page_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Malta
section_title: MaltaPost (since 1998)
hierarchical_section_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Malta / Postal history / MaltaPost (since 1998)
caption_attribution_description: English: Post office in building of Hotel Dolmen Resort, Bugibba, Malta Čeština: Poštovní úřad před hotelem Dolmen Resort, Bugibba na Maltě
context_page_description: The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
  The postal service was reformed in 1798 during the French occupation of Malta, and the islands were taken over by the British in 1800. In the early 19th century, two separate post offices were established in Malta: the Island Post Office and the Packet Office, with the latter forming part of the British Post Office. Their operations were amalgamated in 1849, and British postage stamps began to be used in Malta in August 1857. Malta's first postage stamp—the Halfpenny Yellow—was issued in 1860 for use on local mail, while letters sent to foreign destinations continued to be franked with British stamps.
context_section_description: The public limited company MaltaPost plc was established on 16 April 1998, and it took over operations of Malta's postal service on 1 May of the same year. On 31 January 2002, MaltaPost was partially privatized when the government sold 35% to Transend Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary company of New Zealand Post. In September 2007 the government sold 25% of its shareholding in MaltaPost to Lombard Bank, which effectively became the majority shareholder in the company with 60% shareholding. The other 40% were sold to the public in January 2008.
  Malta entered the European Union (EU) in 2004, and since then there have been significant changes in the legislation which regulates Malta's postal services. The mail distribution system was also restructured, and in 2007 MaltaPost changed the country's postcodes. As required by EU legislation, the postal services sector was liberalised on 1 January 2013, allowing other entities apart from MaltaPost to provide postal services in the country. As of 2020, MaltaPost remains Malta's only Universal Service Provider of postal services. Apart from transporting mail and other standard postal activities, the company's post offices also provide services such as payments of bills and the sale of stationery.
  On 17 June 2016, MaltaPost opened the Malta Postal Museum in Valletta.
caption: Buġibba Post Office in 2014
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