Spiteri Debono was born Miriam Zammit in Victoria, Gozo, to Pawlu Zammit and his wife.[5] She received her formal childhood education in Gozo and later attended the University of Malta where she studied English Literature and Linguistics, graduating in 1973, and founded the Socialist Students Union.[6][7] She also studied law and graduated as a Notary Public in 1980.[8][6]
Her first public office appointments included that of chair of the Cooperatives Board, and as a founding member of the Gender Equality Commission.[8]
She was a candidate for the Malta Labour Party in five general elections (1981, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2003), but was never elected as a member of parliament.[9][10] However, she was elected to the party's national executive in 1982 and served as the party's propaganda secretary.[6][11]
Spiteri Debono served as president of the Malta Labour Party's women section between 1993 and 1996.[12][13]
In January 2023, she was proposed for the role of Standards Commissioner by the Nationalist Party, however, she declined to be formally considered for the role claiming that she was not suited for it nor was she interested in taking the position.[14]
Presidency
On 21 March 2024, she was reported to be the front runner to be appointed President of the Republic of Malta.[15][16] The following week, this was confirmed in a joint statement issued from the offices of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.[17] Malta's House of Representatives voted unanimously to elect Spiteri Debono as Malta's 11th President on 27 March 2024, becoming the first president to be elected using the new constitutional reforms of 2020 including the new requirement of two-thirds of the parliament's approval for the presidential nominee.[8]
At the time of her appointment she admitted to being a technophobe; owning a flip phone and preferring to dictate her letters and other correspondence to an assistant, leaving emails to an email address in her husband's name.[20]
Personal life
Spiteri Debono has lived most of her adult life in Birkirkara, Malta.[13] She is married to notary Anthony Spiteri Debono and they have three children, Elena, George and Maria Kristina. Spiteri Debono and her husband have four grandchildren: Alexandra, Paul, Pippa and Beppe.[21]
Honours
National honours
Grand Master and Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit, Malta, by right as a President of Malta
