Ambassador H.E. Peter-Canisius VON CANISIUS was born in Budweis, Czechoslovakia as Austrian Citizen, and grew up in Vienna/Austria. The professional career of Peter von Canisius – although he has studied International Law – began as export manager for Eastern Europe for a Swiss Company in the chemicals sector. In 1972, Peter von Canisius changed to Austrian Airlines as Regional Manager for Romania with seat in Bucharest where he stayed for 7 years. In 1979, he was promoted to Area Manager Austrian Airlines, based in Moscow in charge for the Soviet Union (USSR). Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 all States of the former USSR became independent and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This change required aero political negotiations with these newly independent States which then became the responsibility of Peter von Canisius.

Simultaneously, Peter von Canisius became member of the Sovereign Order of Malta in 1994 (Knight of Grace and Devotion). In the same year he set up the first official Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Russian Federation, where he served as Chargé d’Affaires until 2004, when he was appointed Head of Mission in the rank of Ambassador, a position held until 2007.

Peter von Canisius – in capacity as Special Envoy – vested with the full powers of the then Grand Master of the Sovereign Order, Frà Andrew Bertie, has initiated and negotiated diplomatic relations with additional 6 States which resulted as 7 independent States: Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Moldova, Islamic State of Afghanistan, Republic of Tajikistan, Eritrea and the Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, (now: Serbia and Montenegro).

In 2001 Peter von Canisius was appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Republic of Kazakhstan, to the Republic of Moldova and to the Islamic State of Afghanistan, being the first Ambassador to these States. Peter von Canisius resigned as Ambassador to the Islamic State of Afghanistan after some members of the Order’s Relief Corps in this country were killed.

In 2005, in close co-operation with the Austrian State Printing House, one of the well-known Security Printing Houses in Europe, Ambassador von Canisius developed the new passports of the Sovereign Order of Malta with all necessary biometric security features. These new passports belong to the first biometric passports issued worldwide.

Ambassador von Canisius is a Knight of Grace and Devotion in Obedience since 1998 and became Grand Cross of the Order of Malta in 2003 and was awarded the Grand Cross “Pro Merito Melitensii” in the same year 2003. In recognition of his numerous merits during his 30-year long diplomatic service for the Sovereign Order of Malta, in 2024, Ambassador von Canisius was raised to the Rank of Grand Cross Knight of Grace and Devotion in Obedience with Ribbon.

Until today, Peter von Canisius still is the Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Kazakhstan.