My good friend and close colleague George Bonello Du Puis was renowned for his integrity, strongly held views and boundless energy. A man whose word was his bond, he put his undoubted talents to excellent use. His greatest satisfaction was in knowing that as Minister for Finance and subsequently Economic Services his policies were of benefit to many and not to just a few.
My first fleeting glimpse of George was seeing him hare down the racetrack and winning the 220 yards sprint. He went on to represent Malta internationally and held the national sprint record for decades.
Our common interest in sport, football in particular, brought us together again in the Sliema Wanderers' committee where I served for a number of years as George's vice-president and as colleagues in the Sliema and District Sports Association.
George was a popular, clever and successful notary. His client base as well as my law practice were drawn mainly from residents of Sliema and surrounding areas. Our Valletta offices were in the same apartment block. We met regularly and became firm friends. So much so that in 1971 when the Nationalist Party invited George to stand for election in the district I contested, his consent was conditioned to my agreement.
George and I spent the next 16 years as opposition MPs. Popularly known as "in-Nutar", he had a populist touch and a knack for fund-raising. The Nationalist Party coffers were at rock bottom, however with George working his heart out as party treasurer he made sure the party had the funds to survive and contest successive elections. They were trying times but George's biting wit and humorous anecdotes at mass meetings made shelling out an extra lira much, much easier.
When the Nationalist Party won the 1987 election we served in Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami's first and second administrations for seven years. George's watchwords as Finance Minister were good housekeeping and presenting as balanced a budget as possible. His lasting legacy includes setting up the Malta Stock Exchange, reducing the top rate of income tax by 10 per cent, doing away with death duties on chattels, money and valuables. George spent his last six years in public life as High Commissioner for Malta to the Court of St James. Among other achievements he was instrumental in introducing offshore e-gaming to Malta. The industry is now a success story yielding millions to the national exchequer.
In the last couple of years George, although unwell, bore his illness bravely and kept a strong interest in life. With characteristic enthusiasm he used to look forward to our weekly rummy school where we played for pennies and passed the time reminiscing about old times, back-seat driving the Maltese government, running the European Union, commiserating with one another and getting hot around the collar about Arsenal, the Wanderers and this, that and the other.
George will be sorely missed. He is a great loss to many but fondly remembered by all.
My heartfelt condolences to Iris, his widow, to his children Etienne, Solange and Georges, their spouses and children, to his brother Albert and his sisters May, Edith and Monica and their families.
May God grant George the eternal rest he richly deserves.