The Gibraltar Legislative Council was the legislature of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

created in 1950 and sat until the creation of the Gibraltar House of Assembly in 1969.

History

Prior to 1950, the

Governor-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of appr ...

retained the legislative power in the then

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

. The creation of the legislature gave some limited autonomy, with seven members of the Legislative Council being elected from the 1950s on. The legislature sat at the Legislative Council Building at John Mackintosh Square.

Elections

Elections were held every three years. In an election held on 19 September 1956, ten candidates contested the seven elected seats. There was a turnout of 58.2 per cent, and the winners were Joshua Hassan, Abraham Serfaty, J. E. Alcantara, and Albert Risso, all of the

Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights The Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) was a political party in Gibraltar. History The AACR was established in 1942 by Joshua Hassan and Albert Risso, and sought to protect the interests of families evacuated during World W ...

, two Independents, Solomon Seruya and Peter Isola, and one Commonwealth Party candidate,

Joseph Triay Joseph (J.E.) Emmanuel Triay Queen's Counsel, QC (5 October 1931 – 3 July 2012) was a Gibraltarian people, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, best known for having been one of the promoters of the ''Doves (Gibraltar), Doves'' in the 1960s. ...

Demise

The Legislative Council was responsible for overall affairs with local issues being dealt with by the

Gibraltar City Council The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the Elections in Gibraltar, elected Members of Gibraltar Parliament, Parliament

. With pressure from the United Nations, the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

merged the Legislative Council and City Council to a House of Assembly to give Gibraltar domestic powers to deal with its own affairs while diluting the Governor's powers.

Members

The head of the legislature was initially Governor as President and then replaced by the Speaker, a member of the legislative council. Both roles were filled by British appointments who were not

Gibraltarians Gibraltarians (Spanish language, Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: ''Llanito#Demonym, llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territories, British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip o ...

Presidents

Speakers of the Legislative Council

Officers

Clerk of the Legislative Council * E.H. Davis Esq. OBE 1950–1961 * J.L. Pitaluga Esq. MBE 1961–1969

Members

General members of the council were elected by proportional representation. * Luis Francis Bruzon

References

{{reflist

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

Legislatures of dependent territories of the United Kingdom 1950 establishments in Gibraltar 1969 disestablishments in Gibraltar

Historical legislatures