became a British protectorate, and the auberge was requisitioned by the Quartermaster. From 1822 to 1824, the building housed the government printing press. In the late 1830s, the building was the residence of the Chief Secretary to Government. In 1842, the auberge was leased to George Tomlinson, the Anglican Bishop of Gibraltar, and the building was known as Gibraltar House. The only major alteration to the auberge, a Doric portico leading to the main doorway, was probably built at this point. After Malta was granted self-government in 1921, the auberge was converted into a school. In 1924, upon Ugo Pasquale Mifsud's election as Prime Minister of Malta, the building became the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). In 1931, there were plans to move the parliament from the Grandmaster's Palace into the auberge, but nothing materialized. The building continued to house the OPM until the office was abolished upon the suspension of the constitution in 1933. From 1933 to 1939 the building was left vacant. In 1939, the auberge was given to the British Institute. It was used as a hospital for British families during WWII known as the Military Families’ Hospital. A new constitution was granted in 1947, restoring self-government and reestablishing the position of Prime Minister. At this point the British Institute moved to nearby Casa Bolino. The auberge was once again used as the OPM, with Paul Boffa being the first Prime Minister to use it as his office. On 16 January 1951, Prime Minister George Borg Olivier presented a small bronze model of Les Gavroches, created by artist Antonio Sciortino, to Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) in a ceremony held at the building. The islands became independent as the State of Malta in 1964, and the independence was drafted on a table which still remains in the auberge today. Independent Malta Auberge d'Aragon continued to house the OPM until 1972, when Dom Mintoff moved the Office to Auberge de Castille, where it remains to this day. The building subsequently housed the Ministry of Education and Culture, which was then led by Minister Agatha Barbara, who later became President of Malta. After the 1987 elections, Parliamentary Secretary for Industry John Dalli took up his offices in the auberge, and he also used it later as the Ministry for Economic Affairs. This was later renamed the Ministry of Economic Services, and after 2003 the Ministry of Finance