Spiteri graduated in politics and economics at St Peter's College, Oxford and got involved in politics in 1957 as a member of the Labour Party's national executive committee.[4] He was first elected to Parliament in 1962, at 23 years, and served in Parliament for 21 years.[5]
From 1964 until 1966 Spiteri was deputy editor of It-Torca, and head of publications at Union Press.[4]
Spiteri worked as a research officer with the Malta Chamber of Commerce, and joined the Central Bank of Malta in 1970,[4] later serving as its deputy governor during the Mintoff years, with the nationalisation of private banks.[5]
Spiteri served as Finance Minister from 1981 to 1983 and as Trade and Economic Planning Minister from 1983 to 1987.[4] He did not always have a good relation with Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.[5]
In 1992 Spiteri contested the party leadership following the resignation of Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, but he was defeated by Alfred Sant.[5]
In 1996, Prime Minister Alfred Sant appointed Spiteri as Finance Minister, but he resigned only five months later, in 1997, following Sant's announcement that he would remove VAT, a policy which he disagreed with, and on which he had not been consulted.[5] With the electoral defeat of Labour in 1998, Spiteri left politics.[4] In the following years, he was a regular political commentator and analyst on the country's newspapers.[5]
In 2003, differently from the Labour Party line, he voted in favour of EU membership.[5]
In 2008 he was awarded Ġieħ ir-Repubblika[5] and made Companion of the Order of Merit (K.O.M).[4]
Spiteri authored several novels and short stories such as Anatomija - short stories and Il-Halliel u stejjer ohra, and was a regular newspaper contributor.[4]
He was married with four children.[4]
