First performed February 3, 1923, “L-Innu Malti” became the national anthem in 1945. The author of the anthem’s lyrics, Dun Karm Psaila, (Malta’s national poet), was originally comissioned to write a school hymn to already-existing music, written the year before. He thought of the idea of a national anthem in the form of a prayer, to bind together the political parties and the country with the commonality of prayer.
Special thanks to: Jan Scotland for some of this information and the English translation.