Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan (21 August 1915 – 1 July 1997), nicknamed "''Salvador''" (''Saviour''), was a

Gibraltarian Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea ...

politician, and first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and

Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of Government of Gibraltar, His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is Elections in Gibraltar, elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representat ...

, serving four terms as chief minister for a total of over 20 years. He is seen as the key figure in the civil rights movement in Gibraltar, and played a key role in the creation of the territory's institutions of self-government.

Early life

Born to a

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish family from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

, he trained as a lawyer at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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in 1939. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, he volunteered as a gunner in the Gibraltar Defence Force and remained in Gibraltar when most of the civilian population had been evacuated and only a small number of Gibraltarians remained.

Career

Chief minister of Gibraltar

In September 1942, a group of fellow Gibraltarians, clerks and workers, led by trade-unionist Albert Risso, came together to form an association advocating the return of the evacuees and the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

of the local inhabitants of Gibraltar. They asked Hassan to join them. Initially named "''The Gibraltarian Association''", upon Hassan's advice, the group took a much more ambitious name: The Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights in Gibraltar (AACR). Hassan was the vice-president of the party under the leadership of Risso. Consantine, p. 346 In 1948, Hassan succeeded him as president and was the leader of the AACR and the dominant figure in the politics of the territory for almost forty years. In an election to the Gibraltar Legislative Council held on 19 September 1956, four of the seven winning candidates were from the AACR, Hassan, Abraham Serfaty, Albert Risso, and J. E. Alcantara. Further terms in office lasted from 11 August 1964 to 6 August 1969, and from 25 June 1972 to 8 December 1987. During the 1960s, Hassan addressed the United Nations

Special Committee on Decolonization The United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, or the Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), is a committee of ...

twice, opposing Spain's claim for Gibraltar and insisting that the vast majority of Gibraltarians wanted to remain British. He was one of the members of the 1968 Constitutional Conference chaired by

Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd Malcolm Newton Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd, Baron Shepherd of Spalding (27 September 1918 – 5 April 2001), was a British Labour politician and peer who served as Leader of the House of Lords under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan and mem ...

, which drafted the Gibraltar's first Constitution. Hassan only lost one election, the 1969 election, when the AACR failed to win a majority by just one seat, as it only obtained seven of the fifteen seats of the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. The Integration with Britain Party (IWBP, supporter of the integration of Gibraltar into the United Kingdom) gained support from the independent members of the House of Assembly and its leader Robert Peliza became Chief Minister and remained so for three years. Hassan was returned to office in 1972. He resigned without completing his term as Chief Minister in 1987 after an

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

on the shared use of

Gibraltar Airport Gibraltar International Airport, previously known as North Front Airport, is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway and aerodrome is owned by the Ministry of Defence ...

was signed by Spain and the United Kingdom, citing personal reasons. He was succeeded by the then Deputy Chief Minister, Adolfo Canepa. However, Canepa lost the 1988 election to Joe Bossano of the

Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) is a social-democratic political party in Gibraltar. The GSLP is the oldest surviving active political party in Gibraltar. Its roots are based in the trade union movement, as its founder and former lea ...

(GSLP) and the AACR disbanded shortly afterwards. Bossano was one of Hassan's main critics, accusing him of being too conciliatory towards 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.

Mayor of Gibraltar

Before the creation of the post of chief minister in 1964, Hassan had served as a member of the Gibraltar Executive Council (1950–64), as

mayor of Gibraltar The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of Parliament City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

), and as the chief member of the

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 ...

(1950–64). He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1963 and was therefore styled "''Sir''" since then. Hassan's ''Triumphant Return'' to Gibraltar in 1963 when he and Peter Isola were cheered by crowds in John Mackintosh Square has been recorded in a commissioned painting by Ambrose Avellano.

Lawyer

Hassan was also a successful lawyer and his chambers, Hassans International Law Firm, is now the largest in Gibraltar.

Personal life

In 1945 Hassan married Daniela Salazar, a Spanish national, with whom he had two daughters before divorcing in 1969. In 1969, he married Marcelle Bensimon, a Moroccan Jew, with whom he had two daughters. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is an Israeli politician who has served on the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

City Council and as the city's deputy mayor. Marlene Hassan-Nahon is a

historian, journalist, and former politician, who had served as a member of the

Gibraltar Parliament The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly. Functions The House of Assembly, set up under the 1969 constitution, was a unic ...

and founder and leader of Together Gibraltar from 2015 to 2023 Sir Joshua died in his sleep at the age of 81 on 1 July 1997 at Old St. Bernard's Hospital, after having been admitted the previous day complaining of

back pain Back pain (Latin: ''dorsalgia'') is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area ...

s. According to Peter Caruana, Chief Minister of Gibraltar at the time of Hassan's death: In 1997, a special stamp was issued by the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau to pay tribute to Sir Joshua Hassan.Gibraltar Stamps
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Notes

References

External links

The Struggle for Democracy by TJ Finlayson, Published in The Gibraltar Chronicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Joshua 1915 births 1997 deaths Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights politicians Chief ministers of Gibraltar Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews Gibraltarian people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Gibraltarian people of Spanish-Jewish descent Jewish Gibraltarian politicians Jewish prime ministers Justices of the peace Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Mayors of Gibraltar 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century Gibraltarian lawyers Royal Gibraltar Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War II