The Hon ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

. Paul John Balban is a former

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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, State Registered

Dietitian A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ...

and former

taxi driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

. He was first elected to 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 ...

at the 2011 general elections and was a Gibraltar Government Minister until 12 October 2023, member 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). He is married and has three daughters. On 15 September 2023, he announced that he and fellow party MPs and Ministers,

Albert Isola Albert Joseph Isola (born 27 September 1963) is a Gibraltarian barrister and former politician, member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). He was a member of the Gibraltar House of Assembly as part of the Opposition between 1996 an ...

and Samantha Sacramento, would not stand for

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

Biography

Paul Balban is married to wife Gina and has three daughters. For many years, Balban has worked as a

in Gibraltar, and was

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of the Gibraltar Taxi Association Committee. He studied

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

Food Science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

and also has a

Postgraduate degree Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor ...

Dietetics A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He later became a State Registered Dietitian, practicing at Central Clinic, in Horse Barrack Lane, Gibraltar.

Political career

Balban was nominated for the GSLP Executive in February 2007, and was one of the ten GSLP- Liberal

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

candidates to contest the general elections that year, but failed to be elected as one of the seventeen Members of Parliament. He was elected into government following the general elections of 2011 with 8,281 votes. The newly elected

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Fabian Picardo Fabian Raymond Picardo (born 18 February 1972) is a Gibraltarian politician and barrister, serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011. At the 2015 and 2019 Gibraltar general elections, ...

, appointed Balban as ''Minister for Traffic, Health and Safety and Technical Services''.

References

External links

Paul Balban – Government of Gibraltar official site
Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Government ministers of Gibraltar Health ministers of Gibraltar Transport ministers of Gibraltar Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party politicians British taxi drivers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Gibraltar-politician-stub