Vincent Moran (27 January 1932 – 20 November 2018) was Minister of Health in the Labor Governments of the 1970s and 1980s. Moran implemented reforms that further strengthened what the Governments of Pawlu Boffa and Dom Mintoff had started in the health sector. The medical profession and his role in politics were ways in which Moran saw himself doing good in society.
Son of John Moran and Carmela née Debono, he began practicing medicine in 1958. In 1963 he married Margret Debono, known as Maggie Moran, who died on 10 April 1993, and who was President of the Labor Women's Association and Director of several companies.
Moran had been a member of the Labor Party since 1948. He was first elected to Parliament in 1962 and from 1976 to 1987 Moran served as Minister of Health and the Environment.
In the words of his former private secretary, Anthony Debono, Moran was "a loyal, sincere, hard-working man who was undeterred even in the most critical moments. He was a doctor of the people who never made a choice to give his professional and political services. I feel that as long as I have been alive the best time of my life was the five years I spent as his private secretary."
Moran's ten years were characterized by a continuous doctors' strike and therefore his leadership was all the more impressive as he had to make arrangements with various countries to send doctors to Malta to treat the Maltese, including world-renowned doctors such as Professor Fara of Plastic Surgery and Prof Grossman in special surgery.
So much so that within three years bilateral agreements in the field of health had been signed with Czechoslovakia and the then Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, the PLO, Iraq and many others.
He was also the head of the delegation that went to Alma Ata 40 years ago where the World Health Organization decided to give the greatest attention to Primary Care and with the dynamism of Dr. Moran, Malta was one of the model countries in this field.
Moran was also the head of the delegation that negotiated and offered to the World Health Organization's World Conference in July 1982 that an International Center for the Elderly be established in Malta to deal with the practical aspects of elderly care and for the Center to be the source to ensure that this subject was pursued worldwide.
During his tenure as Minister of Health, for about two years he traveled throughout the Gulf meeting with the kings of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd, King Al Sabah of Kuwait, King Zayed Al Nayan of the United Emirates, King Al Ansari of Qatar in the capacity of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to purchase oil for Malta, mostly accompanied by Dr Alex Sceberras Trigona, Karmenu Vella and Tony De Bono.
A special occasion that Minister Censu Moran will be remembered for was when Prime Minister Dom Mintoff chose him to take charge of organizing the state funeral of former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier.
Moran died at the age of 86. He died at the Karin Grech Hospital, which he himself had opened, on 11 November 1979.
In a statement, the Labour Party said that in his work he has always fought for the benefits of workers. The PL said that he will remain known for how much he was a man of the people. He was first elected to Parliament in 1962 with his political work inspired by the need to improve the quality of life of citizens, especially in the health sector. According to the statement, he was instrumental in the changes that were made during the times of Labor governments under former Prime Minister Perit Mintoff.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described Moran as one of the founding fathers of the country's national health system. "Vincent Moran can be considered one of the founding fathers of #Malta National #Health System. He remained an integral part of the community throughout his political life and beyond. Vincent and Maggie embodied selfless service at its best."