After more than a century of direct rule from London, in 1921 Malta was granted the Amery-Milner Constitution, enabling the Maltese to elect their very own Government.
Preceded by the events of the 7th of June 1919, known as "Sette Giugno", this constitution was meant to provide a fresh start in politics. A Maltese Government was to deal with internal affairs while the Imperial British Government was to be responsible for all matters relative to defence and foreign affairs.
The newly introduced bi-cameral system consisted of a 32- seat Legislative Assembly elected by popular vote and a 17-seat Senate with appointed members representing five groups; the clergy, the nobility, graduates, commerce and the Trade Union Council, with each group having two members each. The term of the Assembly was three years, while that of the Senate was six years.
Elections for the Senate were held on 5 and 6 October, those for the Legislative Assembly on 18 and 19 October of 1921. They were contested by four political parties: the Unione Politica Maltese, the Constitutional Party, the Labour Party and the Partito Democratico Nazionalista.
Although Unione Politica Maltese failed to win an outright majority, it emerged as the largest party with 14 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 4 in the Senate. Joseph Howard became the first Prime Minister of Malta. HRH Edward Prince of Wales inaugurated Malta's first Parliament on 1st November 1921.
The Amery-Milner Constitution was short-lived as it was suspended in 1930 over intractable religious-political disputes and withdrawn in 1933. However, this was a significant development in Maltese politics and a first step on the lengthy road to the achievement of independence in 1964.
