Malta Government

What is the capital of Malta?

Country Name	Malta
Full Country Name	Republic of Malta
Local - Long	Repubblika ta' Malta
Local - Short	Malta
Etymology- history of name	the ancient Greeks called the island "Melite" meaning "honey-sweet" from the Greek word "meli" meaning "honey" and referring to the island's honey production
Government Type	parliamentary republic
Capital Name	Valletta
Capital - geographic coordinate	35 53 N, 14 30 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence	21 September 1964 (from the UK)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1964); Republic Day, 13 December (1974)
Constitution	history: many previous; latest adopted 21 September 1964 amendments: proposals (Acts of Parliament) require at least two-thirds majority vote by the House of Representatives; passage of Acts requires majority vote by referendum, followed by final majority vote by the House and assent of the president of the republic; amended many times, last in 2020

Malta Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Malta Government and Politics

Who is the president of Malta?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President George VELLA (since 4 April 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Robert ABELA (13 January 2020) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the House of Representatives for a single 5-year term; election last held on 2 April 2019 (next to be held by April 2024); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president for a 5-year term; deputy prime minister appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: 2024: Myriam SPITERI DEBONO elected president; House of representatives vote - unanimous; SPITERI DEBONO takes office on 4 April 2024 2020: Robert ABELA (PL) appointed prime minister 2019: George VELLA (PL) elected president; House of Representatives vote - unanimous
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Malta dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System:	mixed legal system of English common law and civil law based on the Roman and Napoleonic civil codes; subject to European Union law
Suffrage:	18 years of age (16 in local council elections); universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral House of Representatives or Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati, a component of the Parliament of Malta (65 seats statutory, 79 for 2022-2027 term; members directly elected in 5 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 26 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 55.1%, PN 41.7%, other 3.2%; seats by party - PL 38, PN 29; composition - men 57, women 22, percent of women 27.8%; note - due to underrepresentation by women in the combined general on 26 March and two casual elections on 7 and 12 April (10 seats or 14.9%), an additional 12 seats were awarded because their percentage did not meet the 40% threshold required by the Malta Constitution or the General Elections Amendment Act 2021
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 3 judges); Court of Criminal Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president, usually upon the advice of the prime minister; judges of both courts serve until age 65 subordinate courts: Civil Court (divided into the General Jurisdiction Section, Family Section, and Voluntary Section); Criminal Court; Court of Magistrates; Gozo Courts (for the islands of Gozo and Comino)
Regions or States:	68 localities (Il-lokalita); Attard, Balzan, Birgu, Birkirkara, Birzebbuga, Bormla, Dingli, Fgura, Floriana, Fontana, Ghajnsielem, Gharb, Gharghur, Ghasri, Ghaxaq, Gudja, Gzira, Hamrun, Iklin, Imdina, Imgarr, Imqabba, Imsida, Imtarfa, Isla, Kalkara, Kercem, Kirkop, Lija, Luqa, Marsa, Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, Mellieha, Mosta, Munxar, Nadur, Naxxar, Paola, Pembroke, Pieta, Qala, Qormi, Qrendi, Rabat, Rabat (Ghawdex), Safi, San Giljan/Saint Julian, San Gwann/Saint John, San Lawrenz/Saint Lawrence, Sannat, San Pawl il-Bahar/Saint Paul's Bay, Santa Lucija/Saint Lucia, Santa Venera/Saint Venera, Siggiewi, Sliema, Swieqi, Tarxien, Ta' Xbiex, Valletta, Xaghra, Xewkija, Xghajra, Zabbar, Zebbug, Zebbug (Ghawdex), Zejtun, Zurrieq
Political Parties and Leaders:	AD+PD or ADPD [Carmel CACOPARDO] (formed from the merger of Democratic Alternative or AD and Democratic Party (Partit Demokratiku) or PD) Labor Party (Partit Laburista) or PL [Robert ABELA] Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista) or PN [Bernard GRECH]
International Law Organization Participation:	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	Australia Group, C, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO (partner), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Godfrey C. XUEREB (since 19 April 2023) chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - The Embassy of Malta has relocated until further notice to the following address due to ongoing refurbishment: C/O WeWork Flr 2 1333 New Hampshire Ave NW Washington DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611; note - The Embassy of Malta has relocated until further notice due to ongoing refurbishment and can be reached at the following number: [1] (202) 286-4610 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470; note - The Embassy of Malta has relocated until further notice due to ongoing refurbishment and can be reached by FAX at the following number: [1] (202) 530-9753 email address and website: maltaembassy.washington@gov.mt https://foreignandeu.gov.mt/en/Embassies/ME_United_States/Pages/ME_United_States.aspx
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Constance J. MILSTEIN (since October 27, 2022) embassy: Ta' Qali National Park, Attard, ATD 4000 mailing address: 5800 Valletta Place, Washington DC 20521-5800 telephone: [356] 2561-4000 email address and website: ACSMalta@state.gov https://mt.usembassy.gov/

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