REPUBLIC OF MALTA Official name: Repubblika ta' Malta (Republic of Malta) Location: Southern Europe International organisations: The Commonwealth of Nations, The Council of Europe, The European Union, The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation Borders: None Coastline: Mediterranean Sea Land area: 316 Km2 Population: 400,000 Ethnicity: Virtually the whole population is Maltese. The Maltese are a mix of Italian and Arabic peoples. Languages: Maltese and English are the official languages. Italian used to be common but has given way to English. Religion: Almost the whole population are Catholic Christians. Form of government: Parliamentary democratic republic Capital: Valetta

Constitution: The Constitution of Malta came into effect on 21 September 1964.
Head of state: The President, elected by the legislature for a five-year term; President Eddie Fenech Adami took office on 4 April 2004.
Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
Legislature: Malta has a unicameral legislature, the House of Representatives, which has 65 members elected for five-year terms from multi-member constituencies.
Electoral authority: The Malta Election Commission administers national elections.
Freedom House rating: Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 1

Political history

Malta was ruled by the Arabs from the 9th century until 1127, when it was taken by the Sicilian Normans, who ceded it to the Knights of the Hospital (now the Knights of Malta) in 1530. The knights retained the islands until 1798, when they were evicted by the French. The British captured Malta in 1800 and formally acquired it in 1814. British rule was unchallenged until a nationalist movement arose after World War I. Internal self-government was granted in 1921, but independence was delayed because of the value to Britain of the naval facilities at Valetta. Malta finally became independent in September 1964, and became a republic in 1974. Malta joined the European Union in May 2004.

Maltese politics have been dominated since the 1930s by the rivalry between the conservative Nationalist Party, which has the backing of the Catholic Church, and the Maltese Labour Party, one a militant socialist and nationalist party but now a moderate social democratic party. Labour under Dom Mintoff led Malta to independence and also made the country a republic. The Nationalists under Eddie Fenech Adami took Malta into the EU in the face of fierce Labor opposition.