Maria Emerica Cortese was born in Turin, where she attended the classical high school at the Rosminian Fathers’ College. She then obtained a university degree in international and diplomatic law.

She furthered her education through various training courses at foreign universities and participated in the preparatory course for diplomatic careers organized by the S.I.O.I in Rome. Her professional experience began at UNESCO, after which she joined the European Union and the United Nations.
In 1996, she co-founded the “Non-Governmental Peace Strategies Project” with Giandomenico Picco and became the Director of External Relations. She created and coordinated the “World Peace Index,” an index of international political stability, which is featured in a weekly program on Rainews24.

In the following years, she developed and led several cooperation projects in the Middle East and Africa and analyzed the processes of democratic transition in developing countries.
From a young age, she was involved in the youth groups of the Sovereign Order of Malta, participating in pilgrimages to Lourdes and Loreto and engaging in charitable activities with the Turin delegation. She developed the statutes for the youth groups, which were approved by the Sovereign Council in the early 2000s.

In 2010, she was appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to El Salvador. Since 2022, she has been the Order’s Ambassador to Lebanon. She is Dame Grand Cross of Magistral Grace in obedience, also decorated with the Cross with Plaque pro merito melitense.