Malta's new president takes office

Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono waves to the crowd on the balcony of the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, Malta, April 4, 2024. Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono was sworn in as the 11th President of Malta on Thursday, following a unanimous parliamentary resolution. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)

Malta's new president Myriam Spiteri Debono was sworn in as the 11th President of Malta on Thursday, following a unanimous parliamentary resolution.

She took her oath of office in a special parliamentary sitting held at the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, the official seat of the President of the Republic.

Spiteri Debono, 71, is the third woman to hold this office, after having been the only woman who ever served as speaker of the House of Representatives.

She succeeds George Vella, who held office for the past five years.

In her first speech as president, she said she would work for electoral reforms that would facilitate the representation of more than two political parties in Parliament, ensuring that even the smallest groups of society are represented fairly.

She called for more acceptance of foreigners living in Malta and decried the "disease of greed" affecting the Maltese society, where the desire for more money was eating away at society's core values, showing "indifference towards the suffering".

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