FILE - In this March 1972 file photo, former Prime Minister of Malta Dom Mintoff speaks at a press conference in London. The government says Mintoff, who was in power when the island nation became a republic, died Monday, Aug. 20, 2012. He was 96. Mintoff was Malta's longest-serving lawmaker, representing the Labor Party from 1947-1998. He was prime minister from 1955 -1958 and from 1971-1984. (AP Photo, file)