Henry Frendo

Mr. Henry Frendo, a professor of Modern History, has been teaching at the University of Malta for over 20 years. Professor Frendo attended the University of Oxford where he obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy in Modern History. In his doctoral thesis, Professor Frendo centred his study around political parties in Malta during the rule of the British; this was indicative of his later interest and deep study of postcolonialism, identity and imperialism. His thesis was later published in his larger work, titled Party Politics in a Fortress Colony: The Maltese Experience (Midsea, 1979, 2nd ed 1991, 3rd ed 2013)). Professor Frendo has published over 35 books, including his lauded Europe and Empire: Culture, Politics and Identity in Malta and the Mediterranean (Midsea, 2012) and The Origins of Maltese Statehood: A Case Study of Decolonization in the Mediterranean (Peg,1999, 2nd ed. 2000). His work has also been published and cited in numerous journals and novels concerning Maltese heritage, culture and colonialism. Professor Frendo has also worked as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), being stationed in Switzerland, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, and at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Refugee Appeals Board for the Maltese Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in Valletta. He is a Life Member of Clare Hall Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge and Chairman of the Euro-Med Group from 1996 to 1998. Professor Frendo is a continuous correspondent for the Times of Malta and Malta Today, lending his voice on issues of nationalism, migration, ethnicity and journalism. Professor Frendo is one of Maltese most vocal and intricate commentators on Malta’s enormous history, attributing new ideas and theories of the effects of colonialism on the psyche of the Maltese people. Whether it be from his numerous publications or his regular voice speaking to the modern issues that Malta encounters, Professor Frendo has lent his hand to understand and consolidate Maltese history.