Alphonse Meli

Alphonse Meli was Deputy Secretary General of the General Workers Union between 1987 and 1997.

He was born in Qormi on 28 October 1937. He attended primary school in Qormi and the Lyceum before becoming an apprentice at the Dockyard.

It was there that he became a political activist within the Labour Party and the [[General Workers Union]. Even as a Shipwright Apprentice he served as shopstewart among his peers and went on to work within the GWU’s Metal (Dockyard) Section until he reached the rank of assistant secretary.

In October 1987 he was elected as Secretary of the Chemical and General Workers section within the union, and served as such until 1997. During this time he as also elected Deputy Secretary General (responsible for International Affairs and Education) of the GWU, a position that led him to front several union delegations abroad.

Meli was also active in the sports scene. During his youth he played with Qormi United and Qormi F.C. later served within the club’s administration. In the 1960s he was instrumental in bringing together his St. George’s neighbourhood club Qormi United with the St. Sebastian area Qormi soccer team, Qormi Youngsters, to form one team now-known as Qormi F.C.

Alphonse Meli was married to Carmen, with whom he raised two children Ivan and Natasha.

He died on 22 October 2003 at the age of 65.