Honorary citizenship
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2012) |
Honorary citizenshipis a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer any change tocitizenshipor nationality.
North America
[edit]Canada
[edit]Honorary Canadian citizenshiprequires unanimous approval in both houses ofParliament.The only people to ever receive honorary Canadian citizenship areRaoul Wallenbergposthumously in 1985;Nelson Mandelain 2001; the14th Dalai LamaTenzin Gyatso in 2006;Aung San Suu Kyiin 2007 (revoked in 2018);Prince Karim Aga Khanin 2009; andMalala Yousafzaiin 2014.
United States
[edit]Byact of United States Congressand presidential assent, an individual may be named anhonorary citizen of the United States.Since 1963, it has been awarded to only eight individuals.
Europe
[edit]Germany
[edit]In Germany, Section 14 of theNationality Actallows theFederal Minister of the Interiorto naturalise any foreigner without any requirements, regardless of whether they live in Germany or not, if there are "ties to Germany that justify naturalisation".
Within the Federal States, honorary citizenship (Ehrenbürgerschaft) is the highest distinction that can be awarded to an individual by amunicipality.[1]It is awarded by cities, towns, and sometimes federal states. The honorary citizenship is perpetual and persists after the death of the honoree, but can be revoked in exceptional cases by the council or parliament of the city, town, or state. In the case of war criminals, all such honours were taken away by "Article VIII, section II, letter i of the directive 38 of the Allied Control Council for Germany" on 12 October 1946.[citation needed]
Greece
[edit]In Greece, provisions are in place for the naturalization of foreigners residing in the country who have Greek national origin (expatriates/co-ethnics). Primarily, this applies to expatriates from Albania and those from the countries of the former USSR, under Articles 23 of Law 3838/2010 and 39 of Law 4606/2018, respectively. The Greek Nationality Code (Article 10) also allows for the naturalization of expatriates living abroad. Furthermore, the Code offers honorary naturalization (Article 13) for foreign nationals who have rendered special services to Greece or whose naturalization may serve the country's best interest. Such individuals can be granted Greek citizenship through a Presidential Decree, upon a justified proposal by the Minister of Interior.[2]
Ireland
[edit]In Ireland,honorary citizenshipbestowed on a foreigner is full legal citizenship including the right to reside and vote.[3]
Russian Empire
[edit]InRussian Empire,honorary citizensconstituted asocial estate(sosloviye,sostoyaniye) which was a privileged subcategory of theestate of urban dwellers.[4]
Asia
[edit]Israel
[edit]Members of theRighteous Among the Nationsmay be conferred honorary Israeli citizenship byYad Vashem,or commemorative citizenship if deceased. Those who choose to live in Israel are entitled to a pension, free health care, and assistance with housing and nursing care.
In 2010, legislation was passed by theKnessetto confer honorary Israeli citizenship to all members of the Israeli defense forces and paramilitary organizations that operated inMandate Palestinewho died between 29 November 1947 and 31 December 1948.[5]
Oceania
[edit]Australia
[edit]In Australia honorary citizenship is conferred by theGovernor-Generaland as of 2024 has only been granted once.[6]
Examples
[edit]- Berlin awardedLucius D. Clay1962 for his role asmilitary governorand for creating theBerlin airlift[7]andMikhail Gorbachevfor his change in world politics that led to the fall of theBerlin Walland thereunification of Germany.[8]
- In 2002South Koreaawarded honorary citizenship to Dutch football (soccer) coachGuus Hiddinkwho successfully and unexpectedly took the national team to the semi-finals of the2002 FIFA World Cup.Honorary citizenship was also awarded toHines Ward,anAmerican footballplayer of Korean and African-American descent, in 2006 for his efforts to minimize discrimination in Korea against half-Koreans.[9]
- To mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest theNepalese governmentconferred honorary citizenship uponEdmund Hillaryat a specialGolden Jubileecelebration inKathmandu,Nepal.He was the first foreign national to receive that honour.[10]
- At the end of their studies, all the students of theCollege of Europeare invited to the city hall by the mayor ofBrugesto become honorary citizens of the city of Bruges.[11]
- In 2011,Lady Gagareceived the title of honorary citizen ofSydneyfor her support of theLGBT+ community.[12]
- In April 2013,Raoul Wallenbergbecame the first person to be granted an honoraryAustraliancitizenship.[13][6]
- In August 2013, French actorGérard Depardieureceived an honorary citizenship byBelgium.[14]
- In October 2013, Argentinian football coachJosé PekermanreceivedColombian citizenshipafter he qualified Colombia to the2014 FIFA World Cup,the first World Cup for the country after a 16-year hiatus.[15]
- On 12 April 2017,Malala YousafzaiofPakistanwas awarded honoraryCanadian citizenshipby PMJustin Trudeaufor her work on providing education to girls in her hometownSwatduringTalibanoccupation.
- On 12 July 2017,Ariana Grandewas made an honorary citizen ofManchesterfor her efforts to raise funds for victims of 22 May 2017terrorist attackinManchester Arena.[16]
- In August 2019,Guillermo Rodriguez,a security guard onJimmy Kimmel Live,became an honorary citizen ofDildo,Newfoundland,Canada, after TV hostJimmy Kimmelran for mayor.[17]
- On 7 October 2019,Afghanistangranted honorary Afghan citizenship toJapanesephysicianTetsu Nakamurafor his long-standinghumanitarian workin the country.[18]
- On 9 June 2022, a House Resolution granted the title of honoraryBraziliancitizen to BritishFormula 1driverLewis Hamilton.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Ehrenbürger der Landeshauptstadt".Landeshauptstadt Saarbrücken(in German). 16 May 2022.Retrieved3 August2023.
- ^Pathways to citizenship for third-country nationals in the EU Member States National Report: Greece(PDF)(Report). European Migration Network. 10 March 2024.Retrieved10 March2024.
- ^"Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 Section 12".Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2007.
- ^.Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary(in Russian). 1906.
- ^חוק הענקת אזרחות כבוד לחללי מלחמת הקוממיות, התש "ע-2010(in Hebrew)
- ^ab"Governor-General to confer Honorary Australian Citizenship"(Press release).Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.1 May 2013.Retrieved6 May2013.
- ^"Berliner Ehrenbürger: Lucius Dubignon Clay"[Berlin honorary citizen: Lucius Dubignon Clay].Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin(in German).Retrieved17 January2016.
- ^"Berliner Ehrenbürger: Michael Sergejewitsch Gorbatschow"[Berlin honorary citizen: Michael Sergejewitsch Gorbatschow].Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin(in German). Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2014.Retrieved17 January2016.
- ^Notable Honorary Citizenship of Seoul
- ^"Mountaineering Great Edmund Hillary passes away".The Rising Nepal.12 January 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2008 – via gorkhapatra.org.np.
- ^"Welcome to Bruges".College of Europe.Retrieved16 October2022.
- ^"Lady Gaga gets honorary Sydney citizenship".ABC News.11 July 2011.Retrieved18 October2022.
- ^"Holocaust hero named Australia's first honorary citizen".The Australian.15 April 2013.Retrieved6 May2013.
- ^"Gerard Depardieu throws house-warming barbecue in Belgium".BBC News.Retrieved24 August2013.
- ^"Pékerman podrá tener la nacionalidad colombiana cuando quiera: Santos"[Pékerman will be able to have Colombian nationality whenever he wants: Santos].Caracol Radio(in Spanish). 11 October 2013.Retrieved13 October2013.
- ^Parveen, Nazia (12 July 2017)."Ariana Grande made honorary citizen of Manchester".The Guardian.Retrieved26 June2019.
- ^"Jimmy Kimmel - Mayor of Dildo!",Jimmy Kimmel Live,archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2021,retrieved19 August2019– viaYouTube
- ^"Nakamura ishi ni meiyo shimin-ken Afugan seifu, kangai shien o hyōka"Trung thôn y sư に danh dự thị dân 権 アフガン chính phủ, quán cái chi viện を bình 価[Honorary citizenship granted to Dr. Nakamura Afghan government appreciates irrigation assistance].The Nikkei(in Japanese). 10 October 2019.Retrieved4 December2019.
- ^"Resoluçao da camara conczde titulo de xidadao brasileiro ao piloto Lewis Hamilton"[Chamber resolution grants title of Brazilian citizen to pilot Lewis Hamilton].camara br(in Portuguese). 9 June 2022.Retrieved9 June2022.
External links
[edit]
Media related toHonorary citizenshipat Wikimedia Commons
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