List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller

This is a list of  Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller including their replacement Sovereign Military Order of Malta after 1798.

Knights Hospitaller (Kingdom of Jerusalem)

Nr  Title Picture Name Time in officeNotes—/1Founder and Rector of the Hospital 50pxBlessed Gerard1099/1113–1118/20Order established in 1099 and given papal recognition in 1113 by Paschal II1/2CustosThe Order's Great Seal, or leaden bulla, remained in use, with some modifications, from the 12th century until 1798.
Until 1278, when Nicholas de Lorgne  introduced a separate conventual bulla, there was no distinction between the seal of the Grand Master and that of the order. 
The general design of the seal featured, on the obverse, the Grand Master kneeling in prayer before the patriarchal cross. This image was usually accompanied with the sacred letters alpha and omega, which referenced the Second Coming of Christ. The central image was surrounded by a legend with the Master's name followed by the official designation CVSTOS.
Barbara Packard, Seals of the Grand Masters, Museum of the Order of St John, 14 October 2015.50pxRaymond du Puy1118/21/23–11602/3Custos50pxAuger de Balben1160–11633/4 50pxArnaud de Comps1162–1163Historicity uncertain4/5Custos 50pxGilbert d'Aissailly1163–1169 5/6  Gastone de Murolsc. 1169  6/7Custos50pxJobert of Syriac. 1169/72–1177Acted as regent for king Manuel I in 1172. In 1174 opposed Miles of Plancy in favour of  Raymond III of Tripoli. Fought in the crusade of Philip I, Count of Flanders of 1176. 7/8Custos50pxRoger de Moulins1177–1187 8/9 Provisor Armengol de Aspa (Ermengard d'Aps)1187–1190Loss of Jerusalem in 1187, headquarters moved to Acre.  In the crisis following the loss of Jerusalem, Ermengard was not elected as custos and acted only ad interim. He was nevertheless included into the canonical list of Grand Masters compiled in the early modern period. After the capture of Acre and the consolidation of the order, Ermengard retired with the regular election of Garnier de Nablus as new master. 9/10Custos50pxGarnier de Nablus1190–1192Battle of Arsuf 1191 10/11Custos50pxGeoffroy de Donjon1193–1202 11/12Custos50pxAfonso de Portugal1202–1206Fourth Crusade, resigned in 1206 12/13Custos50pxGeoffrey le Rat (Gothofredus Mus)1206–1207 First structured the order by nationality, or langues. 13/14Custos50pxGuérin de Montaigu1207–1228Fifth Crusade, Siege of Damietta (1218–1219) 14/15Custos50pxBertrand de Thercy1228–1231Re-conquest of Jerusalem in 1228/9 15/16Custos Guerin Lebrun1231–1236 Captured in battle, and died in captivity in Egypt 16/17Custos Bertrand de Comps1236–1240Headquarters moved to Jerusalem 17/18Custos50pxPierre de Vieille-Brioude1240–1242 18/19Custos50pxGuillaume de Chateauneuf1242–1258Fall of Jerusalem in 1244, headquarters at Acre, Krak des Chevaliers and Margat 19/20Custos50pxHugues de Revel1258–1277 20/2150pxNicolas Lorgne1277–1285Loss of Margat 1285 21/22 50pxJean de Villiers1285–1294Siege of Acre (1291) 22/23 Odon de Pins1294–1296Headquarters moved to Limisso, Cyprus23/2450pxGuillaume de Villaret1296–1305

Sovereign Military Order of Malta
  Title Picture Name Time in officeNotes72Numbering according to the SMOM (website orderofmalta.int as of 2017) implies the recognition of Riccardo Caracciolo as 33rd Grand Master, and of Paul I of Russia as 72nd Grand Master (r. 1798–1801). Grand Master (partial recognition)50pxPaul I of Russia1798–1801Elected by the Priory of St. Petersburg in September 1798 (before the abdication of von Hompesch). This election resulted in the establishment of the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller. On Paul's death in 1801, his son Alexander I of Russia decided to end this irregular situation and refused to be Grand Master. The election of a new Grand Master was deferred to Pope Pius VII.50pxNikolai Saltykov1801–1803De facto Lieutenant in Saint Petersburg73Grand MasterGran Maestro50pxGiovanni Battista Tommasi1803–1805Appointed by Pope Pius VII in 1803. Residence in Messina and CataniaLieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxInnico Maria Guevara-Suardo1805–1814Headquarters in Catania. Loss of territories and Protestant branches.LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxAndrea Di Giovanni y Centellés1814–1821Headquarters in CataniaLieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxAntoine Busca1821–1834Headquarters in Ferrara. SMOM recognized at the Congress of Verona (1822).LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxCarlo Candida1834–1845Headquarters moved to Palazzo Malta, Rome. Restoration of the grand priories of Lombardy-Venetia and of Sicily in 1839/41.LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxFilippo di Colloredo-Mels1845–1864LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxAlessandro Borgia1865–1871LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxGiovanni Battista Ceschi a Santa Croce1871–187974Prince and Grand MasterPrinceps et Magister Magnus50pxGiovanni Battista Ceschi a Santa Croce1879–1905Restoration of the office of Grand Master after a 75-year interregnum, confirmed by Pope Leo XIII.75Prince and Grand MasterPrinceps et Magister Magnus50pxGaleas von Thun und Hohenstein1905–193176Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxLudovico Chigi Albani della Rovere1931–1951LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxAntonio Hercolani Fava Simonetti1951–1955LieutenantLuogotenente Generale50pxErnesto Paternò Castello di Carcaci1955–1962Carta Costituzionale approved by Apostolic Letter of Pope John XXIII, June 24, 1961.77Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxAngelo de Mojana di Cologna1962–1988Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxJean Charles Pallavicini198878Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxAndrew Bertie1988–2008Constitutional Charter and Code revised by the Extraordinary Chapter General 28-30 April 1997.Constitutional Charter and Code of the SMOM (1997).The sovereign status of the SMOM had been in question as the previous constitution had implied dependence on the Holy See (which had itself been recognized as sovereign in 1922). Papal approval of the election of the Grand Master is no longer explicitly required. 
Bo J. Theutenberg,  The Holy See, the Order of Malta and International Law  (2003),  Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxGiacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto200879Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxMatthew Festing2008–2017First Grand Master elected under the new constitution of 1997. Resigned in 2017 following a dispute with the Vatican.Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxLudwig Hoffmann-Rumerstein2017Lieutenant of the Grand MasterLuogotenente di Gran Maestro 50pxGiacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto2017–201880Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxGiacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto2018–2020Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxRuy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas2020Lieutenant of the Grand MasterLuogotenente di Gran Maestro 50pxMarco Luzzago2020–2022Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxRuy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas2022Lieutenant ad interimLuogotenente Interinale50pxJohn T. Dunlap2022-202381Prince and Grand MasterPrincipe e Gran Maestro50pxJohn T. Dunlap2023–present

References