Malta Begins Process To Revoke Honour Awarded To Peter Mandelson

Proceedings have begun to review and potentially revoke a national honour awarded by the Maltese government to former UK minister Peter Mandelson, following renewed scrutiny over his links to the…

Proceedings have begun to review and potentially revoke a national honour awarded by the Maltese government to former UK minister Peter Mandelson, following renewed scrutiny over his links to the late financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by Times of Malta.

Mandelson was appointed an honorary Officer of the National Order of Merit (UOM) in 2016, one of several foreign nationals recognised for strengthening international relations or earning the respect and gratitude of the Maltese people.

However, Mandelson has recently resigned or been removed from a number of high-profile roles after new reports emerged detailing the extent of his relationship with Epstein. A fresh release of documents has suggested that Epstein made payments to Mandelson and received confidential information from him while Mandelson was serving as the UK’s trade secretary.

The fallout has also extended to the UK. Calls have been made for Lord Mandelson to lose his peerage, while the UK prime minister’s chief of staff resigned on Saturday after having recommended Mandelson for the role of ambassador to the United States.

Malta’s National Order of Merit, which forms part of Ġieħ ir-Repubblika, is awarded in recognition of exceptional service by both Maltese citizens and foreigners. The order is divided into four grades: Companion of Honour (KUOM), Companion (KOM), Officer (UOM) and Member (MOM).

On Monday, a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that the formal process to review and revoke the honour granted to Mandelson has now been initiated. The move follows calls by political party Momentum for authorities to strip Mandelson of the title.

This would not be the first time Malta has withdrawn national honours. In 2011, amid the Arab Spring, Malta stripped former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of the honours they had previously received.

Gaddafi had been awarded honorary membership of the Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika and made an honorary Companion of the National Order of Merit in 1975, while Ben Ali was granted honorary membership of the National Order of Merit in 2005. Their honours were withdrawn after parliament unanimously approved amendments to the Ġieħ ir-Repubblika Act relating to foreign recipients.

Under the amended law, the President of Malta, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may revoke honours once a person’s conduct is deemed to have made them “unworthy” of bearing the title.

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