Editing History of Malta (section)

==Independent Malta (since 1964)==

=== Nationalist governments (1964–1971) ===
{{anchor|Malta Independence Act 1964}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Malta Independence Act 1964
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the attainment by Malta of fully responsible status within the Commonwealth.
| year                  = 1964
| citation              = [[List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1964|1964]] c. 86
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 31 July 1964
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = [[British Nationality Act 1981]]
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1964/86/contents/enacted
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = Malta Independence Act 1964
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Ton-class minesweeper - HMS Stubbington (M1204) - Msida Creek, Malta 1964.jpg|thumb|Ton-class minesweeper HMS ''Stubbington'' (M1204) moored in Msida Creek, Malta. The ship, seen on 21 September 1964, is decorated in honour of Malta's independence.]]
[[File:Denkmal an die Unabhängigkeit Maltas in Valletta.jpg|thumb|Monument to the independence of Malta in [[Floriana]]]]

Following the passage of the Malta Independence Act 1964 (c. 86) by the [[British Parliament]] and the approval of a new [[Constitution of Malta|Maltese constitution]] by 54.5% of voters in a [[1964 Maltese constitutional referendum|referendum]], the [[State of Malta]] ({{langx|mt|Stat ta’ Malta}}) was formed on 21&nbsp;September 1964 as an independent [[constitutional monarchy]], with [[Elizabeth II]] as [[Queen of Malta]] and [[head of state]]. The date continues to be celebrated annually as Independence Day ({{langx|mt|Jum l-Indipendenza}}), a national holiday in Malta. On 1&nbsp;December 1964, Malta was admitted to the [[United Nations]].

In the first two post-independence electoral rounds, in [[1962 Maltese general election|1962]] and [[1966 Maltese general election|1966]] the [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party]] emerged as the largest party, gaining a majority of the Parliamentary seats. In these years, [[Italy-Malta relations|relations with Italy]] were of the utmost importance to secure independence and establish linkages with continental Europe. Malta signed four cooperation agreements with Italy in 1967, during a visit of [[Aldo Moro]] to the island.

In 1965 Malta joined the [[Council of Europe]], and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the [[European Economic Community]].

=== Labour governments (1971–1987) ===
[[File:Proclamation-de-la-Républiq.jpg|thumb|President [[Anthony Mamo]] and Prime Minister [[Dom Mintoff]] at the proclamation of the Republic of Malta, 13&nbsp;December 1974]]

The [[1971 Maltese general election|elections of 1971]] saw the [[Labour Party (Malta)|Labour Party]] (MLP) under [[Dom Mintoff]] win by just over 4,000&nbsp;votes.
The Labour government immediately set out to re-negotiate the post-Independence [[military]] and financial agreements with the [[United Kingdom]]. The government also undertook [[nationalization]] programmes and the expansion of the [[public sector]] and the [[welfare state]]. [[Employment law]]s were updated with [[gender equality]] being introduced in salary pay. Concerning civil law, [[civil marriage]] was introduced and [[homosexuality]] and [[adultery]] were decriminalised (1973); [[capital punishment]] for [[murder]] was abolished in 1971. The following year, Malta entered into a Military Base Agreement with the [[United Kingdom]] and other [[NATO]] countries, after mediation by Italy's [[Aldo Moro]].
[[File:Malta 50 years as republic.jpg|thumb|218x218px|Advertisements in Valletta for Malta celebrating 50 years as a republic.]]
Through a package of constitutional reforms, Malta became a [[republic]] on 13&nbsp;December 1974, with the last Governor-General, Sir [[Anthony Mamo]], as its first [[President of Malta|President]]. The [[Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika|''Ġieħ ir-Repubblika'' Act]], promulgated the following year, abolished all titles of [[nobility]] in Malta and mandated that they cease to be recognised.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 251 – Ġieh ir-Repubblika Act|url=http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8745&l=1|website=[[Government of Malta]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129052951/http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8745&l=1|archive-date=29 November 2014|date=17 October 1975}}</ref>

The Party was confirmed in office in the [[1976 Maltese general election|1976 elections]]. Between 1976 and 1981 Malta went through difficult times and the Labour government demanded that the Maltese tighten their belts in order to overcome the difficulties Malta was facing. There were shortages of essential items; water and electricity supplies were systematically suspended for two or three days a week. Political tensions increased, notably on [[Black Monday (Malta)|Black Monday]], when following an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister, the premises of the ''[[Times of Malta]]'' were burned and the house of the Leader of Opposition was attacked.

==== End of British presence and new regional alliances ====
{{main|Libya–Malta relations|Italy–Malta relations}}
[[File:RIAN archive 667881 US president George Bush and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] and USSR leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] meeting in [[Valletta]] in December 1989.]]
On 1&nbsp;April 1979 the last British forces left the island after the end of the economic pact to stabilise the Maltese economy. This is celebrated as [[Freedom Day (Malta)|Freedom Day]] (''Jum Il-Ħelsien'') on 31 March. Celebrations start with a ceremony in [[Floriana]] near the [[War Memorial (Floriana)|War Memorial]]. A popular event on this memorable day is the traditional regatta. The regatta is held at the Grand Harbour and the teams taking part in it give it their best shot to win the much coveted aggregate Regatta Shield.

Under Mintoff's premiership, Malta began establishing close cultural and economic ties with [[Muammar Gaddafi]]'s [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]],<ref name=TimeMag-1972-01-17>{{cite magazine |title=Gaddafi to the Rescue |magazine=Time |date=17 January 1972 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877632-1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426225041/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C877632-1%2C00.html |archive-date=26 April 2009}}</ref> as well as diplomatic and military ties with [[North Korea]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Young |first=Benjamin R. |date=11 June 2014 |title=Kim Jong Il's unlikely Maltese mentor & a secret military agreement |work=[[NK News]] |url=https://www.nknews.org/2014/06/kim-jong-ils-unlikely-maltese-mentor-a-secret-military-agreement/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417033152/https://www.nknews.org/2014/06/kim-jong-ils-unlikely-maltese-mentor-a-secret-military-agreement/ |archive-date=17 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Falzon |first=Michael |date=22 October 2006 |title=Our man in Pyongyang |newspaper=Times of Malta |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20061022/opinion/our-man-in-pyongyang.37652 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415202409/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20061022/opinion/our-man-in-pyongyang.37652 |archive-date=15 April 2015}}</ref>

During the [[Dom Mintoff|Mintoff]] years, Libya had loaned several million dollars to Malta to make up for the loss of rental income which followed the closure of British military bases in Malta.<ref name=TimeMag-1972-01-17/> These closer ties with Libya meant a dramatic new (but short-lived) development in Maltese foreign policy: Western media reported that Malta appeared to be turning its back on [[NATO]], the [[UK]], and Europe generally.<ref>{{cite magazine  |title=Our sad adieu |magazine=Time |date=9 April 1979 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920217,00.html |access-date=8 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930064848/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920217,00.html |archive-date=2007-09-30}}</ref>
History books were published that began to spread the idea of a disconnection between the Italian and Catholic populations, and instead tried to promote the theory of closer cultural and ethnic ties with North Africa. This new development was noted by Boissevain in 1991: "The Labour government broke off relations with NATO and sought links with the Arab world. After 900&nbsp;years of being linked to Europe, Malta began to look southward. Muslims, still remembered in folklore for savage pirate attacks, were redefined as blood brothers".<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jeremy |last=Boissevain |year=1991 |title=Ritual, play, and identity: Changing patterns of celebration in Maltese villages |journal=Journal of Mediterranean Studies |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=87–100, quote at 88}}</ref>

Malta and Libya had entered into a ''Friendship and Cooperation Treaty'', in response to repeated overtures by [[Gaddafi]] for a closer, more formal union between the two countries{{when|date=September 2017}}; and, for a brief period, Arabic had become a compulsory subject in Maltese secondary schools.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boissevain |first=Jeremy |date=1984 |chapter=Ritual escalation in Malta |editor=Eric R. Wolf |title=Religion, Power and Protest in Local Communities: The Northern Shore of the Mediterranean |series=Religion and Society |volume=24 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |page=166 |isbn=9783110097771 |issn=1437-5370 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zobO6LmDLikC&pg=PA166}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Hans Peter |last=Mattes |year=1985 |title=Aspekte der libyschen Außeninvestitionspolitik 1972-1985 (Fallbeispiel Malta) |language=de |journal=Mitteilungen des Deutschen Orient-Instituts |volume=26 |place=Hamburg, DE |pages=88–126; 142–161}}</ref> In 1984 the [[Mariam Al-Batool Mosque]] was officially opened by Muammar Gaddafi in Malta, two years after its completion.

In 1980 an oil rig of the Italian company [[Saipem]] commissioned by [[Texaco]] to drill on behalf of the Maltese government 68&nbsp;nautical miles south-east of Malta had to stop operations after being threatened by a Libyan gunboat. Both Malta and Libya claimed economic rights to the area and this incident raised tensions. The matter was referred to the [[International Court of Justice]] in 1982 but the court's ruling in 1985 dealt only with the delineation of a small part of the contested territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=Malta Today |date=2009-04-29 |website=archive.maltatoday.com.mt |url=http://archive.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/04/29/t9.html |access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cour internationale de Justice – International Court of Justice |website=icj-cij.org |id=sum 353, code lm, pp 3–5, case 68, k a8 |url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?sum=353&code=lm&p1=3&p2=3&case=68&k=a8&p3=5 |access-date=15 April 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302202532/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?sum=353&code=lm&p1=3&p2=3&case=68&k=a8&p3=5 |archive-date=2 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1980, Malta signed a [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] agreement with [[Italy]], under which Malta agreed not to enter into any alliance and Italy agreed to guarantee Malta's neutrality.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Peacetime Use of Foreign Military Installations Under Modern International Law |last=Woodliffe |first=John |year=1992 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |place=Dordrecht, DE |isbn=0-7923-1879-X |pages=99–100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVW8d2NiXSYC&q=italy+malta+neutrality&pg=PA99 |access-date=2009-04-11}}</ref> Malta's relations with Italy have been described as "generally excellent".<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Attard |first2=Dominic |last2=Fenech |year=2000 |section=The Law of the Sea and jurisdictional issues in the Mediterranean |title=Naval Policy and Strategy in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future |editor-first=John B. |editor-last=Hattendorf |place=London, UK |publisher=Frank Cass |page=362 |isbn=0-7146-8054-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o20TToWpNYIC&dq=italy+malta+neutrality&pg=PA362 |access-date=11 April 2009 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==== Constitutional crisis in the 1980s ====
[[File:Strait street, Valletta, 1980.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A "Vote PN" graffiti in Strait street, Valletta, 1980]]
The [[1981 Maltese general election|1981 general elections]] saw the [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party]] (NP) gaining an absolute majority of votes, yet the Labour winning the majority of parliamentary seats under the [[Single Transferable Vote]] and Mintoff remained Prime Minister, leading to a political crisis. The Nationalists, now led by [[Eddie Fenech Adami]], refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in Parliament for the first years of the legislature, mounting a campaign demanding that Parliament should reflect the democratic will of the people. Despite this, the Labour government remained in power for the full five-year term. Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister and Party leader and appointed [[Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici]] as his successor in 1984.

The Mifsud Bonnici years were characterised by political tensions and violence. After a five-year debate, Fenech Adami, through the intervention of Dom Mintoff, reached an agreement with [[Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici]] to improve the constitution. Constitutional amendments were made voted and made effective in January 1987 which guaranteed that the party with an absolute majority of votes would be given a majority of parliamentary seats in order to govern. This paved the way for the return of the Nationalist Party to government later that year.

=== Accession process to the European Union (1987–2004) ===
[[File:Edward Fenech Adami.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Eddie Fenech Adami]], Prime Minister of Malta 1987–96 and 1998–2004, and President of Malta 2004–09]]
The [[1987 Maltese general election|general elections that followed in 1987]] saw the Nationalist Party achieve such a majority of votes. The new Nationalist administration of Edward Fenech Adami sought to improve Malta's ties with [[Western Europe]] and the [[United States]].
The [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party]] advocated Malta's membership in the European Union presenting an application on 16 July 1990. This became a divisive issue, with [[Malta Labour Party|Labour]] opposing membership.

A wide-ranging programme of liberalisation and public investments meant the confirmation in office of the Nationalists with a larger majority in the [[1992 Maltese general election|1992 elections]]. In 1993, local councils were re-established in Malta.

[[1996 Maltese general election|General elections were held in Malta on 26 October 1996]]; although [[Malta Labour Party|Labour]] received the most votes, the Nationalists won the most seats. The 1987 constitutional amendments had to be used for the second time, and the Labour Party was awarded an additional four seats to ensure they had a majority in Parliament.
Malta's EU application was subsequently frozen.
A split in the Labour Party in 1998, between the PM Sant and the former PM Mintoff (died in 2012) resulted in the government losing the majority. Notwithstanding the President of the Republic's preference for a negotiated solution, all attempts proved futile, and he had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call for early elections.

On being returned to office in the [[1998 Maltese general election|1998 elections]] with a wide 13,000&nbsp;vote margin, the [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party]] reactivated the EU membership application. Malta was formally accepted as a candidate country at the Helsinki European Council of December&nbsp;1999.<ref>{{cite web |title=Presidency Conclusions – Helsinki European Council – 10 and 11&nbsp;December 1999 |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/acfa4c.htm |website=Council of the European Union|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206132601/http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/acfa4c.htm |archive-date=6 February 2016}}</ref>
In 2000, [[capital punishment]] was abolished also from the military code of Malta.

EU accession negotiations were concluded late in 2002 and a [[2003 Maltese European Union membership referendum|referendum on membership in 2003]] saw 90.86% casting a valid vote of which 53.65% were "yes" votes. [[Malta Labour Party|Labour]] stated that it would not be bound by this result were it returned to power in the following general election that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Maltese back EU entry |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2833889.stm |date=9 March 2003}}</ref> In the circumstances, elections were called and the [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Nationalist Party]], led by Prime minister Fenech Adami, [[2003 Maltese general election|won another mandate]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Malta votes for pro-EU party |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2943597.stm |date=13 April 2003}}</ref> In April 2004, Eddie Fenech Adami was sworn in as [[President of Malta]]. [[Lawrence Gonzi]] succeeded him as Prime Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Party.<ref>{{cite news |title=Malta prime minister resigns |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2004/03/24/Malta-prime-minister-resigns/89751080128026/ |work=UPI |language=en}}</ref> The accession treaty was signed and ratified and Malta joined the EU on 1&nbsp;May 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Malta - Member information |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/malta_e.htm |website=www.wto.org}}</ref> A consensus on membership was subsequently achieved with [[Malta Labour Party|Labour]] saying it would respect this result. [[Joe Borg]] was appointed as first Maltese [[European commissioner]] in the first [[Barroso Commission]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Borg re-nominated as EU commissioner |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/joe-borg-re-nominated-as-eu-commissioner.116747 |work=Times of Malta |language=en-gb}}</ref>

=== Malta in the European Union (2004–present)===
Malta's accession to the European Union in 2004 had important implications for the state's foreign policy. Notably, Malta was required to withdraw from the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] of which the state had been an active member since 1971.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cini|first=Michelle|date=September 2004|title=Culture, institutions and campaign effects: Explaining the outcome of Malta's EU accession referendum |journal=West European Politics|volume=27|issue=4|pages=584–602|doi=10.1080/0140238042000249911|s2cid=154334621|issn=0140-2382}}</ref>[[File:Welcome-Europe.jpg|thumb|Celebrations at [[Fort Saint Angelo]] commemorating Malta's entry into the EU in 2004]]

In the context of EU membership, Malta joined the [[Eurozone]] on 1&nbsp;January 2008;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/articles/euro/change_over_cyprus_and_malta_en.htm|title=Cyprus and Malta: Welcome to the euro area! - European Commission|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> the [[2008 Maltese general election|2008 election]] confirmed Gonzi in the premiership,<ref>{{cite news|title=Gonzi Beats them all - The Malta Independent|url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2008-03-13/newspaper-letters/Gonzi-Beats-them-all-204973|work=[[The Malta Independent]]|date=13 March 2008|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> while in 2009 [[George Abela]] became President of Malta.<ref>{{cite news|title=Abela to be nominated President tomorrow|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/abela-to-be-nominated-president-tomorrow.240259|work=Times of Malta|date=11 January 2009|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

On 28 May 2011, the Maltese voted 'yes' in the consultative [[2011 Maltese divorce referendum|divorce referendum]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Sharrock|first=David|title=Malta votes yes to legalising divorce|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/29/malta-votes-yes-legalising-divorce|work=The Guardian|date=29 May 2011|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> At that time, Malta was one of only three countries in the world, along with the [[Philippines]] and the [[Vatican City]], in which divorce was not permitted. As a consequence of the referendum outcome, a law allowing divorce under certain conditions was enacted in the same year.<ref>{{cite news|title=MPs in Catholic Malta pass historic law on divorce|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14285882|work=[[BBC News]]|date=25 July 2011|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

Following a corruption scandal [[John Dalli]] had to resign and was replaced by [[Tonio Borg]] as Maltese commissioner in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malta's Tonio Borg appointed EU Health Commissioner|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20523924|work=BBC News|date=28 November 2012|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> A [[2013 Maltese general election|snap election was called for March&nbsp;2013]] after the Gonzi government lost the Parliamentary majority. The Nationalist Party lost the election after having governed Malta more than 15 years since 1987 (except for a period from 1996 to 1998).<ref>{{cite news |title=Malta general election vote ends|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21722936|work=BBC News|date=9 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> Labour Party leader [[Joseph Muscat]] was elected as Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/Muscat-sworn-in-as-PM.461157|last=Sansone|first=Kurt|title=Muscat sworn in as PM|work=Times of Malta|date=12 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Labour returns to power in Malta after 15 years|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21734277|work=BBC News|date=10 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

In April 2019, the parliament elected [[George Vella]] as the 10th [[President of Malta|President of the Republic of Malta]] to succeed [[Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Watch: George Vella - Who is Malta's new President of the Republic?|date=4 April 2019|newspaper=The Malta Independent|url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2019-04-04/local-news/Watch-George-Vella-Who-is-Malta-s-new-President-of-the-Republic-6736206151|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

On 16 October 2017, Maltese [[journalist]] and anti-corruption activist [[Daphne Caruana Galizia]] was assassinated in a car bomb near her residence in [[Bidnija]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Malta car bomb kills Panama Papers journalist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/16/malta-car-bomb-kills-panama-papers-journalist|last=Garside|first=Juliette|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=16 October 2017|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> Her murder caused an uproar of criticism for the Labour government and the judicial system on the islands. Following evidence of implication between Joseph Muscat's close circle and the arrest of [[Yorgen Fenech]], a long series of protests on the islands and international criticism precipitated the [[2019–2020 Maltese protests|2019–2020 political crisis]]. This resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister [[Joseph Muscat]], Minister [[Konrad Mizzi]], and Prime Minister's Chief of Staff [[Keith Schembri]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Malta's PM quits in crisis over Daphne Caruana Galizia murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/01/malta-pm-joseph-muscat-quits-daphne-caruana-galizia|last=Garside|first=Juliette|work=The Guardian|date=1 December 2019|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> An internal election on 11&nbsp;January 2020 within the [[Labour Party (Malta)|Maltese Labour party]] elected [[Robert Abela]], son of former president George Abela, as party leader, and Prime Minister of Malta.<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Abela elected Labour Party leader and will be Malta's new PM|date=11 January 2020|newspaper=Times of Malta|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/robert-abela-elected-labour-party-leader-and-will-be-maltas-new-pm.762714|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Malta: Robert Abela elected new PM after crisis over journalist's murder|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51080574|work=BBC News|date=12 January 2020|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalize [[cannabis (drug)|recreational use of cannabis]] on 14 December 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bubola |first=Emma |date=2021-12-15 |title=Malta Becomes First E.U. Country to Legalize Marijuana |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/world/europe/malta-eu-marijuana-legalize.html |access-date=2023-04-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In March 2022, the ruling Labour party, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, won its third successive [[2022 Maltese general election|election]]. It gained even bigger victory than in 2013 and in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=Labour Party claims victory in Malta elections|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/27/malta-elections-ruling-labour-party-claims-victory|work=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|date=27 March 2022|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> On 4 April 2025, [[Myriam Spiteri Debono]] was sworn in as the President of Malta.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dr Myriam Spiteri Debono has been sworn in as the President of Malta |url=https://maltaembassy.orderofmalta.int/en/news/dr-myriam-spiteri-debono-has-been-sworn-in-as-the-president-of-malta/ |work=Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Malta}}</ref>