Pawlu "Paul" Xuereb (21 July 1923 – 6 September 1994) was a Maltese politician who served as the

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta The Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta () is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of Malta. The Speaker is responsible for controlling the flow of House business and acts as "referee" during debates. It is the Sp ...

from July 1986 to February 1987 and the acting

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 ...

from February 1987 to April 1989. He was educated at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he studied journalism, Political Economy and Political Science. Upon completing his studies he returned to Malta in 1950 and took up the post of managing director of Fardex Trade Development Company (Malta) Ltd. In 1958 he joined the Department of Education as a visiting Master at the Lyceum. In 1959 Xuereb joined the Freedom Press as Literary Editor and Assistant Editor of the

Malta Labour Party The Labour Party (, PL), formerly known as the Malta Labour Party (, MLP), is the oldest List of political parties in Malta, political party in Malta, and one of the two major parties alongside the Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist Party. ...

organ ''The Voice of Malta'' until 1964 when he was appointed General Manager of the Party publishing house. He entered politics in 1962, and contested the general election of that year when he was elected as Member of Parliament keeping his seat in the 1966, 1971, 1976 and 1981 elections.Profile, ibid.
He was a Cabinet Minister between 1971 and 1976. Xuereb was appointed by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

as the Acting President of the Republic, following the end of term of Office of the third President, Agatha Barbara. Xuereb took the Oath of Office on 16 February 1987. A bronze statue designed by late sculptor Anton Agius was erected within Howards' Gardens, just outside the Bastions of Mdina in Paul Xuereb's honour.

References

1923 births 1994 deaths Speakers of the House of Representatives of Malta Presidents of Malta Maltese male writers Maltese Roman Catholics People from Rabat, Malta 20th-century Maltese politicians Maltese expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic {{Malta-politician-stub