The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a sovereign entity maintaining diplomatic relations with 113 sovereign states (including the Holy See). [1] Additionally, it has observer status or representation at multiple intergovernmental organisations. [2] The Order has non-diplomatic official relations with five more states: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Canada. [1] [3] The Order exchanges ambassadors with the European Union and the State of Palestine. [1] [2]
Some states recognize SMOM as a sovereign state, rather than a sovereign subject of international law. For example, the Republic of San Marino in 1935 recognized SMOM as a sovereign state in its own right. [4] [5] [6] As Italy recognizes, in addition to extraterritoriality, the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping. [7]
As of June 2010 [update] , nine Schengen states did not recognize the diplomatic passports of the Order: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, France, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Switzerland. [8]
# | Country | Date |
---|---|---|
— | Holy See | February 1930 [9] |
1 | Romania | December 1932 [10] |
2 | Spain | 19 November 1938 [11] |
3 | Haiti | 1947 [12] |
4 | Panama | 2 August 1948 [13] |
5 | Argentina | 7 June 1951 [14] |
6 | El Salvador | 1951 [12] |
7 | Brazil | 17 January 1952 [15] |
8 | Colombia | 28 January 1953 [16] |
9 | Peru | 15 April 1953 [17] |
10 | Ecuador | 29 July 1953 [18] |
11 | Chile | 24 February 1956 [19] |
12 | Italy | 12 June 1956 [20] |
13 | Lebanon | 1956 [12] |
14 | Costa Rica | 8 August 1957 [21] |
15 | Nicaragua | 12 September 1957 [22] |
16 | Guatemala | 11 December 1957 [23] |
17 | Austria | 1957 [24] |
18 | Dominican Republic | 1957 [24] |
19 | Paraguay | 10 January 1958 [25] |
20 | Cuba | 29 July 1959 [26] |
21 | Honduras | 1959 [24] |
22 | Liberia | 1959 [24] |
23 | Cameroon | 4 July 1961 [24] |
24 | Somalia | 28 November 1961 [24] |
25 | Portugal | 19 December 1962 [27] |
26 | Gabon | 1963 [24] |
27 | Bolivia | 15 October 1964 [28] |
28 | Philippines | 24 April 1965 [29] |
29 | Senegal | 1965 [24] |
30 | Uruguay | 1965 [24] |
31 | Malta | 27 June 1966 [30] |
32 | Venezuela | 1970 [24] |
33 | Niger | 9 January 1971 [31] |
34 | Ethiopia | February 1971 [32] |
35 | Benin | 1972 [24] |
36 | Ivory Coast | 1972 [24] |
37 | Togo | 5 September 1973 [33] |
38 | Burkina Faso | 1973 [24] |
39 | Mauritania | 3 March 1977 [34] |
40 | Mauritius | 18 July 1978 [35] |
41 | Egypt | 1980 [24] |
42 | Central African Republic | 1981 [24] |
43 | Comoros | 1981 [24] |
44 | Thailand | 4 September 1984 [36] |
45 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1984 [24] |
46 | San Marino | 4 March 1986 [37] |
47 | Guinea | 24 June 1986 [38] |
48 | Mali | 1986 [24] |
49 | Morocco | 1986 [24] |
50 | Chad | 1989 [24] |
51 | Czech Republic | 8 June 1990 [39] |
52 | Hungary | 15 June 1990 [40] |
53 | Poland | 9 July 1990 [41] |
54 | Madagascar | 1990 [24] |
55 | Lithuania | 9 July 1992 [42] |
56 | Slovenia | 15 July 1992 [43] |
57 | Russia | 7 August 1992 [44] |
58 | Croatia | 22 December 1992 [45] |
59 | Republic of the Congo | 1992 [24] |
60 | Cambodia | 1992 [24] |
61 | Sudan | 1992 [24] |
62 | Slovakia | 1 January 1993 [46] |
63 | Kazakhstan | 4 February 1993 [47] |
64 | Seychelles | June 1994 [48] |
65 | Albania | 14 July 1994 [49] |
66 | Bulgaria | 11 November 1994 [50] |
67 | Liechtenstein | 1994 [24] |
68 | Latvia | 15 August 1995 [51] |
69 | Belarus | 30 April 1996 [52] |
70 | North Macedonia | 12 July 1996 [52] |
71 | Equatorial Guinea | 16 July 1996 [52] |
72 | Cape Verde | 1996 [24] |
73 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 31 January 1997 [53] |
74 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | February 1997 [54] |
75 | Federated States of Micronesia | 12 November 1997 [55] |
76 | Guinea-Bissau | 1997 [24] |
77 | Mozambique | 1997 [24] |
78 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 1997 [24] |
79 | Armenia | 29 May 1998 [56] |
80 | Georgia | 24 July 1998 [57] |
81 | Suriname | 30 April 1999 [58] |
82 | Guyana | 19 May 1999 [59] |
83 | Eritrea | 1999 [24] |
84 | Saint Lucia | 1999 [24] |
85 | Belize | 1999 [24] |
86 | Afghanistan | 1999 [24] |
87 | Moldova | 5 May 2001 [60] |
88 | Serbia | 11 May 2001 [61] |
89 | Tajikistan | 1 June 2001 [62] |
90 | Marshall Islands | 3 May 2002 [63] |
91 | Kiribati | 2002 [24] |
92 | Jordan | 29 June 2003 [64] |
93 | Angola | 13 December 2005 [65] |
94 | Montenegro | 5 September 2006 [66] |
95 | East Timor | 18 September 2006 [67] |
96 | Kenya | 14 September 2007 [68] |
97 | Monaco | 18 October 2007 [69] |
98 | Turkmenistan | 30 October 2007 [68] |
99 | Ukraine | 9 February 2008 [68] |
100 | Bahamas | 11 November 2008 [68] |
101 | Sierra Leone | 28 November 2008 [68] |
102 | Namibia | 31 March 2009 [68] |
103 | Antigua and Barbuda | 20 October 2009 [68] |
104 | Cyprus | 6 June 2012 [70] |
105 | South Sudan | 14 November 2014 [71] |
106 | Grenada | 6 November 2015 [72] |
107 | Germany | 15 November 2017 [73] |
108 | Nauru | 5 October 2018 [74] |
109 | Estonia | 11 March 2020 [75] |
110 | Greece | 2 December 2021 [76] |
111 | Lesotho | 7 December 2021 [77] |
112 | Gambia | 20 September 2023 [78] |
# | Name | Diplomatic relations established | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ecuador | 29 July 1953 [18] | On 10 February 2012, President Rafael Correa issued a decree to withdraw recognition and initiate the process of canceling relations, [79] starting from May. [1] Later on, the relations were restored by President Lenín Moreno on 24 September 2019. [80] |
– | European Union | 1987 | Ambassador level relations. [2] |
2 | Italy | 12 June 1956 [20] | The Supreme Court of Cassation decreed on 6 June 1974 that, "the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta constitutes a sovereign international subject, in all terms equal, even if without territory, to a foreign state with which Italy has normal diplomatic relations, so there is no doubt, as already this Supreme Court has warned, that it has the legal treatment of foreign states". [81] As Italy recognizes, in addition to extraterritoriality, the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping. [7] |
– | Palestinian Authority | Ambassador level relations. [1] |
Name | Official relations established | Region | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
France | 1982 | Europe | France does not recognise the SMOM as a subject of international law. [82] |
The Order of Malta has unofficial relations with Taiwan through the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See in Rome (Italy). [83]
Countries with which the Order currently has no established relations:
The Order of Malta has observer status at the following organizations: [2]
The Order of Malta has delegations or representations to the following organizations: [2]
Burkina Faso has good relations with the European Union, African and certain Asian countries. France, the former colonial power, in particular, continues to provide significant aid and supports Compaoré's developing role as a regional powerbroker.
President François Bozizé has said that one of his priorities is to get the support of the international community. This has indeed been visible in his relations to donor countries and international organisations. At the same time it is difficult to have an open policy towards neighbouring countries when they are used as safe haven by rebels regularly attacking Central African Republic (C.A.R.), or when one allied country is in war with another.
The Foreign relations of Egypt are the Egyptian government's external relations with the outside world. Egypt's foreign policy operates along a non-aligned level. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East, Africa, and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of the Arab world's commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and religious institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural landmarks.
The government's official policy is one of nonalignment. In its search for assistance to meet the goal of national reconstruction, the government of Equatorial Guinea has established diplomatic relations with numerous European and Third World countries. Having achieved independence under UN sponsorship, Equatorial Guinea feels a special kinship with that organization. It became the 126th UN member on November 12, 1968. Equatorial Guinea served as a non-permanent member on the United Nations Security Council from 2017 to 2019.
For the two decades preceding the Republic of the Congo's 1991 National Conference, the country was firmly in the socialist camp, allied principally with the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc nations. Educational, economic, and foreign aid links between Congo and its Eastern bloc allies were extensive, with the Congolese military and security forces receiving significant Soviet, East German, and Cuban assistance.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of a military, chivalric, and noble nature. Though it possesses no territory, the order is often considered a sovereign entity under international law.
Palau gained its independence October 1, 1994, with the entry into force of the Compact of Free Association with the United States. Palau was the last Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands territories to gain its independence. Under the Compact, the U.S. remains responsible for Palau's defense for 50 years.
Fra' Angelo de Mojana di Cologna was an Italian nobleman and Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 1962 to 1988.
Fra' Robert Matthew Festing GCStJ OBE TD DL was an English Roman Catholic official who was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until his resignation on 28 January 2017, following a dispute with the Vatican.
Its location in the center of Africa has made the Democratic Republic of the Congo a key player in the region since independence. Because of its size, mineral wealth, and strategic location, Zaire was able to capitalize on Cold War tensions to garner support from the West. In the early 1990s, however, with the end of the Cold War and in the face of growing evidence of human rights abuses, Western support waned as pressure for internal reform increased.
This is an article about the postage stamps and postal history of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport is a travel document issued to officials and diplomats of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM). The order issues biometric passports which are fully ICAO9303 compliant.
Haiti was one of the original members of the League of Nations, and was one of the original members of the United Nations and several of its specialized and related agencies. It is also a founding member of the Organization of American States. Haiti also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, instead of the People's Republic of China. Taiwan is one of Haiti's major trading partners and the two countries maintain very friendly relations. Haiti has also re-established very warm relations with Cuba in which a major act of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Cuba's large contribution of doctors to the country. The Haitian government has publicly shown admiration to Fidel Castro and his administration.
Fra' John Timothy Dunlap is a Canadian attorney who has been the Prince and Grand Master and head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta since May 3, 2023. He had been Lieutenant of the Grand Master since 13 June 2022. Dunlap is the first Prince and Grand Master not to be of noble or aristocratic ancestry, which was traditionally a requirement for the role until a revision to the Order's constitution ordered by Pope Francis in 2022.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta–European Union relations are the diplomatic relations between the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) and the European Union (EU). They were formally established in 2003 when the SMOM established a representation and office in Brussels, having been in contact with the European Commission since the early 1990s.
Dominique, Prince et Comte de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, is a member of the House of La Rochefoucauld and was the Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the president of the French Association. He is today Vice-President of the Foundation of the Order and president of the historical academy. He is president of the foundation for Evangelization through the Media (FEM). The Prince branch of the family is closely linked with the Holy Mary apparitions in Pellevoisin (France) and the discovery of the Lascaux Caves which they owned with the marriage of Emmanuel, Prince and Count, Ambassadeur of the Order of Malta, and Simone Darblay. That branch is from the dukes of Estissac and due to their proximity with Napoléon, they are linked with Roman nobility with unions with the Borghese.
Prochaine ouverture de relations diplomatiques, au niveau des ambassades, entre le Niger et l'Ordre de Malte...
Ouverture de relations diplomatiques, au niveau des ambassades, entre le Togo et l'Ordre souverain de Malte.
... The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guinea has the pleasure of informing the nation and the world that the Republic of Guinea and the Sovereign Order of Malta ... have decided to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level as of 24 June 1986.