The news that my friend Dr Guze Cassar passed away last Tuesday was no surprise. I had been expecting the worst for some months when his health had been evidently going into deterioration.

When last Monday I had been called by his relatives to see him as his state of health was preoccupying them, I immediately realised that ‘iz-Ziju Guz’, had not more than a few hours to live. But I still felt it was my duty to refer him to St Luke’s Hospital for specialised attention to afford him all the possible chances of prolonging his life.

I had known Guze Cassar for many years even before I started my parliamentary career. We had met for the first time during a Party Conference in 1958 at the ABC Theatre in Floriana and remained steady friends ever since. I recall with nostalgia those Thursdays when we were both ministers. We used to meet for lunch with some mutual friends.

Thursday at that time was the only day that we could afford the luxury of an afternoon off, as the likelihood was that Castille on Thursday afternoon could dispense with our presence.

I also remember when, during his role of Acting Prime Minister, my colleagues and I used to seek his advice and guidance in the management of our public office. He always used to give his advice ungrudgingly and in his characteristic humorous manner. To Guze nothing seemed impossible.

Another thing I always admired in him was the reverence, respect and love he fostered for his wife Jane who was as much his guiding light as Maggie was mine. So much so that up to the end of his life he never seemed to have got over her death.

Guze had been my mentor in both my private as well as my political life. When we were both ministers he used to advise me about what decisions I should take and how to take them. I admired the way that he always used to have a solution for every problem no matter how delicate it might be.

With my colleagues in Cabinet and in Parliament we used to revert to him for advice and for remedies of problems we happen to face. He was always ready to offer his advice in such a practical way that at times he even drew the admiration of people who had it in their character to appear non-appreciative of the virtues of others, colleagues or otherwise.

During Cabinet meetings when somebody came under fire Guze was always there to pour oil on troubled waters and navigate the victim to a safe haven.

What impressed me was his ability to explain situations and answer questions even if these were put to him by Mintoff. Anyone who knows the former Premier is aware that answering his questions is not something that one wishes to have to do everyday. Even when we ended our term in government, Guze and I remained staunch friends and used to meet not only officially in Parliament or on official business but also privately as old friends.

Up till the very end – until his failing health confined him indoors, we used to meet almost daily to hear the midday mass at Valletta and afterwards go to enjoy a drink at a shop of a mutual friend of our watch dealer in Valletta. Here he maintained his lifelong habit of a tot of scotch prior to lunch.

As I am mentioning this habit of his, I recollect an episode Guze always used to relate. As Deputy Prime Minister he was entrusted with handling the church schools problem of the 80’s and on one occasion he headed a Maltese Government Delegation to discuss the situation with the Vatican.

He was meeting with notable church dignitaries among whom were Cardinals and high Church Prelates and as the discussion was progressing rather heatedly the clock in the chamber struck noon. Guze looked at his watch and half smilingly informed the august gathering that that was ‘Il Tempo dello Spirito’. His remark pleasantly astonished the gathering as they found it hard to realise how he who was a few minutes before vehemently advocating the secularisation of the Church Schools was now requesting the gathering to suspend for, as they thought, a few minutes of meditation. There was laughter all round when it was realised that Dr Cassar wanted to have his habitual tot of Scotch, which he maintained, served as fuel for his afternoon activities.

Besides being a political colleague and personal friend I also was his doctor who along with senior members of the medical profession used to look after his health, a thing he cherished up to the end of his life. I am proud that I remained his doctor up to the very end and was the last doctor outside hospital to attend to him before his demise.

Guze Cassar lived to a ripe old age of 83 during which he always stuck to his principles and beliefs and loyally served his country. His demise has left a void that is very difficult to replace. A combination of a good politician, an honest friend, a staunch catholic and a real gentleman all in one person is not one that can be found everyday.

May the almighty God give him eternal peace, which he fully deserves.

• Dr Censu Moran was a Labour cabinet minister in the seventies and eighties