Speech of His Royal Highness, Grand Duke Paul

Given on the Occasion of the National Day Celebration on 27 October 2007

People of Greifenberg and honored guests,

We are gathered here today to celebrate the second anniversary of the founding of the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg. During this past year the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg has achieved a number of significant accomplishments for which both our people and our government can be justifiably proud.  

In the area of international relations, our experiences over the past year have been mixed. It is both my duty and my pleasure to inform you that during the preceding year, the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg was the recipient of a number of diplomatic overtures from micronations around the world. Unfortunately, we were unable to conclude treaties of mutual recognition with these micronations owing to the fact that they did not meet the necessary basic criteria for the granting of diplomatic recognition.

Throughout the year, our State Ministry of Foreign Affairs received well over one hundred inquiries concerning the acquisition of citizenship in the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg. This clearly represents an active interest in our small nation which I regard as a positive development, despite the fact that such “internet citizenships” are not possible, both for legal and practical reasons.

Also throughout the past year, I was pleased to take part in several frank and open discussions with officials of a number of promising new micronations concerning our not only our own nation, but also micronationalism in general. Despite these positive developments, attempts by our Government to forge stronger relations with some other micronations also did not meet with success. These failures have stemmed mostly from the fact that the micronations in question have, upon closer examination, been found to be little more than “model nation projects” without the serious regard for intermicronational relations that characterizes the foreign policy of the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg.

More recently, the State Central Bank of Greifenberg issued its first banknote, the 5 Greifenberg Kronen. This is Greifenberg’s first banknote, and I am reliably informed that sales of this banknote have been brisk. The director of the State Central Bank of Greifenberg has also informed me that in the next few weeks the bank will issue Greifenberg’s first commemorative coin. Together with our first banknote, the commemorative coin will undoubtedly serve as a great source of pride for our Government and our nation.

In addition to the issuance of the banknote and the pending issuance of our first commemorative coin, the Greifenberg Philatelic Office of the GreifenbergPost announced the issuance of the first two Greifenberg postage stamps, each valued at 1 Greifenberg Krone. These stamps, printed by the Greifenberg State Publishing House, serve as “philatelic ambassadors” informing citizens of the world of the existence of the Grand Duchy of Greifenberg.

Finally, in closing, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks on behalf of our nation and my family to those who have participated in organizing the National Day. May our great nation enjoy peace and everlasting prosperity. I wish you all a happy celebration and God’s blessings.