1. Dom Mintoff

Dom Mintoff was the eight Prime Minister of Malta who advocated for Independence for the islands. While his time in office saw the increase in standards of living for many, it was later marred by a stagnant economy and outbreaks of violence. The population was (and still is) torn by the events in the 70s, with some fearing him and others hailing him a national hero.

2. Norman Lowell

Norman Lowell is an ultra-nationalist writer and founder of far-right political party Imperium Europa. While he does have his followers, he's also been widely criticised for some pretty blatant racist statements, so much so that he was sentenced to a two-year jail term for racial hatred and insulting the President of Malta. Yikes!

3. Daphne Caruana Galizia

Daphne was a journalist and anti-corruption activist who reported on political happenings in Malta via a controversial online blog. Throughout her career, she refused to give up her investigative work targeting the countries major bigwigs, which many believe to have resulted in her murder by car bomb in 2017. Since then, her death has sparked rallies of freedom of speech and #JusticeforDaphne.

4. Richard Sultana Tal-Farfett

Richard Sultana is known for creating a one-man party known as Tal-Farfett (meaning ‘of the Butterfly) back in the 1980s. He ran for multiple elections, but was sadly considered a bit of a joke by the general public. Still, we'll always have some respect for him as the guy who tried!

5. Żaren Ta' l-Ajkla

And this is his modern-day version: the guy behind one-man party Ta' l-Ajkla (translated literally as ‘of the Eagle’), also known as Żaren ta’ l-Ajkla. Żaren ran for various elections too, and even obtained 71 votes in the most recent 2017 election. 

6. Grand Master Lascaris

Rewind a few hundred years and we have Grand Master Lascaris: a military strategist and architect, but mostly remembered today as the sourpuss who cancelled Carnival (boo!). We also have an expression in Maltese that goes qisek wiċċ Laskri ('you have a face like Lascaris'), referring to someone who looks grumpy, because let’s face it, he was a pretty unhappy-looking dude.

7. Fortunato & Enrico Mizzi

Fortunato and Enrico Mizzi founded the Nationalist Party, but are controversial due to their alignment with the Italian fascist group when Europe was at war. In fact, early causes embraced by these former PN leaders are thought to stem from right-wing ideologies... and well, that's understandably dangerous territory!

Who do you think are Malta's most famous controversial figures? Let us know in the comments below!