...

community.Office of the Prime Minister
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Biography

Born in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

to Judge Gio Batta Mifsud and Philomena Marianna Muscat, Ugo P. Mifsud studied at Malta's Lyceum and Royal University, graduating as a lawyer in 1910. He married Maria Beatrice ("Blanche") Francia in 1928. Specialised in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, Ugo P. Mifsud published in leading international journals such as the ''London International Law Notes'' and was appointed a member of the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

, set up in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, actively participating in its two-yearly international conferences. In 1928 Mifsud chaired the aerial and radio law committee at a conference in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, and represented Malta at a conference of the Empire Parliamentary Association in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 1934 he chaired the

trade marks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...

committee at a conference in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. When Sir Filippo Sciberras rallied a Maltese legislative assembly to draft a liberal Constitution to submit to the British colonial government, Mifsud was elected secretary of the sitting. At the 1921 elections under the Amery-Milner Constitution, Mifsud was elected to Parliament for the '' Unione Politica Maltese'' (UPM) for the Legislative Assembly. In 1924, at 35, Mifsud succeeded to Francesco Buhagiar, becoming the youngest Prime Minister in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Following the merger of the UPM with

Enrico Mizzi Enrico Mizzi (20 September 1885 – 20 December 1950) was a Maltese politician, leader of the Maltese Nationalist Party from 1926 and briefly Prime Minister of Malta in 1950.Michael J. Schiavone, Louis J. Scerri, Maltese Biographies of the Twen ...

's PDN, in 1926 Mifsud became co-leader of the newly formed '' Partito Nazionalista'' (PN). In 1927 he was knighted. At the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

elections Mifsud was re-elected in a landslide, holding again the premiership till 1933, when the 1921 Constitution was withdrawn by the colonial authorities. During this term, in 1932, he travelled with a delegation to London to submit a memorandum to Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister,

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

, with a formal request for Malta to be placed under the

Dominions Office The position of secretary of state for dominion affairs was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for British relations with the Empire’s dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundl ...

as an independent member of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. Mifsud also held several ministerial portfolios in the same period: Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (1921–22, 1923–24), Minister for Posts (1921–22, 1923–24), Minister for Industry and Commerce (1921–24, 1932–33), Minister of Finance (1924–26), Minister of Justice (1926–27, 1932–33). In 1939, Sir Ugo Mifsud was elected Member of the Council of Government. One of three ationalist Party (Malta)members of the Council of Government members during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he vehemently opposed the internment and illegal deportation in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

of his party leader and fellow colleague in the Council, Dr Enrico Mizzi, and other Maltese politicians without due process of law on suspicion of anti-British and pro-Italian activities. On 9 February 1942, as the Council was debating, as a matter of urgency, the British Government's intention to deport these Maltese citizens, Mifsud suffered a heart attack while stressing the illegality of the government's intention. Two days later he died. He is buried at the

Lija Lija () is a small village in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. Together with Attard and Balzan, it forms part of Malta's "Three villages of Malta, Three Villages" (). Lija has a baroque parish church and seven other small cha ...

cemetery. On the 21st anniversary of his death a marble monument at Floriana was erected to his memory.

References

External links

Passport application - National archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud, Ugo Pasquale 1889 births 1942 deaths Maltese knights Prime ministers of Malta Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians Maltese people of Italian descent People from Valletta 20th-century Maltese politicians Leaders of the opposition (Malta) Agriculture ministers of Malta Fisheries ministers of Malta Finance ministers of Malta Industry ministers of Malta Justice ministers of Malta Posts ministers of Malta Trade ministers of Malta

Biography

See also

References

External links