The government has opened a call for the design of a monument of the late former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici – a monument which will be situated in Castille Square in Valletta.

The announcement was made by Culture Minister Owen Bonnici on Monday in a press conference where, according to a statement, he “lauded Mifsud Bonnici’s values and attributes, particularly his honesty and great humility, his strong sense of altruism, and his steadfast loyalty to the principles he believed in and worked for.”

Bonnici said that through this gesture, the Government is giving due recognition to the contribution Mifsud Bonnici gave to his country.

Mifsud Bonnici served as Prime Minister between 1984 and 1987, leading a Labour government in a period which was punctuated by a number of episodes of political violence, including the murder of Raymond Caruana in a drive-by shooting on a PN club in 1986 and the infamous Tal-Barrani clashes in that same year.

Heritage Malta’s Chief Executive Officer, Noel Zammit, said that Heritage Malta is privileged to announce the creation of another monument which will find its rightful place under its wing, to be preserved for generations to come. “We hope that the people at large will appreciate the artistic talents of the creator of the eventual monument. Indeed, a monument’s highest value is to be able, across the centuries, to evoke a nation’s collective identity and be a link between the past and the present,” Zammit stated.

Through this call, interested artists are being invited to submit designs for a figurative bronze sculpture in honour of Mifsud Bonnici. The style of the monument will be the prerogative of the artist. The scope of the works includes the pedestal and ancillary works, comprising lighting. The indicative budget for the design and construction of the monument is around €150,000.

A jury will evaluate the submitted projects and will also review the tentative breakdown of costs submitted with each entry.

Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was born in Cospicua on the 17th of July 1933. He was a lawyer by profession and also lectured in industrial and fiscal law at the University of Malta.

On 2nd May 1982, Mifsud Bonnici was co-opted to Parliament and appointed Minister of Labour and Social Services. The following year, he was appointed Senior Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22nd December 1984.

Mifsud Bonnici passed away on 5th November 2022.