Yesterday was late PM Emeritus' Dom Mintoff's birthday! Here are six interesting facts about him:
1. He studied Science & Engineering at Hertford College, Oxford, when he was just 21 years old. This is also where he met his wife Moyra.
2. Mintoff strived for Malta to become part of Great Britain in the 1950s, in what is known as the Integration movement. Discussions fell through when Britain did not meet Mintoff's expectations for economic support, this combined with the political discord strife in the Maltese islands.
3. Dom built a property fortune: 18 separate purchases estimated at present-day values of US$2 million, and 16 sales for US$3m. With this Mintoff built a villa in Dellimara, that acted as his own private hideaway for his long-desired privacy.
4. Mintoff shared close ties with former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, so far as to be granted the honour of Gaddafi's "Libyan Human Rights Award". It has been rumoured that he was most afraid for his own personal safety when on a visit in Libya to discuss disagreements over territorial waters.
5. He wore wide leather belt's with his signature belt buckles in an attempt to lessen his chronic back pain. Mintoff quickly became known for this, it still remains a hallmark of his cult of personality to this day.
6. Dom was a health freak who swam daily and had avoided anything that he thought could lead to premature death.