The House of Representatives on Thursday morning commemorated Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi who died on October 17 at the age of 71. Having been elected from Gozo in 1998, he served uninterruptedly in parliament for 22 years and was deputy Opposition whip.

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said Azzopardi’s long parliamentary career was testament to his close bond with his constituents on the sister island.

Azzopardi was very active in the OSCE parliamentary assembly where he was a very respected representative.

“He was a gentleman, an affable and easy-going person who was renowned as somebody who could bring differing parties together," he said.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech acknowledged he was not well acquainted with Azzopardi having just ventured into politics.

“I only met him and his family three months ago at the start of the leadership campaign, but even in his situation he made an effort to speak to me,” he said.

Former Opposition leader Adrian Delia also paid tribute to the late MP.

“I learned a lot from him on politics, but mostly on life in general,” he remarked.

He recounted that in his final days as Opposition leader, Azzopardi had phoned him to encourage him despite the great suffering he was going through.

Gozitan MPs Kevin Cutajar and Chris Said also paid tribute to Azzopardi.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia, recounted how he had developed a strong friendship with Azzopardi since 1993 when serving as a police superintendent in Gozo.

“He was a charismatic person, who led by example, someone who placed his family before everything else,” Farrugia said.