Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09VALLETTA159
2009-04-07 15:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Valletta
Cable title:
MALTA: GEORGE ABELA SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
how-toVZCZCXRO1727 PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHVT #0159 0971558 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 071558Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY VALLETTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2054 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS VALLETTA 000159
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MT
SUBJECT: MALTA: GEORGE ABELA SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
UNCLAS VALLETTA 000159
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MT
SUBJECT: MALTA: GEORGE ABELA SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
1. (U) Laborite George Abela, appointed by Nationalist PM
Gonzi and unanimously approved by Parliament, was sworn in as
President on Saturday, April 4. He will serve a five year
term in the largely ceremonial position, replacing President
Eddie Fenech Adami.
2. (SBU) Prior to his appointment as President, Abela worked
as a lawyer in private practice for 33 years, specializing in
civil, commercial and industrial law, also serving as legal
advisor to the General Workers Union. Abela served as
president of the Malta Football Association from 1982-1992,
and as Deputy Leader for Party Affairs of the Malta Labor
Party from 1992-1998. In March 2008, after the resignation
of former opposition leader Alfred Sant following Labor's
narrow defeat in the general election, Abela contested for
the Party's leadership and lost in a narrow defeat to the
much younger Joseph Muscat. Proud of his working-class
origins, Abela will turn 61 on April 22. He and his wife
Margaret have two adult children.
3. (SBU) Abela's appointment made history in Malta, marking
the first time a PM from the party in power has appointed a
President from the opposition. While approval by Parliament
was eventually unanimous (though some critics absented
themselves from the vote),it was initially controversial.
Some Nationalists were unhappy that an important plum had
gone to the opposition, and even Labor supporters were less
than enthusiastic, either because they were Abela supporters
who didn't want their candidate neutralized and removed from
the game, or because they were Abela detractors who perhaps
didn't feel he deserved such an honor.
DAVIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MT
SUBJECT: MALTA: GEORGE ABELA SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
1. (U) Laborite George Abela, appointed by Nationalist PM
Gonzi and unanimously approved by Parliament, was sworn in as
President on Saturday, April 4. He will serve a five year
term in the largely ceremonial position, replacing President
Eddie Fenech Adami.
2. (SBU) Prior to his appointment as President, Abela worked
as a lawyer in private practice for 33 years, specializing in
civil, commercial and industrial law, also serving as legal
advisor to the General Workers Union. Abela served as
president of the Malta Football Association from 1982-1992,
and as Deputy Leader for Party Affairs of the Malta Labor
Party from 1992-1998. In March 2008, after the resignation
of former opposition leader Alfred Sant following Labor's
narrow defeat in the general election, Abela contested for
the Party's leadership and lost in a narrow defeat to the
much younger Joseph Muscat. Proud of his working-class
origins, Abela will turn 61 on April 22. He and his wife
Margaret have two adult children.
3. (SBU) Abela's appointment made history in Malta, marking
the first time a PM from the party in power has appointed a
President from the opposition. While approval by Parliament
was eventually unanimous (though some critics absented
themselves from the vote),it was initially controversial.
Some Nationalists were unhappy that an important plum had
gone to the opposition, and even Labor supporters were less
than enthusiastic, either because they were Abela supporters
who didn't want their candidate neutralized and removed from
the game, or because they were Abela detractors who perhaps
didn't feel he deserved such an honor.
DAVIS