Mabel Strickland

The Honourable
Mabel Strickland
OBE
Strickland in 1935
Born Mabel Edeline Strickland
(1899-01-08)8 January 1899
Died 29 November 1988(1988-11-29) (aged 89)
Resting place St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
Occupation Journalist, politician
Known for Co-founding the Times of Malta
Political party Progressive Constitutionalist
Parents

Mabel Edeline Strickland, OBE (8 January 1899 – 29 November 1988), was an Anglo-Maltese journalist, newspaper proprietor and politician.

Family and personal life

Strickland was the daughter of Sir Gerald Strickland, later the 4th Prime Minister of Malta, and Lady Edeline Sackville.[1] Her mother was the eldest daughter of Reginald Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr of Knole, Kent.[2]

Residences

Mabel Strickland lived the most of her life at Villa Parisio in Lija, Malta.

Career

Strickland founded a newspaper group in Malta with her father and her stepmother, Lady Strickland, DBE (Margaret, daughter of Edward Hulton). In 1935 she became editor of The Times of Malta and "Il Berqa" before taking over as Managing Director of the Group on the death of her father in 1940. The paper never missed an issue throughout the Siege of Malta in World War Two, despite taking direct hits on several occasions. She formed and led the Progressive Constitutionalist Party during the 1950s and was one of the principal political leaders of the 1950s, participating in the integration talks in 1956-57 as well as opposing independence in 1964. She was elected to the Maltese Parliament in 1962. She always fought passionately for a free and independent press and to maintain Malta's ties with Britain and the Commonwealth. On her retirement she has established the Strickland Foundation in the name of her family.

Death

Mabel Strickland died on 29 November 1988, and is buried in the Strickland family crypt in St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina. Her tombstone lies near that of her father, who was the principal influence in her life.

Having never married or had children of her own, Mabel Strickland's chosen heir was her great-nephew Robert Hornyold-Strickland.[3] However upon Strickland's death after Hornyold-Strickland left Malta, her estate became the subject of a legal conflict between Hornyold-Strickland and the Strickland Foundation.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Person Page 47079". Thepeerage.com. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Pepper, Joan (1996). "THE LIFE OF MABEL STRICKLAND, THE UNCROWNED QUEEN OF MALTA". Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Hornyold-Strickland, Robert (26 November 2012). "A personal recollection of my aunt". Times of Malta. Retrieved 8 May 2017. She was particularly proud of her Strickland heritage and, in 1975, decided to clarify her succession by choosing me as her heir. This was the first time that she had written a will since 1940 after her father died.
  4. ↑ Balzan, Jurgen (23 November 2016). "Times of Malta founder's nephew insists Mabel Strickland files are his". MaltaToday. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.