Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Malta)

Republic of Malta
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Ministeru tal-Affarijiet Barranin


Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Agency overview
Jurisdiction Malta and its diplomatic missions worldwide
Headquarters Palazzo Parisio, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 1171
Agency executive
Website foreign.gov.mt

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Maltese: Ministeru tal-Affarijiet Barranin), formerly called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[1] is responsible for maintaining Malta's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The current Minister of foreign affairs is Honourable George William Vella.[2][3]

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is currently housed at Palazzo Parisio, a historic building situated in Merchants Street, Valletta.[4]

History

Malta attained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and has maintained independent, official diplomatic relations with other nations since then.[3] The ministry moved to its current location, within the Palazzo Parisio, in 1973, although the building itself was built in the 1700s and was once occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte during his Egyptian Campaign.[5] The Palazzo Parisio has housed certain government operations starting in 1886 with Malta's General Post Office and, after World War I, the nation's Audit Office.[5]

Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Central courtyard at Palazzo Parisio

The Minister

George William Vella has been the minister of foreign affairs since March 2013. Vella was born on 24 April 1942 at Zejtun and graduated in medicine at the University of Malta in 1964. In 1977, he was awarded a Certificate in General Aviation Medicine (Famborough, UK). Vella started his parliamentary career within the Labour Party (Malta) in 1978. He was subsequently elected Member of Parliament at the general elections held in 1981, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013, when he was re-appointed as Malta’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.

From 1978 to 1987, Vella served as Leader of the Malta Delegation to the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. Between January and May 1987, he was appointed as Malta's Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe. In 1992, he was elected as the Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs and spokesperson of the Opposition on Foreign Affairs. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Malta/EU Joint Parliamentary Committee. In 1995 and 1996, Vella was a member of the House Business Committee and the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee.

During his political career, he led many delegations abroad and attended numerous conferences and seminars, delivering speeches, in many European capitals. Vella was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Environment in October 1996, a position which he kept up to the 1998 general elections. Dr Vella is married to Miriam née Grima; the couple has two daughters and a son, as well as seven grandchildren.[6]

Diplomacy

The ministry oversees Malta's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organizations, including the European Union, the United Nations and the Council of Europe. The ministry also holds responsibility for matters related to foreign trade, expatriates and citizenship and travel visas.[7]

Brazil and Japan

Several of its foreign missions, including those to large nations like Brazil and Japan, are accredited to it through embassies in Rome, Italy. There are no Maltese diplomatic missions physically located in South America.[8]

Libya

In 2011 and 2012, the ministry was involved in international efforts to address the Libyan civil war, in part because of Malta's geographic proximity to Libya and the history of refugees and illegal immigrants leaving Libya for Malta.[9][10]

Refugee camps and the handling of matters of immigration and visitor status are the responsibility of the ministry. Foreign Minister Borg has called for Libya's Transitional National Council to accede to the Geneva Convention, something the African nation had not previously done under Muammar Gaddafi's regime.[11]

Vatican

In Malta's Order of Precedence of foreign ambassadors and other heads of mission, the Vatican's Apostolic Nuncio is listed first, regardless of the incumbent Nuncio's time in office. The Nuncio is then followed by a traditional precedence based on the foreign representatives' length of appointment.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://foreignaffairs.gov.mt/en/Pages/Home_Page.aspx
  2. ↑ "The Minister". mfa.gov.mt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Malta. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Background Note: Malta". State.gov. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-09-14/arts-and-culture/marie-benoits-diary-luncheon-at-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-6569197568/
  5. 1 2 "Palazzo Parisio - a historic overview". mfa.gov.mt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Malta. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. ↑ http://foreignaffairs.gov.mt/en/Pages/The%20Minister.aspx
  7. ↑ "Organisational Chart". foreign.gov.mt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS ACCREDITED TO MALTA". foreign.gov.mt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Pignal, Stanley (24 February 2011). "Libya refugees flee to Malta". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "29 illegal immigrants rescued off Libya". Times of Malta. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Malta wants Libya to sign refugee rights convention". Times of Malta. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Order of Precedence". foreign.gov.mt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

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