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The Atlas Group has its roots very firmly set in the Maltese shipping industry of the 1920s. Through the political and commercial climate of the period, agencies for various British insurance companies were established, dealing with mainly marine cargo business and following that, accident and fire business. Following the Second World War, motor business began to establish itself in Malta and local agencies began to flourish.

When, during the late 1990s, Malta followed the worldwide pattern of buyouts and mergers, four local agencies merged with a long term view to eventually forming a local company. The name Atlas was revived as a way of acknowledging the significance of the group’s history during a period of focus on future growth and opportunities. Atlas became a local insurance company, as opposed to an agency for an overseas insurer, just after Malta’s accession to the EU, on 1 May 2004.

In 2006 Atlas Insurance restructured to become a protected cell company, a development which takes advantage of new regulations under the Maltese Companies Act. This restructuring attracts foreign investments and facilitate Atlas’ emergence into international markets by enabling captive insurance companies to set up in Malta.

In 2023 the company successfully obtained authorization for its UK branch.

Dr G. Borg Olivier, was born in Valletta on the 5th July, 1911. He was educated at the Lyceum, Malta, and the Royal university of Malta where he graduated Doctor of Laws in 1937. He obtained his notarial warrant a year later.
He joined the nationalist Party in 1939 and till 1945 he was one of the three PN representatives elected to the Council Government. With the return of responsible Government in 1947 Dr Borg Olivier was elected to the Legislative Assembly and was later Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
In 1950 he held the post of Minister of Works and Reconstruction and the post of Minister of Education in the Nationalist Minority Government led by Dr Enrico Mizzi. He succeeded Dr Mizzi as leader of the Nationalist Party, Prime Minster and Minister of Justice in a Minority Government on the latter's death in December 1950.
He was Prime Minister of Malta on two occasions: from 1950–1955 and from 1962–1971 (he also assumed, during the second mandate, the portfolio of Minister of Economic Planning and Finance).
Borg Olivier believed in the economic and social development of Malta as a viable independent state and in the necessity of a mixed economy. His administrations had pursued corporatist policies to develop the tourism industry and construction as the engine of growth. Under his leadership, average living standards rose steadily as Malta began to decouple from a fortress economy purely dependent on the British military establishment.
During his second administration he had proceeded to London to ask for a financial agreement and demand Independence with full membership within the Commonwealth. After having had a series of talks with the British Government and after preparing a Constitution for an independent Malta, which was endorsed by Parliament and approved by the people in a referendum held in February 1964, Dr George Borg Olivier set 21st September as Malta's Independence Day.
In March 1965, he became Minister of commonwealth and Foreign Affairs in addition to his duties as Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Planning and Finance.
In the General Elections held in March 1966, the Nationalist Party was again returned to power with Dr Borg Olivier as Prime Minister and Minister of Commonwealth and Foreign Affairs.
Malta joined the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth and in 1970 he associated Malta with the European Economic Community.
After two electoral defeats in 1971 and 1976, Borg Olivier resigned as Leader of the Nationalist Party in 1977. He retained his parliamentary seat until his death in 1980.

Honours:
On the 14th June, 1968, Dr Borg Olivier was decorated with the Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Malta by the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitallier Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta.
On Independence Day, the degree of Doctor of literature (Honoris Causa) was conferred upon him by the Royal University of Malta.
On 25th January, 1964, Dr Borg Olivier was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester, Pope, by His Holiness Pope Paul VI.

Byatt was born on the 22nd of March, 1875, in Tottenham, Middlesex to schoolmaster Horace Byatt M.A., of Midhurst, Sussex, and Laura (née Archer). He attended school at Midhurst Grammar School, in Sussex. He was then admitted into Lincoln College, Oxford, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898. Following this, he worked within the Colonial Service. His service began in Nyasaland (what is now Malawi), where he stayed until 1905, then went to British Somaliland. He was appointed commissioner and commander-in-chief of British Somaliland in 1911, serving until 1914, when he became Colonial Secretary in Gibraltar. From 1914 to 1916 he was lieutenant-governor and Colonial Secretary of Malta. In 1916 he became an administrator in British East Africa, later becoming the first governor of the new British mandate of Tanganyika in 1920. He was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the League of Nations Mandated Territory of Tanganyika from 1920 to 1924. In 1924 he married Olga Margaret Campbell of Argyll, and had three sons with her: Sir Hugh Campbell Byatt (1927–2011), Ronald (Robin) Archer Campbell Byatt (1930–2019), and David Byatt (born 1932). He died on the 8th of April, 1933, in London, aged 58.

Major Sir John Clauson was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He was Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Secretary to Government of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies from 1911 to 1914, and High Commissioner of Cyprus from 1915 until his death.
Educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Clifton College, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Clauson was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1885. He graduated BA (Hons) from the University of London in 1887. In 1889, he designed a pontoon which was still in use in the Army at the time of his death. He passed the Staff College, Camberley in 1893, ranking first. He was on the Army Headquarters Staff from 1895 to 1900. He was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1897.
He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1912 and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1913 New Year Honours.
His eldest son was Sir Gerard Clauson, Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the Colonial Office from 1940 to 1951.

Monsignor Paul Cremona O.P., S.Th.D., was born in Valletta on the 25th January 1946 to Joseph and Josephine nee’ Cauchi. He completed his primary education at the Montessori school in Valletta, and then pursued the secondary level at the Lyceum in Hamrun. In September 1962, he joined the Dominican Order, and professed on the 29th September 1963. He studied philosophy and theology at the College of St Thomas Aquinas at the Dominican priory at Rabat, and was ordained priest on the 22 March 1969. After his priestly ordination, Mgr Cremona was sent to follow higher studies in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum) where, in 1973, he graduated Doctor in Theology presenting the thesis The Concept of Peace in Pope John XXIII. Between the years 1974 and 1980, he was prior at the priory of Our Lady of the Grotto at Rabat. He was re-elected to the same office in 1997 and again served two terms up to 2003. In 1981, he was chosen Provincial of the Maltese Dominican Province,an office he held for two four-year terms. On termination of office, he was entrusted with the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Gwardamanga as its Parish Priest. Between the years 1993 and 1997, he was responsible for the formation of the Dominican novices and students at Rabat; an office he again held for a short period of one year between 2004 and 2005. In 2005, Mgr Cremona was chosen as Parish Priest of the parish of Jesus of Nazareth in Sliema. His nomination was made public on the 2nd December 2006 and he was ordained Bishop on the 26th January 2007.

During his priestly life, Archbishop Cremona also served the Archdiocese as the Archbishop’s Delegate for Consecrated Life, Assistant Spiritual Director at the Seminary at Tal-Virtu’, and as a member of the Presbyterial Council. He was also President of the Council of Maltese Religious Major Superiors (KSMR). He is the author of a good number of books dealing with theology and spirituality, including his thesis, “The Concept of Peace in Pope John XXIII’’, “The Church, Icon of the Holy Trinity’’, and writings on the Creed and the Commandments as well as four books he wrote jointly with Fr George Frendo, OP, now Auxilliary Bishop in Albania.

Richard Ellis (27 January 1842 – 23 December 1924) was a British-Maltese photographer who was one of the pioneers of photography in Malta during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in St. Luke's, East London, he travelled throughout Europe as a circus performer before settling down in Malta at the age of nineteen. Within a few years he had opened a studio in Valletta, and became a renowned photographer. His archive of tens of thousands of photographs still exists, and his work is significant for both its historic value and technical quality.

Francis Laing was born at Edinburgh on 1 May 1773, son of Alexander, an architect. Laing studied at the University of Edinburgh 1789-90 and 1792-93, and the University of Glasgow in 1794, taking a Physics class under John Anderson. He was Snell Exhibitioner in 1796, and went on to graduate BA from Oxford in 1799 and MA in 1801. He took Holy Orders, becoming Reverend Francis Laing. In 1803 Laing served as Private Secretary to the Governor of Malta, and was shortly afterwards appointed Secretary to the Government of the Island, a post which he held till 1814. Returning to the UK, Laing was Rector of Llanmaes, Glamorgan from 1814 to 1824, and Rector of Humshaugh, Northumberland, from 1820 to 1832. He died at the Mythe, Tewkesbury, on 24 November 1861.

Vincenzo Marich, born circa 1813, registered the business, known today as V. Marich and Co., in 1838. Vinenzo was marrier to Natalizia Lo Re (Lore) and had no children of their own. By 1862, the business received its first appointment by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales in 1862, where permission to affix "By appointment to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales" over the door of their establishment was granted. Vincenzo probably retired from the business around 1864, handing over the business to Lawrence Rizzo Marich.

Lawrence Rizzo Marich, who was the first cousin, once removed of Vincenzo Marich, was first involved in the business as an apprentice to help in the daily running of the business. By the time the business was handed over to Lawrence, the company had taken the new established name V. Marich and Co. since the first mention of this company was in the mid-1860s.

6th August 1916 – Born in Cospicua toLaurence and Concetta nee Farrugia
1939 - Awarded a Rhodes scholarship where he obtained his qualifications in science and engineering which included MA, BSc and BE&A, A&CE
1935 – Assistant Secretary of the Cospicua Labour Party
1935 – 1937; 1944 – Served as General Secretary of the Labour Party
1945 – Contested the general electrions for the Council of Government
1947 – 1949 – Appointed Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction
1947 – Led delegations to London regarding the Marshall Aid
1947 – Married Moira Bentinck
1949 – Mintoff became the leader of the Malta Labour Party
1950 – 1996 – Contested all general elections
1953 – 1955 – Editor of The Knight
1955 – Became Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance and led a delegation to discuss the question of integration
1958 – Resigned in protest against the Britishand led the Maltese Liberation Movement
1958 – Led a delegation to London to discuss the re-introduction of self-government
1962 – 1971 – Became Leader of Opposition, in light of the MLP’s dispute with the Church
1971 – Removed Sir Maurice Dorman from governor-general and appointed Sir Anthony Mamo instead
1971 – Given the Order of the Republic of Libya
1973 – Given the Grand Cordon De l’Ordre de la Republique of Tunisia
1974 – Chose Mamo as the first president of the Republic of Malta
1978 – Given the Order of the Gran Cordon of Oissam Alaouite from Morocco
1979 – Ended the British military hold on Malta
1980 – Negotiated a protocol neutrality agreement with Italy
1984 - Resigned from Prime Minister and leader of the MLP but retained his parliamentary seat
1990 – Made Companion of the National Order of Merit (KUOM)
1998 – Mintoff voted against the Labour Government on a motion on the Cottonera development
2003 – Campaigned against Malta’s accession to the European Union
2008 – Awarded the Al-Qathafi Prize by the International Committee for the Al-Qathafi Award for Human Rights

Bice Mizzi nee Vassallo was a Maltese pianist, considered among the foremost pianists of her generation. She is the daughter of composer Paolino Vassallo and Maria Anna nee Grech, and the wife of former Maltese Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi. Her first notable performance was in 1909 where she performed a recital at the Manoel Theatre under the patronage of the Bishop of Malta Pietro Pace, organised in aid of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sliema. She also performed a recital at Wigmore Hall in London and performed at a concert by Maltese composer Carmelo Pace in 1946. Mizzi had a son, Dun Fortunat Mizzi. She died in 1985.

Mons Fortunat Mizzi was a Maltese priest and the founder of the Moviment Azzjoni Socjali. He was the only child of Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi and Bice Mizzi. Mizzi was ordered a priest in 1952 and founded the Moviment Azzjoni Socjali in 1955 amongst other trade unions and cooperatives. He was a member for many years in the Church’s councils and helped in the translation of the Vatican II Council documents. In 2010, together with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Mizzi set up the Fortunato and Enrico Mizzi Foundation to administer property, archives and other memorabilia of the Mizzi Family.

Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini was born in Valletta (Malta), on the 12th April 1911. He was educated at the Gozo Seminary, then at the Lyceum, Malta, where he had his first studies in Art under Giuseppe Duca (1871-1946) and from where he passed to the University of Malta and graduated as Notary Public and as Doctor of Laws in 1937.

Upon entering university in 1931, he started writing poems, novels, essays, literary studies, articles on art in English, Italian and Maltese many of these appeared in several magazines and publications both locally and abroad. In fact, although he was a notary by profession, he was also a poet, author, playwright, translator of literary works, opera and cantata librettist, and painter.

Pellegrini was a patron of the Arts. He encouraged and promoted young and established artists, poets, writers, and musicians. He was also known beyond the Maltese shores. He founded the Institute for Cultural Exchanges, where he organised art exhibitions, music recitals and cultural talks. He was a founding member with Josef Kalleya (1898-1997) of 'La Scuola del Nudo' and the 'Societa di Belle Arti'. He became more aggressive in his promotion of Maltese Art when he founded the 'Institute for Cultural Exchanges'. He organised exhibitions not only of established artists but also of students who were still studying abroad. Dr. Pellegrini continued painting even in his old age and participated in the Maltafest 1996 Summer Exhibition (which was to be his last), when he exhibited his painting 'Alpha II.'

Pellegrini was also a member of the Manoel Theatre management committee (1960-1971) when it was restored and brought back to life in the 1950s-60s.

Apart from all this Dr. Pellegrini wrote profusely on Maltese art in leading local and foreign newspapers and magazines. Indeed during his life he published over forty books and has left a large number of unpublished works.

Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini died on October 1, 1997.