A statesman is defined as a person who is usually a politician and who has had a long and respected career at a national or international level. That description, I think, fits Lawrence Gonzi perfectly.

Over the past few days, we have had the opportunity to reflect calmly on his vast-ranging career through its different stages, to remember his many achievements and to also examine his losses.

Even as I write this, I find it difficult to choose just a small number of his achievements to write about, for it seems to me it would be downsizing the rest. They range from his principal role in Malta’s successful accession to the European Union to his last major achievement, which ensured that Malta would receive €1.12 billion in EU aid, and everything in between.

There is also a man behind the figure and I have had the pleasure of meeting him on many different occasions, all of which left me beguiled by his genuine character and extreme humbleness.

Another aspect of his character is that he remembers people he met even briefly by name and this shows that, in spite of what has been said, he always remained close to people.

The same goes for his wife, Kate, who was a rock of support to him in the many difficult times he faced in silence and, above all, his biggest fan. The whole nation should be grateful to her.

It is this sort of integrity and richness of character that will eventually make Gonzi go down in history and I, for one, am immensely grateful to him for having put his country and the people before himself.

I would like to wish him and his family all the best for the future.