Portal:Malta/Issuing Authority

MaltaPost commenced trading on 1 May 1998 in terms of a licence granted by the Government of Malta for the operation of postal services in the Maltese Islands. The Company took over the operations of the former Posts Department through a licence issued by the Postmaster General.

The postal service in Malta dates back to the Knights of St John who were ceded the island by Charles V in 1530. Correspondence, official or otherwise, increased in volume and importance with every decade that passed.

A General Post Office was established in Valletta in January of 1885, and on that date postage stamps of Great Britain ceased to be valid for the prepayment of correspondence posted in Malta and Gozo.

The postal service has made great strides since those early days. Malta became a full member of the Universal Postal Union in September of 1964, after having benefited through membership of the UPU since 1875, being the first British Colony to become a member just one year after the UPU was set up.