Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel

Dominique, de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel (born 6 July 1950 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), Officer of the Légion d'Honneur, member of the House of La Rochefoucauld and humanitarian diplomat. He was Grand Hospitaller and president of the French Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Prince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Grand Hospitaler, seating on the sofa on the left side, during a diplomatic visit of the Order of Malta

Family

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel married Pascale Marie Subtil (financial control and auditor expert, Dauphine University), in January 1984 at Connantre.^[1] They have three children : Marie, Gabriel and Anne.

In the recent history, he is a descendant of :

• Jean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles, grand cross of the Legion of honor, general under Bonaparte then Napoleon, Prime Minister of Louis XVIII and of the General Auguste Dampierre. Both having their names under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
• Adélaïde de La Rochefoucauld, cousin and dame d'honneur of Empress Joséphine and her husband Alexandre, ambassadeur of the Emperor, grand officer of the Legion of honor, son of the famous Francois XII, duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt
• Louis-Joseph de Montbel, field marshal, first chambellan of Charles X.
• The General François de Négrier whose heart lays in the Invalides in Paris in the crypt of the governors. His nephew the General Oscar de Négrier, grand cross of the Legion of honor, was the godfather of Simone Darblay de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel.

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel is son of Charles Emmanuel and of Joanna Forbes.^[1] He succeeded to his father as Prince (Fürst) de La Rochefoucauld, a title given to his great-grandfather Jules by the King of Bavaria in 1909. He is also Count de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel (French title). The La Rochefoucauld-Montbel are present in the Almanach de Gotha.

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. That branch is from the dukes of Estissac and as such, they are linked with Roman nobility with unions with the Borghese.

Education and activities

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel attended Worth School near Crawley, England (where he had as a teacher Fra' Andrew Bertie (who would then become Grand Master of the Order of Malta), the Collège Champittet near Lausanne, and the Institut Florimont near Geneva.^[2] He studied economics at the Institut supérieur du commerce de Paris.^[2]

From 1975 to 2004. He pursued a career in finance, working mostly on the gold market and in exchange transactions.^[2] Since 2003, he manages a real-estate consultancy service and a real-estate assets management company.^[2]

He is President of the SMLH Paris 17th (members of Légion d'honneur) and administrator of the Society of the Friends of the Musée de la Légion d'honneur.^[2] He is also chancellor of the "Académie des Psychologues du Goût".

He is president of the foundation for Evangelization through the Media (FEM) created in 2008, shareholder of Aleteia.

On 25th February 2025,^[3] he was part of the visit to the sanctuary of Pellevoisin of Monsignor Celestino Migliore, Holy see nuncio to France following the nihil obstat in September 2024 of the Holy Mary apparitions to Estelle Faguette.

He has had and continues to have a significant involvement in the Order of Malta (see below).

Order of Malta

In 1992, La Rochefoucauld-Montbel was received into the Order of Malta. In 2008 he took the promise as a Knight in Obedience. He currently ranks as a Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience.^[2]

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel has served in a number of positions in the French Association of the Order of Malta: Administrator since 1994, vice-president (1996–2000), President (2000–2014), vice-president (2014–2023).^[4][2]

He is vice-president of the French Foundation of the Order of Malta ^[5] since 2008 and the official representative of the Order of Malta for the Hospital of the Holy Family in Bethlehem from 2009 to 2014.^[2] In 2010 he became a member of the International Hospital Council of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Rome.^[2]

In 2012, in the context of the close links between the French navy and the Order of Malta, La Rochefoucauld-Montbel decorated the two battle navy ships Le Chevalier Paul and the Forbin.

At the Chapter General of the Order of Malta held 30–31 May 2014 in Rome, La Rochefoucauld-Montbel was elected Grand Hospitaller.^[6] He was re-elected at the Chapter General held 1–2 May 2019.^[7] In this capacity he was responsible for the humanitarian affairs and international cooperation of the Order of Malta worldwide. He was director of the Global Fund for Forgotten People.

He is today vice-president of the Foundation of the Order ^[8] and president of its historical academy.

Honours and decorations

 France: Officer of the Legion of Honour (31 December 2014)^[9] – Knight (12 November 2004)^[9]

 France: Knight of the National Order of Merit(2 May 2002)^[10]

 Holy See: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (30 January 2024)^[11]

 SMOM: Bailli Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Order of Malta

 SMOM: Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi^[4]

 Italy: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (9 September 2020)^[12]

 Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (29 December 2015)^[13]

 Cameroon: Grand Cross of the Order of Valour

 Poland: Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (9 April 2024)^[14]

 Armenia: Grand Officer of the Order of Honour

 Morocco: Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam alaouite

 Romania: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania

 Holy See: Grand cross of Merit of the Order of the Holy sepulchre

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Bailli Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George^[15]