Career
Lawrence Gonzi joined the Nationalist Party in 1976. That determined his further career. Later he would fruitfully work in Parliament together with many fellow students from the University of Malta, where Lawrence had defended a thesis on jurisprudence. On graduating from the university Gonzi had been specializing in the protection of the rights of disabled for more than ten years, at the same time taking part in the work of various non-government organizations.
For the first time he pretended to the post of Prime Minister, being the candidate of the Nationalist Party, but lost at the elections in 1987. Nevertheless in a year he was appointed Speaker of the House and held this position until 1996, when his Party was defeated again. Until March 23, 2004, when Lawrence was elected Prime Minister of Malta, he continued working in various state structures: he was the Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Committee and the Member of the Supervisory Prisons Committee, the Chairman of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Chairman of the Committee on the reform of psychiatry. There are the posts of the Minister of Social Policy and the Deputy Prime Minister in his service record. By the way, being the Minister of Social Policy, Lawrence Gonzi made a number of changes in labor laws and in law, defining the relations between an employer and a wageworker. His good work is still remembered in Malta. People respected him as an anti-fraud politician. Being the Speaker of the House he reformed the work of Parliament, established committees and made the work of Parliament more effective.