page_title: Agatha Barbara
section_title: Presidency
hierarchical_section_title: Agatha Barbara / Presidency
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue of Agatha Barbara, President of Malta at Ħaż-Żabbar, Malta
context_page_description: Agatha Barbara, KUOM was a Maltese politician, having served as a Labour Member of Parliament and Minister. She was the first woman to hold the office of President of Malta, and is the longest standing woman Member of Parliament in Maltese political history.
context_section_description: In 1981 elections led to a constitutional crisis because the Nationalist Party (PN) won a majority of the votes, but only got a minority in parliament: 31 seats against 34 for MLP. PN boycotted parliament and organized protests. Nevertheless, Mintoff took power, but instead of becoming minister, Barbara was appointed as the first woman president, 59 years old, on 15 February 1982. She was the third President of the Republic. Usually the position was mainly ceremonial, but her task now was to resolve the constitutional crises. At the end of her term in 1987, Barbara presided over the presentation and acceptance of the 1987 Constitutional reform, ranging from the cementing of Malta's independence from foreign powers, to the allocation of additional Parliamentary seats in case a Party obtains an absolute majority of votes at a general election without achieving a Parliamentary majority. In 1987 her term expired and she withdrew from politics. Barbara appeared on a series of Maltese banknotes which were issued in 1986. She retired in Żabbar, where she was born, and died in 2002. A monument in her honor was unveiled in Żabbar on 23 April 2006 by the then President of Malta, Dr. Edward Fenech Adami.
caption: Memorial to Barbara in Żabbar
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