The death was announced last week of Anthony P. Galdes.

Mr Galdes was Malta’s first Maltese Governor of the Central Bank and served in this post for two terms, from June 1987 to May 1993.

Just a year later, when the presidential term of Dr Censu Tabone was drawing to a close, Mr Galdes’ name was among those suggested by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami as a possible non-partisan president. Nothing came out of that suggestion, however, and Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici was chosen instead.

In between these bouts of public service, Mr Galdes also served on the board of Farsons, as vice chairman for 10 years and another two as a director, and later as chairman of the board audit committee and the SFC staff pension board.

This latter role led to his being appointed chairman of the National Commission on Welfare Reform but he resigned this post in November 2002 claiming he did not have time to waste on an exercise “which has been vitiated by an official strategy which at best duplicates the work of the commission and at worst makes agreement by the representatives of the social partners serving on the commission even more problematic than it was before.”

Mr Galdes was reacting to the Budget Speech of November 2001 which stated that the government had made its proposals on social security reform to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

Social Security Minister Lawrence Gonzi had written to him arguing that the proposals contained in the Budget Speech and outlined to MCESD were intended to facilitate the work of the committee in achieving its objectives, but Mr Galdes stood firm in his decision to resign.