Vincent "Ċensu" Tabone, (; 30 March 1913 – 14 March 2012) was the fourth

president of Malta The president of Malta () is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The president is indirect election, indirectly elected by the House of Representatives of Malta, which appoints the president for a five-year term and requires them to sw ...

who also served as Minister and

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

MP.

Early years

Vincent Tabone was the son of Niccolò and Elisa Tabone, the youngest of ten children. His paternal grandmother, Giuseppina De Gaetani, had settled 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 ...

in the mid-19th century from

Riposto Riposto () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Catania area of Sicily, southern Italy. The small seafront town is located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania. History Riposto is historically connected to Mascali, as its com ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. His father, Niccolò, was one of the first Maltese doctors to read pathology and surgery in the United Kingdom, and served as a District Medical Officer in various parts of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

. Life on Gozo for the Tabone family was relatively quiet and pastoral. They lived in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and spent their summers in

Marsalforn Marsalforn (Pronounced: ''Mars al-Forn, , '' Maltese language, Maltese: ''Marsalforn''), also written as M'Forn for shortcut purposes, is a town on the north coast of Gozo, the second largest island of the Malta, Maltese archipelago. The t ...

. Tabone's childhood was deeply affected by the sudden death of his father in 1922 at the age of 59. Two years later, at the age of 11, he was shipped off to Malta, where he became a boarder at St. Aloysius College, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

school. He entered the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

in 1930, where he graduated as a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

in 1933 and as a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1937.

Military service and medical career

During

World War II 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 served as a Regimental Medical Officer and general duty officer with the

Royal Malta Artillery The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889. Initially on the British Esta ...

, and later as trainee ophthalmic specialist stationed at the Military Hospital,

Mtarfa Mtarfa () is a small town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 2,572 as of March 2014. It was considered to be a suburb of Rabat until 2000, when it became a separate local council. History A number of historic silos were disc ...

. In the early days of the War, he narrowly escaped tragedy when a bomb fell at

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo () is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort Tigné and Fort Ri ...

, demolishing a substantial part of the army barracks to which he had been posted. In 1946, he obtained a diploma in

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, followed by a diploma in Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery from the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

. He was a clinical assistant at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist National Health Service (NHS) eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthal ...

in London.Ophthalmology in Malta, C. Savona-Ventura, University of Malta, 2003
In 1948, Tabone was entrusted with the supervision of a campaign to treat

trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea ...

using

sulfonamide In organic chemistry, the sulfonamide functional group (also spelled sulphonamide) is an organosulfur group with the Chemical structure, structure . It consists of a sulfonyl group () connected to an amine group (). Relatively speaking this gro ...

tablets and drops. Through his efforts, the disease was virtually eliminated from the Island of

. He helped launch similar campaigns in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

under the auspices of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

, and subsequently served as a member and consultant of the WHO's International Panel of Trachoma Experts. He served on the Council of the

, and between 1957 and 1960 he was a faculty member of the Board of Medicine, and a lecturer in Clinical Ophthalmology in the Department of Surgery. He helped found the Medical Association of Malta in 1954 and was for a time its Honorary President. For many years, even as he served as a Member of Parliament, he maintained his medical practice in

Sliema Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...

Political career

Tabone was elected to the executive committee of the Nationalist Party in 1961. He later served as the party's Secretary-General (1962–1972) and as Deputy Leader (1972–1977). Tabone was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1966 and subsequently served as a Member of Parliament for the

St. Julian's Saint Julian's () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It is known for tourism-oriented businesse ...

Msida Msida (, ) is a harbour town in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta with a population of 7,623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' ...

, and

Gżira Gżira () is a town in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 11,699 as of January 2019. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese ...

areas for 23 years. During this time, he also served as the Minister of Labour, Employment and Welfare (1966–1971) and

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

(1987–1989). In 1968, Tabone brought a motion before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

calling for an action plan in regard to the world's ageing population. In 1988, he brought another motion before the UN, calling for the world's climate to be declared the common heritage of mankind.

Death

On 14 March 2012, Tabone died at his home in

, Malta at age 98. He died 16 days shy of his 99th birthday.

Personal life

On 23 November 1941, Tabone married Maria Wirth (9 February 1920 – 19 July 2018). He was survived by his wife, eight children, 19 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. Ċensu and Maria Tabone had celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary not long before his death.

Honours

National honours

* Malta: Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1990) ''by right as a President of Malta''

Foreign honours

* Germany: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabone, Censu 1913 births 2012 deaths Presidents of Malta Maltese Roman Catholics Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians Maltese ophthalmologists People from Victoria, Gozo Companions of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta) Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Maltese military personnel of World War II 20th-century Maltese physicians Ministers for foreign affairs of Malta 20th-century Maltese politicians Maltese people of Sicilian descent