Myriam Spiteri Debono

About

Myriam Spiteri Debono (born 25 October 1952) is a Maltese politician who is the 11th and current president of Malta. She is the first Gozitan woman to be elected to the position. She was also the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta from 1996 to 1998, the first woman to hold that position.

== Early life and career ==
Spiteri Debono was born Miriam Zammit in Victoria, Gozo, to Pawlu Zammit and his wife. She received her formal childhood education in Gozo and later attended the University of Malta where she studied English Literature and Linguistics, graduating in 1973, and founded the Socialist Students Union. She also studied law and graduated as a Notary Public in 1980.
Her first public office appointments included that of chair of the Cooperatives Board, and as a founding member of the Gender Equality Commission.
She was a candidate for the Malta Labour Party in five general elections (1981, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2003), but was never elected as a member of parliament. However, she was elected to the party’s national executive in 1982 and served as the party’s propaganda secretary.
Spiteri Debono served as president of the Malta Labour Party’s women section between 1993 and…