Frank Portelli passes away at 82

Frank Portelli, a former Nationalist MP and one-time contender for the party leadership, has passed away aged 82.

Portelli died on Monday evening, with Prime Minister Robert Abela saluting his memory in the post-budget press conference. In a statement the Nationalist Party also paid tribute to Portelli’s memory.

A doctor by profession, Portelli served as a member of parliament between 1987 and 1992. He also served as president of the PN’s executive committee between 1985 and 1992, and president of the party’s general council between 1995 and 1998.

An outspoken person with a booming voice, Portelli had openly expressed support for the introduction of divorce in the 1990s, when the only political party proposing such a measure was Alternattiva Demokratika.

Portelli’s position put him at loggerheads with his own party, then led by the staunchly catholic Eddie Fenech Adami.

In 1986, Portelli had obtained a divorce from the UK, where his first wife used to live and went on to get married again. He publicly recalled his personal circumstances during the 2011 divorce referendum campaign, when he took umbrage at the country’s lack of divorce legislation.

Two years earlier, Portelli was asked to contest the 2009 European Parliament election on a PN ticket by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. He was unsuccessful.

Portelli had founded St Philips Hospital, which eventually ran into financial difficulties and shut its doors. The Nationalist government of 2008 had toyed with the idea of acquiring the hospital to increase beds on the public health system but eventually backed out. This setback left Portelli at loggerheads with the PN.

However, after a period during which Portelli occasionally acted as a public critic of the PN, in 2017 he returned to contest the party’s leadership vacated by Simon Busuttil. Just a month into the leadership race, Portelli had expressed regret for contesting because of what he claimed were “unfair attacks” on his family.

Portelli was one of four candidates in a race that eventually saw Adrian Delia being elected leader.

He leaves to mourn him his wife and children.