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MALTA |
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Last Updated: Tuesday 8 March 2005 National anthem |
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The earliest inhabitants preceding the Phoenicians were different races of Neolithics who reached Malta from the Balkans, Western Greece, Apulia and Calabria in southern Italy and Agrigento, Sicily, during the period ranging from 2,300 to 900 BC. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians arrived at about 900 to 800 BC, followed by the Romans after the Punic Wars in 218 BC. There may also have been a Greek presence before Roman times and after as Byzantines. The Arabs conquered Malta in 870 AD and gave it its language, only to be ousted by the Normans in 1090. A succession of Suabian, Angevin, Aragonese and Castilian feudal lords followed till 1530 when Malta was handed over to the Order of St John. The French possessed the island for two years in 1798 after which the British took over in 1800 until 1964 when Malta achieved independence.
Recent DNA sampling shows a predominance of genetic material in Maltese males from peoples living in present-day Lebanon, homeland of the Phoenicians (and their descendants, the Carthaginians) and of the Arab conquerors of 870 AD. By historical accidence, five 41-year cyles may be noted between 1798 (departure of the Order of St John) and 1921 (self-government), 1964 (independence), 2004 (E.U. inter-dependence); and nine 220-year cycles between 218 BC (Second Punic War) and 870 (Arab conquest), 1090 (Norman conquest), 1530 (arrival of the Order of St John), 1964 (sovereign status). With a population of 380,000 spread over an area of 316 sq. km, the Maltese archipelago of Malta, Gozo and Comino is one of the most densely populated in Europe. Roman Catholicism predominates among some 90% of the population. Other denominations include Protestant, Greek Catholic and Orthodox, Jehovah Witness, Jewish and Moslem congregations. Maltese is the national language of Malta and the language of the courts of law, and together with the English and any other language which may be prescribed by Parliament, it is also the official language of Malta which may be used by the Administration. The House of Representatives has the power to regulate its own procedure to determine the language or languages to be used in Parliamentary proceedings and records.Maltese is of semitic origin and was imported into the islands with the arrival of the Arabs in 870 AD through 1090 AD. It is also thought that the inhabitants already had a propensity to a semitic base owing to previous occupation periods of settlers from Phoenicia and Carthage. With the arrival of mainland European rulers, an influx of Romance words pervaded the language which however kept its semitic foundations. Italian is also widely spoken. By the Treaty of Paris between England, Austria, Prussia, Russia and France, Malta was granted "in full property and sovereignty" to Britain on the 30th May, 1814. Self-government was later granted in 1921. On attaining independence on the 21st September, 1964, a constitutional monarchy was adopted with Queen Elizabeth, Head of the Commonwealth, also Head of the State of Malta. The 1964 constitution was substantially amended on the 13th December, 1974 to give Malta a republican status. On the 1st May, 2004 Malta joined the European Union.The president since the 4th April, 2004 is Edward Fenech Adami, a former prime minister since 1987. He was elected by the House of Representatives to serve for a five-year term. The unicameral parliamentary system provides for a House of Representatives composed of 65 seats elected for five years. Each of the 13 electoral divisions elects 5 seats on a proportional representation basis. Of these, the small island of Gozo constitutes one whole division to compensate for its insularity. Suffrage is universal at age 18.The Prime Minister is Lawrence Gonzi at the head of the Nationalist Party which polled 51.8% of the votes and gained 35 seats during the April 2003 elections. The Labour Party polled 47.5% of the votes and 30 seats. The voter turnout was 96%. Since the 1971 elections, a bi-party political system has evolved between the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party. A third party, the Alliance for Alternative Democracy, has recently made inroads into the system, mostly in local government representation where in the March 2003 elections it took some 4% of the total votes cast on a one-third of the whole country basis and elected 3 councillors. There are 68 local councils in Malta. In the elections to the European Parliament three seats were elected for the Labour Party, two for the Nationalist Party. A sixth seat, which would now only be available as from the 2009 elections, would have gone to the Alternattiva "Greens Party". The National Anthem of Malta was written by priest and national poet Dun Karm Psaila (1871-1961) and its music composed by Dr Robert Sammut (1870-1934). It was officially adopted in 1945 soon after the turmoil caused by WWII and before the advent of self-government.The Malta Constitution deals with the National Anthem in article 4 thereof where it is stated that "The National Anthem of Malta is L-Innu Malti opening with the words "Lil din l-Art Helwa 1-Omm li tatna isimha". In article 5 it is stated that the National language of Malta is the Maltese language. Both the Maltese and the English languages and such other language as may be prescribed by Parliament (by a law passed by not less than two-thirds of all the members of the House of Representatives) shall be the official languages of Malta and the Administration may for all official purposes use any of such languages. However, any person may address the Administration in any of the official languages and the reply of the Administration thereto shall be in such language. To this fair land To this fair land, our mother who gave us her name Protect Thou, oh Lord, as You have always protected; Remember that You have clothed her with the most fragrant of lights. Bestow, oh great God, wisdom to whoever rules over it, Give mercy to whosoever has workers in his employ, sturdiness to the worker himself; Foster unity among all Maltese and give them peace. .Malta Government Þ http://www.gov.mt/index.asp?l=2 Ü Department of Information Þ http://www.doi.gov.mt/ Ü House of Representatives Þ http://parliament.gov.mt/ Ü tp://docs.justice.gov.mt/lom/legislation/english/leg/vol_10/chapt363.pdf |
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