When Anthony Mamo, the first President of the newly created republic of Malta, opened the new Parliament chamber The Times reported on the occasion under the headline “Malta sees its role as peacemaker”. He spoke of his hope that “Malta will become a truly free nation”. With “the departure of the last British soldier” he would lead his country to “promote friendship” and take on a “role of neutrality”.

An outstanding judge and legal academic, Mamo had played a considerable role helping Malta to make the postwar transition to independence, with the Queen remaining head of state, in 1964. In 1974 with the Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff, determined to end political ties with Britain, Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth, and Mamo its President.

A former Attorney-General and Chief Justice, Mamo was an apolitical figure, concerned with his country rather than taking sides. His earlier working years had been devoted to developing the country’s constitution and legal system, and he had encouraged consensus by advising prime ministers from both the Labour and Nationalist parties.

Mamo’s appointment as President came three years after he had risen to political prominence, when the Labour Party won the elections and Dom Mintoff appointed him Governor-General, displacing the British incumbent Sir Maurice Dorman. The first Maltese citizen to hold the office, Mamo was therefore ideally placed when the 1974 Constitution, which established Malta as a republic, introduced the largely ceremonial office of president.

Anthony Joseph Mamo was born in Birkirkara in 1909, and studied at the archbishop’s seminary in the village of Rabat. He went on to the University of Malta in Valletta, the country’s capital, graduating with a degree in the arts and then, in 1934, law. He went into private practice for a year before deciding to join the civil service. There he sat on the State Law Revision Committee from 1936 to 1942, which completed the ambitious project of revising Malta’s entire legal code.

He subsequently joined the Attorney-General’s office, serving as Crown counsel until 1951, during which time Malta achieved self-government under British rule; deputy attorney-general; and Attorney-General. In 1957 he was appointed chief justice and president of the constitutional court.

During this time he advised four prime ministers, including Mintoff, who held the job of Prime Minister on two occasions, Enrico Mizzi, and Sir Paul Boffa and Georgio Borg Olivier — the former two of the Labour party, the latter two Nationalists. Mamo accompanied Mintoff on visits to London in the run-up to the 1964 independence, meeting with senior British Government figures.

Aside from his state duties, Mamo taught at the University of Malta, becoming a professor in criminal law and writing a textbook. His former students include the current President, Eddie Fenech Adamic, and Mamo was later awarded an honorary doctorate and made a pro-chancellor.

Once Mintoff became Prime Minister in 1971, Mamo helped to build a consensus for the new constitution, which needed a two-thirds majority in the house of representatives to pass. Forty-nine of the 55 Members of Parliament voted for it, despite the governing party having a majority of just three. Mamo became President and served for two years of the maximum possible five.

Mamo was deeply concerned about jobs for the islanders, especially as British presence withdrew: the 1971 figure of 6,400 Maltese employed by the British Government had fallen to 3,700 in 1975. One practical step he took was to encourage economic development, in pursuit of which he lowered the age of qualification for the minimum wage from 19 to 18.

Mamo was appointed OBE in 1955, and knighted in 1960. In 1990 he became a Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta).

His wife, Margaret, whom he married in 1939, died in 2002. Two daughters and a son survive him.

Sir Anthony Mamo, OBE, President of Malta, 1974-76, was born on January 9, 1909. He died on May 1, 2008, aged 99