Appreciation: Prof. Maurice Mullard (1946-2026)
‘He had the ability to make everyone he met feel valued and heard’
Today, we honour a man whose life was defined not only by his merits, but by the love he gave and the lives he touched. He was a beacon of wisdom and a pillar to society. He had the ability to make everyone he met feel valued and heard. Whether he was offering a helping hand, sharing a piece of wisdom, or bringing levity to a room with his warm smile, his impact was profound and lasting.
Professor Maurice Mullard was born in Malta in 1946 and graduated from the Lyceum Grammar school. He was raised by his grandmother Ursula Brown from Ħamrun, to whom he dedicated his very first book. He moved to the UK and sat for the Commonwealth exam and successfully obtained a scholarship at Manchester Grammar Boarding School. He enlisted in the British Army and became a paratrooper, an officer with the rank of captain between 1962-1966.
Having resigned from the army, he began his road to a higher education. Initially, he completed a diploma in social work and later obtained a master’s degree from Southampton University. He moved to Yorkshire to teach social policy and citizenship at Ilkley College.
He wrote prolifically and obtained his first PHD in policy studies and subsequently was offered the post of professor at Hull University where he continued to write, lecture and published 26 books alongside his many articles.
He obtained his second PHD in public policy and was honoured as reader emeritus at Hull University, UK. Mullard has written on economic policymaking, social policy, public spending, changing political contexts, globalisation, citizenship and democracy.
Mullard’s deep love and devotion towards his place of birth motivated him to contribute by using his knowledge and expertise to assist the Maltese government to help improve social justice, introduce the pension system as we know it today, free childcare and other family allowances. He worked side by side with Malta’s economy ministers for many years to improve the standards of life for the Maltese people who he loved dearly.
His intellectual interests extended beyond economics into the foundations of modern science, particularly the implications of quantum theory for understanding uncertainty, probability and the limits of knowledge.
During his final years, he took up art, where he depicted his true love for nature with expressive landscapes and seascapes which explore movement, light and the changing relationship between observation and perception. Art became his sanctuary and place of peace.
In recent months, he exhibited his paintings and all proceeds were donated to the melanoma clinic at Bexley, UK. His artworks mirrored the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, the Cairngorms and the Western isles, particularly the Isle of Iona, where he sought peace and tranquility over the years.
Mullard was an academic, a writer and an artist, whose legacy will never be lost and will surely live on in the values he instilled, the many books he wrote and the passionate love he had for mankind. His life was a beautiful blessing to his family and all those who knew him.
On a personal note, my dearest uncle Maurice, you are a treasure in my heart and an uncle who will never part.
May he rest in the peace of Lord, Amen.
Ruth Magri Brown