Fenech Adami
Fenech Adami, Eddie, byname of Edward Fenech Adami
He was born 7-2-1934, Birkirkara, Malta),
prime minister (1987-96, 1998-2004) and president (2004-09) of Malta.
He joined the christian-democratic Nationalist Party in the early 1960s and after unsuccessfully contesting the 1962 and 1966 elections, he was co-opted to Parliament in 1969, following the death of a Nationalist member, and was shadow minister of labour and social services (1971-77).
He rapidly gained popularity within the party and, in the 1976 elections, his vote total was surpassed only by the leaders of the two major parties, Giorgio Borg Olivier and Dom Mintoff. He became leader of the Nationalist Party in 1977. He directed a vigorous political campaign to prevent a repetition of the 1981 general elections, when his party obtained an absolute majority of votes but a minority of parliamentary seats.
The same result would have emerged from the 1987 elections had not the House of Representatives amended the electoral laws. He became prime minister and applied himself to bringing about national reconciliation in an effort to eliminate the polarization dividing his fellow countrymen. His own residence had been ransacked and members of his family manhandled by Labour supporters on what became known as Black Monday (Oct. 15, 1979).
Socialist policies were rolled back and Malta applied for membership in the European Communities in 1990. He led his party to another electoral victory in 1992.
The Nationalists lost the 1996 election, but the period in opposition was short-lived, as Labour was unable to retain its majority in Parliament. In 1998 and again in 2003, he led the Nationalists to victory. On his 70th birthday he resigned as party leader and the next month also as prime minister; shortly afterwards he was elected president.
Source:
Rulers.com