Francis Zammit Dimech, former minister and acting president, dies aged 70

Francis Zammit Dimech, a former MP, minister and Malta’s incumbent acting president, died on Monday following an illness.

He was 70 years old. 

PN leader Bernard Grech announced Zammit Dimech's death on social media, referring to the "gentleman politician who was of great service to the country for decades".

He said Zammit Dimech loyally served each role he was entrusted with, dealt with every challenge, resolved every dispute and wore a smile when faced with a problem.

Born in October 1954 and from St Julian's, Dimech spent decades serving frontline political roles for the Nationalist Party. He was first elected to parliament in 1987 and was reelected in all subsequent elections until 2017.

He went on to serve as a PN Member of the European Parliament until May 2019 and then moved into a more administrative role, serving as interim secretary general of the PN during a turbulent 18-month period between 2020 and 2021.

In April 2024, he was appointed acting president, serving as head of state when President Myriam Spiteri Debono was overseas or indisposed.

Zammit Dimech’s political career saw him serve as a minister for 16 years across two decades. His role in the executive spanned multiple portfolios, from Transport and Communications to the Environment, Infrastructure, Tourism and finally Foreign Affairs.

As his political career wound down, he returned to one of his original passions – the media – in retirement and obtained a Phd in Broadcasting. He also served as a visiting senior lecturer at the University of Malta’s faculty of laws.

Zammit Dimech launching the first mobile phone in Malta in 1990 as Communications Minister. Photo: Facebook/Francis Zammit Dimech

Zammit Dimech is widely credited with having spearheaded the liberalisation of Malta’s telecommunications sector in the early 1990s. A decade later, as Environment Minister, he tabled a resolution that would lead to a consortium of private investors, MIDI, being granted a concession to develop Sliema’s Tigne and Manoel Island.

A lawyer by profession, Zammit Dimech was known as a political moderate and respected by his political adversaries. He was, however, fiercely loyal to the PN and in a 2013 Times of Malta interview said "honesty, loyalty and looking towards the future" were the values he treasured most.  

Word of his deteriorating health spread rapidly across social media over the weekend, after PN MP David Agius said Zammit Dimech "needs our prayers during this difficult time". 

People from across the political spectrum were quick to pay tribute. Zammit Dimech's former PN colleague Franco Debono described him as a man with "a heart of gold and sweet character" who was "loved and respected by everyone". 

Another former colleague, Jason Azzopardi, called him a "perfect gentleman" while Labour firebrand Manuel Cuschieri urged followers to keep Zammit Dimech in their prayers. 

In 1980, one year after graduating with a law degree, Zammit Dimech briefly served as a parliamentary correspondent for Times of Malta.  One year later, he was made the vice-president of the Democrat Youth Community of Europe (DEMYC), a Europe-wide federation of conservative youth organisations.

That same year, 1981, he contested the general election on the PN ticket. He was unsuccessful, but undeterred. 

In 1985, he was elected president of the Nationalist Party’s youth branch. He was appointed to the party’s executive committee two years later and went on to be elected to parliament for the first of eight times later that year.

Francis Zammit Dimech, left, with PN stalwarts Censu Tabone, Michael Refalo and George Bonello Dupuis. Photo: Francis Zammit Dimech

In May 1990, then-Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami appointed him to his first role in cabinet, making the then-35-year-old parliamentary secretary for transport. 

Two years later, he was promoted to Minister for Transport and Communications. In 1994, he was made Environment Minister, and resumed that role when the PN returned to power in 1998. He continued in that post for the duration of that legislature. 

In 2003, he was appointed Tourism Minister and one year later was given the additional responsibility of Cultural Heritage. 

Francis Zammit Dimech, right, meeting John Paul II with former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami. Photo: PN

Following the 2008 election, Zammit Dimech was initially left out of Lawrence Gonzi's cabinet.

He returned to the executive in 2012 to replace Tonio Borg as Foreign Affairs Minister, when Borg was appointed European Commissioner.