| Enrico Mizzi | |
 Portrait Painted By Esprit Barthet - Oil on Canvas - (122x92cm) |
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| In office 1950 – 1950 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Boffa |
| Succeeded by | George Borg Olivier |
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| Born | September 20, 1885 Valletta, Malta |
| Died | 20 December 1950 (aged 65) Paola, Malta |
| Political party | Nationalist Party |
| Spouse(s) | Bice Vassallo |
Enrico Mizzi (20 September 1885 - 20 December 1950), popularly known as Nerik Mizzi, was a Maltese politician, leader of the Nationalist Party and Prime Minister of Malta. Mizzi was born in Valletta on 20 September 1885, son of Fortunato Mizzi and Maria Sofia Fogliero de Luna. He was educated at the Gozo Seminary, Flores College, and in 1903 he started his studies in literature and science; he began reading law at the Universities of Rome and Urbino in 1906.
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Political Career
Mizzi was first elected to the Council of Government in 1915 as Member of the Comitato Patriottico, where he worked to obtain a liberal Constitution for Malta. Nrik Mizzi founded the ECO di Malta e Gozo, organ of the PDN in 1921, and was founder of MALTA, organ of the PN (1926-40).
Sette Giugno
In 1915 Nerik Mizzi, supported by the Comitato Patriottico, contested as a candidate for Gozo. He achieved a resounding success. In 1917 Mizzi was arrested and court-martialled on charges of sedition, under the Malta Defense Regulations for writings and statements against the British. In these writings Mizzi expresses the opinion that there could be an Anglo-Italian pact whereby Malta would be an autonomous regional entity within Italy, with full access to Maltese harbors and shipping facilities guaranteed to Britain.
He was sentenced to a year's imprisonment with hard labor, the loss of civil rights and the withdrawal of his lawyer's warrant. The sentence was commuted by Governor Methuen to a "severe censure", while his civil rights and warrant were restored following the cessation of hostilities in 1918.
During the first meeting of the National Assembly, in 1919, Mizzi was nominated and elected, by unanimous vote, Secretary of the Assembly and served as its delegate between 1945-47. 1919 also saw mass anti-British riots, in which a number of Maltese demonstrators were killed or wounded by British troops. They are commemorated every year on the Sette Giugno.
Partito Democratico Nazionalista
In 1921 Nerik Mizzi formed the Partito Democratico Nazionalista. In the election of the 1 November 1921, Mizzi's party elected four candidates in Gozo. After the 1924 elections, Mizzi's party formed a coalition government with the Unione Politica Maltese. In 1926 the two parties, UPM and PDN, merged to reunite as the Partito Nazionalista. Mizzi was co-leader of the party, alongside Sir Ugo Mifsud.
Nerik Mizzi held the post of Minister of Industry and Commerce (1924-27), Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Posts (1932), Minister of Education (1932-33). He was member of the legislative assembly (1921-30), (1932-33), (1947-50); and Leader of the Partito Nazionalista (1942-50), and Leader of the Opposition (1947-50). He founded the Circolo Giovane Malta and was life president of the Societa' Dante Alighieri.
Exile
When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, with Italy joining the Axis on 10 June 1940, Malta was drawn into the conflict. In the Nationalist tradition, particularly after 1880, Enrico Mizzi had expressed a consistent call for retaining close ties with Italy, a Fascist state after 1922, but especially for the retention of the age-old italianita'- latinita' Mediterranean heritage of the Maltese Islands.
This position made him a staunch opponent of British military despotism in the 'fortress colony' of Malta. Under strong Imperialist pressure led by the Anglo-Maltese Strickland family, as a precaution against a possible Italian invasion and the establishment of some puppet Fascist regime under Enrico Mizzi, a number of Italian sympathizers were arrested on suspicion of possible disloyalty to the British Crown, without charge or trial. On the 30 May 1940, while Mizzi was at the Malta Printing Press, he was arrested and interned in the Fortizza tas-Salvatur.
In February 1942, Governor Dobbie issued a warrant for the deportation of 47 Maltese, amongst whom was Enrico Mizzi, who were exiled to Uganda. Together with the group of deportees he was repatriated from Uganda on 8 March 1945 and immediately returned to Maltese politics by attending the Council Sitting on the 15 March.
Legacy
The Nationalist Party won the 1950 elections and Enrico Mizzi was appointed Prime Minister. He died at his residence, in Valletta, only three months later and was accorded a state funeral. To date, he is the only Maltese prime minister to die in office. His is remembered by the Maltese as a contributing force in the Maltese national, European identity and as a prominent Maltese Italian.
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"I hope that when I pass from this life to become a memory to posterity I hope no one will slander me ... for party reasons ... As I had been declared by the Nationalist Party some thirty years ago, I am still, thank God, before the Party, before the people, and above all else before my own conscience “senza macchia e senza paura.” |
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—Enrico Mizzi[1] |
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Footnotes
- ^ Legislative Assembly Debates, Sitting No 8, 17 March 1949, p.397.
See also
- Maltese Italians
- Italia irredenta
- Maltese people
- Nationalist Party (Malta)
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