Jean-Michel Parasiliti di Para (or Jean-Michel Parasiliti called Para) (26 March 1942 – 16 December 2017) was the pretender to the throne of the

Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia ( es, Reino de la Araucanía y de la Patagonia; french: Royaume d'Araucanie et de Patagonie, sometimes referred to as ''New France'') was an unrecognized state declared by two ordinances on November 17, 18 ...

under the name of Antoine IV from 9 January 2014 to 16 December 2017. The kingdom has been described as "an ephemeral 19th-century state" and as a "strange symbolic monarchy".

Biography

Early life and work

Jean-Michel Parasiliti was a French military veteran who served in the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, being awarded the Combatant's Cross, the North Africa Medal, and the North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal, with Algeria bar, among others. After his career in the military he turned to

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, specializing in the care of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. He received a range of national civil honours including the

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

(in 1995) and the

Order of Academic Palms Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

. He was married, with two children, and was of Sicilian descent. He held a doctorate in the history of civilization.

Pretender to the throne of Araucanía and Patagonia

The

is an unrecognised state associated with the Mapuche people, of which there are approximately 1.5 million in Chile and 200,000 in Argentina. After the death in 2014 of the former pretender

Philippe Boiry Philippe Paul Alexandre Henri Boiry (February 19, 1927 – January 5, 2014) was a journalist and a pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia from October 26, 1952 to January 5, 2014. Personal life Philippe Paul Alexan ...

, Parasiliti succeeded on 9 January 2014 as pretender to the throne of the

under the name of Antoine IV. Whether the Mapuche themselves accepted this, or were even aware of it, has not always been clear. The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia has been called a "curious and semi-comic episode" and the pretenders to the "throne" have been described as monarchs and sovereigns of fantasy, "having only fanciful claims to a kingdom without legal existence and having no international recognition". There does appear, however, to be increasing recognition of the role in defending Mapuche rights assumed by this "strange symbolic monarchy." It has been reported that "the intensification of the Mapuche conflict in recent years has given a new purpose to the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, long considered an absurdity by French society." Parasiliti died on 16 December 2017. He was succeeded as pretender to the throne by

Frédéric Luz Frédéric Rodriguez-Luz (born 9 March 1964), is a French writer and heraldist. He is also the current pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia, a 19th-century state. Life and Work Frédéric Nicolas Jacques Rodriguez-L ...

Honours

; National Honours * Officer of the

(1995). * Officer of the

. * Officer of the Order of Agricultural Merit. * Combatant's Cross. * Gold Medal of French Gratitude (2013). * North Africa Medal. * North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal, with Algeria bar. * Medal of Honor for Labour, Vermeil class. * Gold Medal of Youth and Sports. * Medal of Honor for the judicial protection of youth. ; Foreign Honours * Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Order of Saint Lazarus (2005)

References

External links

Royal House of Araucania and PatagoniaMapuche International LinkNorth American Araucanian Royalist Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parasiliti di Para, Jean-Michel 1942 births 2017 deaths Araucania Kings of Araucanía and Patagonia Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) Officers of the Order of Agricultural Merit French people of Sicilian descent French Army soldiers People from Aix-en-Provence