and struggles of Dom Mintoff (1916-2012). The book was commissioned and issued by SKS Publications, a branch of Malta’s Labour Party. Though at first welcomed by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the leader of the party, he later repudiated the biography, though the book was not withheld from being sold by the publisher. The vacillation was mainly due to Mintoff’s children disassociating themselves from the publication. Montebello firmly stood by his work. Seven years in the making, the 640-page book was nonetheless positively hailed by critics, and even shortlisted for the national book prize. Endeavours In 1995, together with others Montebello began a community centre in Cospicua run by the humanitarian NGO Daritama (house of hope) for the entire harbour district of Cottonera. The centre included a community school, a community radio (Radju Kottoner 98FM), a self-help group for prisoners and their families (Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl) and a support group for prisoners of crime (Victim Support Malta). The NGO was terminated in 2010, allowing Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl and Victim Support Malta to ensue independently. In his varied humanitarian endeavours, not lacking notable controversy was Montebello’s work with and on behalf of the prisoners of the Corradino Correctional Facility at Paola. In this line of work within the criminal justice ambit Montebello’s publications include L-Iskutella ta’ l-Abbandunati (The Basin of the Forsaken, 2000), Daphne (2003), Jean-Joseph Lataste: Apostle of Prisons (2006), The Right to Information of Victims of Crime in Malta (2006), Making Malta Saver for International Visitors (2007) and The Resettlement of Maltese Prisoners (2008). As an intellectual, also very often unconventional, in 2012 together with others Montebello established the foundation Philosophy Sharing for public discussion and tutoring. Throughout his public career Montebello regularly contributed to local weeklies, especially to It-Torċa (1993-2021) and media outlets. Other books by Montebello include Pietà-Gwardamanga: Il-Baħar–Il-Ħniena–Is-Sliem (Pietà-Gwardamanga: The Sea–Mercy–Tranquillity, 2008) and Min Qatel il-Patri? Ġrajja storika (Who Murdered the Friar? A historical account, with Marlene Mifsud Chircop, 2016). Montebello has also been a missionary in Ethiopia (2008) and Peru (ongoing since 2021). See also Philosophy in Malta References External links http://markmontebello.blogspot.com/ 20th-century Maltese philosophers 21st-century Maltese philosophers Maltese educators Maltese male writers 1964 births People from Sliema Maltese Dominicans Dominican scholars Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Complutense University of Madrid alumni Alumni of the University of Leicester University of Malta alumni Academic staff of the University of Malta Living people