V.

Government of Malta

Until 1974, Malta was a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The head of state was the British monarch, represented in Malta by a governor general. Under the amended constitution of 1974, Malta became a democratic republic with a president serving as head of state. The president is appointed by the Maltese parliament to serve a term of five years.

The head of government is a prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Representatives, a single-chamber parliament composed of 65 members. Members of the parliament are elected for five-year terms by universal adult suffrage on the basis of proportional representation. The prime minister, who is assisted by a cabinet, is usually the leader of the majority party in parliament. The tenure of the prime minister and cabinet (also called the government) depends on the support of the House of Representatives.

Malta’s two major political parties are the conservative Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista-PN) and the democratic socialist Malta Labour Party (MLP).

Malta is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth of Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, and the European Union.