Historical background of the Maltese public service administration and management (the beginning)

Abstract

The Maltese Public Service has a long and honourable history. Hence, it is appropriate to commence this text with a historical background of this praiseworthy organisation. The Maltese islands in some form or other always had a public service organisation as its administrative basis. However, a new and illustrious era resulted under the rule of the Knights of the Order of Saint John (1530–1798). During this period, we find evidence of various administrative policies that are normally associated with modern society, such as defence, fiscal, monetary, urban planning, health, and education and culture. The French ousted the Knights in 1798. The French turned out to be very poor administrators, and in fact were unable to feed themselves, let alone the Maltese population of about 100,000 inhabitants at that time. This triggered a public uprising in 1798. By January 1799, evidence of starvation and its consequences were manifest as a way of life, with the number of deaths amounting to 20% of the population. Hence, French rule lasted a mere 2 years until 1800. British rule in Malta commenced in 1800, initially as a British Protectorate, until Malta gained its independence in 1964. Thus, every governing administration that ruled the Maltese Islands had an institution, such as the public service to support it in formulating and implementing its policies. For centuries, Malta’s foreign rulers assigned the islands a fortress role on the strength of its highly strategic location in the Mediterranean. Thus, Maltese public administration and management was highly geared towards supporting the established naval and military bases. Maltese public administration and management was in continuous transition under different foreign rulers with their consequent diverse national and management cultures.