Three honorary memberships to National Order of Merit membership conferred

Chev. Joseph S Micallef  U.O.M.,  Honorary Consul General in St Paul Minnesota, USA, was awarded an Honorary Membership in the grade of officer.

Dr Thomas Stoecker  M.O.M.,  Honorary Consul General in Bremen, Germany, and Ms Krystyna Maria Mikulanka  M.O.M., Honorary Consul in Warsaw, Poland, were awarded an Honorary Membership in the grade of member.

The awards were conferred during an investiture ceremony held on Wednesday morning the Palace in Valletta as part of official celebrations marking the anniversary of Independence Day (21 September).

Chev. Joseph S Micallef 

Born in Zabbar, Joseph S Micallef migrated to the USA were he studied at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He also served in the US Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain. He currently serves as president and CEO of Great Northern Iron Ore Properties, and serves as Trustee on the Board of his alma mater and on several boards of professional organizations and charitable foundations. 

Micallef has served as Honorary Consul General of Malta at St. Paul, Minneapolis since 1967. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta also invested him as a Knight Commander while the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem has bestowed him with a Knight Grand Cross. 

In May 2011, he was also awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for outstanding personal and professional qualities and for his distinguished community service at local, national and international levels.

Dr Thomas Stoecker 

Dr Thomas Stöecker was born in Naumburg, Germany in 1947, studied dentistry in the Westfaelische Wilhelm University in Münster.

Stöecker was appointed Honorary Consul in 1988 and was promoted Consul-General in 2008, working in a number of areas such as tourism and cultural exchanges.

Stöecker has organised annual seminars in Malta on dental hypnosis, and also organized incentive groups to Malta, which include groups from German Suzuki dealers and Hellman Worldwide logistics.

Stöecker’s also established of links and exchanges between the Universities of Malta and Bremen, secured assistance to the Malta Maritime Authority in the promotion of registration of ships under the Maltese flag, hosted a meeting for all Honorary Consuls for Malta in Germany; and oversaw the logistical assistance in the official visit to Malta of a large group of European Consuls this summer.

Ms Krystyna Maria Mikulanka

Krystyna Maria Mikulanka was born and educated in Poland where she read for two Master degrees in Journalism and in Economics at the University of Warsaw.

Between 1971 and 1986 Mikulanka was a correspondent and foreign desk editor for several Polish newspapers, publishing no less than 3000 articles and interviewed several major international, political and artistic personalities.

She has also produced various documentaries on television. She lectured Journalism at the University of Warsaw between 1994 and 2006 and also lectured Political Sciences at the University of Wroclaw from 2006 onwards.

Mikulanka was appointed Honorary Consul for Malta in Poland in 1994. During the past 17 years she has assistaed the five Maltese Ambassadors who were accredited to Poland, as well as to a number of visiting high-level delegations from Malta including a Presidential visit.

Mikulanka also brought a number of top Polish journalists and film crews to explore Malta, not only as a tourist destination but as a country with particular niche areas.

Through this initiative a number of documentaries were filmed and Malta was also used for the shooting of some movie scenes. She is currently finalising a film on thelife of Pope John Paul II.

The National Order of Merit

The National Order of Merit was instituted in 1990 in order to permit the State to pay public tribute through its Membership to those of its citizens who distinguish themselves in different walks of life and, through Honorary Membership, to foreign nationals “who have distinguished themselves by their service in the promotion and fostering of international relations or who earn the respect and gratitude of the people of the Maltese Islands”.

The first time such honours were bestowed on foreign nationals was in 1996 during an investiture ceremony held for the purpose on Independence Day following a decision taken by Government to honour those of our honorary foreign representatives abroad whose service to Malta combines outstanding merit with a minimum length of service. 

Recipients have to be highly recommended and must have a minimum number of years service in Malta’s Consular Corps.