Diplomacy: accreditation of new ambassadors European Union - Türkiye - Germany - Malta

From left to right: H.E. Mr Alberto di Luca, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, H.E. Mr Stephan Steinlein, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ms Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations, H.E. Ms Christina Kokkinakis, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the European Union, and H.E. Mr Yunus Demirer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Türkiye.

© Government Communication Department – Manuel Vitali

On Thursday 11 April, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ms Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations, hosted a luncheon organised at the Hotel Hermitage to receive  H.E. Ms Christina Kokkinakis, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the European Union, H.E. Mr Yunus Demirer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Mr Stephan Steinlein, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany, and
H.E. Mr Alberto di Luca, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

The diplomats presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning.

Holder of a Master’s degree in international relations and a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Vienna, H.E. Ms. Christina Kokkinakis joined the Austrian diplomatic service in 1995, where she has held various positions, including in multilateral diplomacy as well as within the European External Action Service (EEAS). Since 2023, she has acted as the Permanent Representative of the European Union to UNESCO and OECD, as well as to the Principalities of Andorra and Monaco.

A graduate of the University of Ankara in Political Science in 1995, H.E. Mr Yunus Demirer began his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye in 1989. He has held various diplomatic positions within this Ministry in Ankara and abroad, including in Baghdad, for NATO, and in Bucharest, Washington, Beirut and Strasbourg.  He has served as Ambassador to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

In 2018 he was appointed Director-General of the Middle East and North Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 2021 as Ambassador of Türkiye to Slovakia. On 15 September 2023, he was appointed Ambassador of Türkiye to France.

After completing German diplomatic training from 1991 to 1993, H.E. Mr Stephan Steinlein held various positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, including in Bonn and Warsaw, before becoming Director of the Federal Chancellery in 2003. His career has led him to become State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, Head of the Federal Presidency as well as Diplomatic Advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. In August 2023, he was appointed as Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to France and Monaco.

A graduate of Political Science studies in 1979, H.E. Mr Alberto di Luca began his career in the private sector before becoming a member of the Chamber of Deputies in Rome from 1994 to 2006. In the diplomatic realm, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Republic of Serbia from 2010 to 2023 and is currently the Permanent Representative of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM).