Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/506094
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 MAY 2015 11 News form of national government. Malta was granted its first Constitution, John Howard was elected Head of Ministry, and Edgar Arrigo elected as the first Speaker of the House. In its first sitting, Parliament de- bated the "Declaration of Faith" and agreed to send a telegram to the Pope, requesting that he bless the new Parliament. In the following Sitting, the government moved the first reading of the first Bill, that of making Roman Catholicism the rec- ognised religion in Malta. The Parliament originally consist- ed of two Houses; a lower Legislative Assembly with elections every three years, and an upper Senate with elections every six years. The Senate was rescinded in 1933, following an update to the Constitution. Back then, and until 1976, Parlia- ment met in the Tapestry Chamber, formerly the Council Chamber of the Order of St John, grandly decorated with Flemish tapestries. However, it was cramped for that purpose, its small size was evident from the start and in 1922 then-Opposition leader Gerald Strickland complained that there was no room for members of the public to observe Parliamentary debates. He therefore moved a mo- tion 'humbly, calling upon the Gov- ernor to allow the use of the Au- berge de Castille for parliamentary sittings'. The motion failed, with several MPs not wanting to appear as though they were surrendering their rights over a building used for civil government. In 1976, two years after Malta became a Republic, the House of Representatives finally changed its meeting chamber, moving a short distance to the room in the Grandmaster's Palace that used to house the Knights' Armoury. Under the Republican Constitution, the number of MPs increased from 50 to 65. In 1995, eight standing par- liamentary committees were set up, improving Parliament's consulta- tion with experts and civil society. On 1 April, 2015, Parliament met in the former armoury for what was planned to be the final time. In this sitting, a Bill aimed at pro- tecting the rights of people to their self-determined gender identity was made law. However, MPs were recalled from their Easter recess to meet in the armoury on 24 April for one final time – to discuss the resolutions of an extraordinary EU summit on the deaths of hundreds of undocu- mented migrants in the Mediterra- nean. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat therefore became the last MP to deliver a speech in the Grandmas- ter's Palace. Grand inauguration ceremony tomorrow MPs and Speaker Anglu Far- rugia will meet up at the doors of the former armoury tomorrow at 3:30pm to walk towards the Palace's main entrance, passing the Tapestry Chamber. Once outside the Palace, a guard of the Malta Armed Forces will present the key to the old cham- ber's doors to a guard of the Malta Police Force, symbolising the trans- fer of responsibility for the Palace's security. The MPs and the Speaker will then walk along Republic Street to the new Parliament, accompanied by a guard of honour and the Malta Police Force Band. The Grand Harbour Regenera- tion Corporation will then deliver a presentation of the new Parliament, whose construction they had been tasked with overseeing. Anglu Farrugia and President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca will de- liver short speeches, and a guard of the Malta Police Force will hand Far- rugia the key to the new Parliamen- tary Chamber. Coleiro Preca will unveil a plaque, Archbishop Charles Scicluna will bless the building, and Farrugia will lead those present to the new Chamber. An open hour- long reception will be held here, be- fore the first parliamentary sitting in the new building takes place, as usual at 6pm. Parliament Last men on the purple carpet: the 2013 state opening of the new parliament, the last to take place inside the Palace of the President Inside Renzo Piano's parliament: the new Chamber for parliamentary deputies (left) and outside, the marble-clad exterior