Dominic Mintoff KUOM (Maltese: Duminku Mintoff, [dʊmˈɪnku mˈɪntɒff]; often called il-Perit, "the Architect"; 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012)[1] was a Maltese socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, and was 8th Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958, when Malta was still a British colony, and again, following independence, from 1971 to 1984.

[2] His tenure as Prime Minister saw the creation of a comprehensive welfare state, nationalisation of large corporations, a substantial increase in the general standard of living and the establishment of the Maltese republic,[3][4][5] but was later on marred by a stagnant economy, a rise in authoritarianism and outbreaks of political violence.

[11] His father was a local cook employed by the British Royal Navy and his mother was reputed to have been a pawn broker or money lender.

That same year he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and pursued his studies at Hertford College, Oxford, where he earned a Masters in Science and Engineering in 1939.

Mintoff called this action "perverse" but it was not an uncommon one in any parliamentary democracy with disputed election results.

Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party in 1984, while retaining his Parliamentary seat and remaining a government backbencher.

Things came to a head in 1998 when the Labour government was negotiating the lease of sealine to be developed in a yacht marina in Birgu.

This was the first time, since the war, that Mintoff's name was not on the ballot paper and the Malta Labour Party lost heavily.

[18] After Mintoff's initial attempts at integration with Great Britain proved unsuccessful he resigned in 1958 and became a strident advocate of decolonisation and independence.

[19] The difficult negotiations with Britain, which later resulted in the departure of British forces in 1979 and the attendant losses in rent, were coupled with a policy of Cold War brinkmanship which saw Mintoff seek to play rivals off each other and look increasingly east and south, courting Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, Nicolae Ceaușescu and Muammar Gaddafi.

[12] Recently declassified CIA reports show the United States' fears that a Mintoff-led government in Malta could see the country fall under the Soviet sphere of influence.

[22][23][24][25] The couple wed at the parish church of Bir id-Deheb (Our Lady of Mercy), a tiny 19th century chapel on the outskirts of Żejtun.

[32] While generations of loyal supporters continue to credit Mintoff with the introduction of social benefits like the children's allowance, two-thirds pensions, minimum wage and social housing as well as the creation of Air Malta, Sea Malta, the separation of church and state and ending 200 years of British colonial rule, critics point to his divisive legacy, and the violence and unrest that characterised his time in office.

It has also been pointed out by Mintoff's critics that a pervasive cult of personality has been maintained after his death, most prominently within the Labour Party.

[43] A statue of Mintoff was unveiled in his hometown Cospicua on 12 December 2014, designed by the artist Noel Galea Bason.

In May 2018, a second statue of Mintoff was unveiled in Castille Square in Valletta directly opposite the office of the Prime Minister.

[55] The Tail That Wagged The Dog: The life and struggles of Dom Mintoff (1916-2012), written and published in English by Mark Montebello, was issued by SKS Publications, a branch of Malta’s Labour Party,[56] which commissioned the book.

[57] Though at first welcomed by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the leader of the party,[58] he later repudiated the biography,[59] though the book was not withheld from being sold by the publisher.