Republic Day 2010| Honours and Awards

Presented by President of Malta George Abela, the medals were awarded to:

·      Former Minister of Economic Services, Josef Bonnici was appointed companion to the National Order of Merit. In 2004, Bonnici became the first Maltese member of the European Court of Auditors.

Born in Birzebbugia, Bonnici was elected to Maltese Parliament in 1992. During the same year he served as the economic adviser to the Prime Minister.

·      Professor of history at the University of Malta Henry Frendo was appointed to Officer of the Order of Merit. Also acting as a visiting professor at various universities in Europe, Australia and America, Frendo has been involved in the Council of Europe on local and regional government affairs since 1994.

Frendo was the first of Mayor of Attard, the first Chairman of the Local Council’s Association and President of the College of Mayors.

·      Joseph Elias Khoury and David Walsh were appointed honorary members of the Order.

Khoury is the vice president and general manager of the European Division of Methode Electronics. Khoury has been responsible for the Malta plant since 2006.

·      Walsh is the CEO and founder of IT development company Crimsonwing. The company opened its centre in Malta in 1998 and currently employs a workforce of 160.

Five others were appointed as Members of the National Order of Merit. These included:

·      Consultant Paediatric Oncologist Victor Calvagna. His profession is dedicated to treating children with cancer at Mater Dei Hospital. Calvagna is one of the founding members and President of the Puttinu Cares Foundation.

·      Author, broadcaster and diplomat John Manduca was Malta’s High Commissioner to London between 1987 and 1990. Concurrently, he was Ambassador to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Dublin.

In 2003, Manduca was awarded the ‘Gold Award’ for his contribution to professional journalism. In 2005 he received an ward for his contribution to cultural tourism.

·      Tonio Protughese has worked in the business and industry sector for over 35 years, occupying top managerial positions in Malta, Italy, France, Morocco, Singapore, China and Malaysia. His area of expertise mainly focused on HR Development Programmes.

·      Major (rtd) Peter Paul Ripard, victim of the recent Transport Malta explosion, has served for 32 years with the Royal Malta Artillery. He is now a Consultant to Transport Malta in relation to Driver Safety. He is also the Chief Instructor to Driving Examiners.

Ripard is a respected military historian of the Maltese Islands.

·      Former Child Commissioner Carmen Zammit, who for more than 40 years was a driving force in the field of social work. For many years she also worked with the underprivileged and emotionally disturbed adoloscents.

The Medal for the Service of the Republic was awarded to eight persons:

·      A former Deputy Secretary General of the General Workers’ Union, Vincent Esposito is a major protagonist in the history of Malta’s trade unions. Esposito played a direct role in the drafting of the first collective agreements and was also involved in the founding of the Industrial Tribunal in Malta.

·      One of the founding members of the German-Maltese Circle, Fenech contributed hugely towards the promotion of the German language and culture in Malta.

Fenech served for 31 years as the Circle’s President.

·      Born in Mellieha, George Fenech placed first in the examination for the scholarship offered by the Government School of Art in Malta. In Malta, Fenech produced a number of religious work of which ‘The Desposition’ is considered as his monumental accomplishment.

Fenech’s paintings can be found in private collections in Malta, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, the UK and the USA.

·      Musician Maryan Kissaun was awarded two major scholarships by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and the British Council. Kissaun spent several years giving recitals on both the radio and the television, the Manoel Theatre and the British Institute.

·      Former nurse Mary Magri who is responsible for the opening of the Paola Diabetic Clinic. She was also the Nurse in-Charge of A Diabetic Survey commissioned by the World Health Organisation.

·      Actor, director and producer Mario Micallef is a self-taught actor performing with a number of companies. He is the founder of the dramatic company Talenti. Two of his mort famous teleplays are ‘It-Tfal Jigu bil-Vapuri’ and ‘La Jibnazza Nigi Lura’.

Micallef has won the award of Best TV Actor for his principal roles as Dun Grejbel.

·      Gozitan broadcaster Alvin Scicluna started his career as a teacher and is the co-founder of the Gozo Sports Association. Scicluna founded the company CVC Media which is active in reporting news from Gozo whilst producing other educational programmes.

He has worked on television features and programmes for foreign networks which include the BBC, RAI, Euronews, Mediaset and SkyTV.

·      Former President of the National Council of Women Cecilia Xuereb has received her appointment due to ther contributions in education and culture, music promotion and appreciation and advocacy of the role of women.

She has both worked as a teacher and administrator.