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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 APRIL 2026
NEWS
celebrates Freedom Day
Malta celebrated one of its five national holidays by holding a string of official activities in Birgu
marked the end of a permanent
military presence in the islands.
After gaining independence in
1964 and becoming a republic
ten years later, with the depar-
ture of the British troops, Malta
became independent de facto as
well as de jure.
President Anton Buttigieg and his wife waving goodbye to the HMS London, the
last British warship to leave Malta
on the 31 March 1979
Acting Prime Minister Ian Borg (Photo: DOI)
Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar (Photo: DOI)
Freedom Day monument (Photo: DOI)
