Philologist and politician

Giuseppe was born in Victoria, the son of  Pietro Micallef and Annunziata née Agius from Gozo, and pursued his studies at the Gozo Seminary, the Gozo Secondary School and at the UM, from where he graduated LLD in 1919.

Following the granting of self-government to Malta in 1921, Micallef was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Gozo garnering 480 votes, and as candidate of the same party in 1924 was elected with 233 votes. In 1927 he was elected as an Independent candidate with 822 votes while in 1932 was again elected on behalf of the PN (847 votes). From June 1932 to November 1933 Micallef was minister for agriculture and fisheries in Sir Ugo Mifsud’s Cabinet, and between August and November 1933 was minister for labour. After the dismissal of the Mifsud Cabinet and the suspension of Self-Government, he was appointed director of agriculture.

Known as Ġużè, he married Melita Cauchi.

A lawyer by profession, Micallef was a scholar by vocation. Interested in the study of Semitic languages, he studied the Maltese language not only at the grammatical level but also at the etymological level. He also wrote classic poetry. He submitted a Memorandum on the Maltese Language - its nature and paternity, its shortcomings and the possibility of its use in the Courts of Law (1936) to the Malta Royal Commission of 1931; this memorandum contains interesting linguistic information.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.