Alfred Sant

Alfred Sant, (born 28 February 1948) is a Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008.

Sant is an established writer and playwright and has published several books. (which proved to be extremely controversial), reduction of an electricity surcharge by half, and tax breaks on overtime work.

At the 2008 Maltese general election Sant was defeated for the third consecutive time, this time by Lawrence Gonzi, on a slim margin of only 1,580 votes. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as leader of the Labour Party on 10 March 2008, and as Leader of the Opposition on 5 June 2008; he was succeeded as party leader by Joseph Muscat and as leader of the opposition by Charles Mangion. He retained his Parliamentary seat.

2014 European Parliament election

Sant announced that he would stand as a Labour Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election, despite his previous opposition to EU membership for Malta. He received 48,739 votes, which elected him outright, acquiring more votes than any other candidate. He was re-elected in 2019 but decided not to stand for re-election in 2024.

Literary works and journalism

Alfred Sant is a novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His published works include plays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction.

Fid-Dell tal-Katidral (1994)
Qabel Tiftaħ l-Inkjesta (1999)

Short story collections

Kwart ta' Mija (1995)
Pupu fil-Baħar (2009)

Novels

L-Ewwel Weraq tal-Bajtar (1968)
Bejgħ u Xiri (1981)
Silġ fuq Kemmuna (1982)
La Bidu, La Tmiem (2001)
L-Għalqa tal-Iskarjota (2009)
George Bush f'Malta (2013)

Non-fiction works

Collection of political essays, L-Impenn għall-Bidla (1986)
Chronicle (political), It-28 ta' April 1958 (1988)
Malta's European Challenge (1995)
Confessions of a European Maltese (2003 autobiography)
Is-Soċjaliżmu fi Żminijietna (2004)

Other writings

Sant edited Tomorrow, a monthly English-language magazine (1982–1985), and of Society, a quarterly opinion magazine, apart from authoring numerous articles. Sant also contributed regularly to the General Workers' Union's Sunday Maltese-language newspaper It-Torċa until March 2008.

Honours

National honours

: Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1996) by right as a Prime Minister of Malta