Dominique De La Rochefoucauld-Montbel

Dominique, Prince and Count de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel (born 6 July 1950 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, is a member of the House of La Rochefoucauld and was the Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (9 years) and the president of the French Association (14 years). He is today Vice-President of the Foundation of the Order and president of the historical academy. He is president of the foundation for Evangelization through the Media (FEM). 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 with the marriage of Emmanuel, Prince and Count, Ambassadeur of the Order of Malta, and Simone Darblay. That branch is from the dukes of Estissac and due to their proximity with Napoléon, they are linked with Roman nobility with unions with the Borghese.

Family

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel married Pascale Marie Subtil (financial control and auditor expert, Dauphine University and Merit of the Order of Malta), in January 1984 at Connantre. They have one son Count Gabriel (1987) and two daughters Marie (married to Thibault Jabouley) and Anne (married to Fabrizio Celestini). They own an old Forteress and Commanderie of the Order of Malta : Castle of L’Ormeteau.

His son, Count Gabriel, civil engineer and MBA, pursues a career in banking, insurance and consulting. He is Knight of the Order of Malta of Honor and Devotion (2015) and Knight of Merit of the Order of Malta. He is a member of the Jockey Club.

His godmother was Anne de La Rochefoucauld, founder of the VMF (safeguard of French heritage), daughter of Prince Gabriel de La Rochefoucauld, writer and friend of Marcel Proust.

He is a descendant of Basile Parent, one of the founders of société générale and CIC banks. The La Rochefoucauld-Montbel were also close with the Polignac family.

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel is son of Charles Emmanuel, Prince and Count, and of Joanna Forbes. He succeeded to his father as Prince (Fürst) in 2000, a title given to his great-grandfather Jules by the King of Bavaria in 1909. He succeeded also as Count (French title). The La Rochefoucauld-Montbel are present in the Almanach de Gotha.

Education and career

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. He studied economics at the Institut supérieur du commerce de Paris.

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

He is President of the SMLH Paris 17th (members of Legion d’Honneur) and administrator of the Society of the Friends of the Musée de la Légion d'honneur. He is a member of the Jockey Club, of La Caccia in Rome and of the Cercle du Bois de Boulogne as a founding member.''Who's Who in France'', accessed 13 April 2022. He is also chancellor of the « Académie des Psychologues du Goût » and president of the music association of Pellevoisin (France). He is president of the foundation for Evangelization through the Media (FEM) created in 2008 that supports Aleteia.

Order of Malta

In 1992, La Rochefoucauld-Montbel was received into the Order of Malta. He became a Knight of Honour and Devotion. 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.

La Rochefoucauld-Montbel has served in a number of positions in the French Association of the Order of Malta: Administrator (1994-1996), Vice-President (1994-2000), President (2000-2014), Vice-President (2014-2023).

He is Vice-President of the French Foundation of the Order of Malta since 2008 and the official representative of the Order of Malta for the Hospital of the Holy Family in Bethlehem from 2009 to 2014. In 2010 he became a member of the International Hospital Council of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Rome.

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. He was re-elected at the Chapter General held 1-2 May 2019. 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.

Honours and decorations

: Officer of the Legion of Honour (31 December 2014) - Knight (12 November 2004)

: Knight of the National Order of Merit

: Knight of Arts and Letters

: Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great

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

: Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi

: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (9 September 2020)

: Collar and Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (29 December 2015)

: Grand Cross of the Order of Valour

: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Agatha

: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star

Order of the Holy Sepulchre : 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

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Rochefoucauld-Montbel
1950 births
French Roman Catholics
French businesspeople
French nobility
Knights of Malta
Living people
Collège Champittet alumni