One of Malta's best loved Presidents surely has to be Censu Tabone. The gentle ophthalmologist's legacy was cemented into history with the unveiling of a monument in Balluta on Wednesday night.
Dr Tabone was a doctor, a philanthropist, a politician, a minister, President, and, above all else, a gentleman. He was also known for his ability to 'stay young', with a photograph of him and his wife on a jetski, well into their retirement years, having become the stuff of legend.
Dr Tabone was also a voice of reason and a force that pushed for unity in times when things in Malta were a lot more polarised. During the ceremony, excerpts of Dr Tabone's speeches were broadcast and many must have found resonance in the words "Malta hija taghna lkoll", which he had said just after he was made President. This did not go down well with the Labour Party leader of the time -Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici - who called for a boycott of the President, saying he did not represent all of Malta.
But in that respect, the current Labour leader - who himself used the same slogan to great effect in the campaign leading up to the last election - has effectively closed that chapter by being one of the main catalysts to the creation of the monument.
Dr Tabone remained a force of unity throughout his life, as he turned 81, he was interviewed and said: "Political polarisation in this country needs to be abolished. We need to shoulder our fair share of responsibility, and compromise on what is best for Malta." We could not agree with him more. And while Labour deserves kudos for cementing the memory of Dr Tabone, it would do well to practice what it preaches, in what it has borrowed in the slogan that proved to be so effective, but yet seems so elusive in implementing.
Those who worked with him - both in the political field and the medicinal field - describe him as a man of principles and an inspiration. He was also known to be one of the few politicians who would take on the fiery Dom Mintoff in an assertive manner.
Dr Tabone started his political career in 1961, when he was elected to the Nationalist Party's executive committee, and later served as secretary general and deputy leader. He served as a member of parliament for 23 years. Between 1966 and 1971, he served as Minister of Labour, Employment and Welfare, and in 1987 he was made Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in cabinets headed by George Borg Olivier and Eddie Fenech Adami.
In 1954 he founded the Medical Association of Malta, a trade union for doctors. He passed away at the grand old age of 98, but he could still manage to keep up with technology, using digital phones and tablets like a natural. He was a truly remarkable man, and Malta has learned much from him.