Albert J. Risso, GMH was a

Gibraltarian The 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 Mediterran ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was the first president 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 Wa ...

(AACR) in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, p. 346

Career

Albert Risso was one of the first political

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

s in the British territory of Gibraltar. at a very young age, he was one of the campaigners for the involvement of the Gibraltarian civilian population (and especially its

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

) in governing the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

. In 1919, he was one of the members of a so-called "''deputation of working men''" who went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to meet the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

and ask for the creation of a representative body that could succeed the

Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

, an unelected body whose members, usually belonging to the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

, were nominated by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. The campaign, driven by the trade unions, brought about the creation of the

Gibraltar City Council 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 By the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Risso was a foreman

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

and a City Council employee. When most of Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated, Risso was one of the few Gibraltarians that remained on The Rock. In September 1942, a group of fellow Gibraltarians, clerks and workers, led by Risso came together to form the AACR, an association advocating the Gibraltarians'

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

. Risso was president of the AACR from 1942 to 1948, when he was succeeded by former vicepresident,

Joshua Hassan Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan (21 August 1915 – 1 July 1997), nicknamed "''Salvador''" (''Saviour''), was a Gibraltarian politician, and first mayor and Chief Minister of Gibraltar, serving four terms as chief minister for a total of over 20 year ...

. In 1947, he was appointed president of the Gibraltar Confederation of Labour, a trade union created to represent the AACR's

rank and file Rank and file may refer to: *A military term relating to the horizontal "ranks" (rows) and vertical "files" (columns) of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the officers *A term derived from the above used to refer to enlisted troops, as oppose ...

working class supporters. Risso was continuously reelected member of the

Gibraltar Legislative Council The Gibraltar Legislative Council was the legislature of Gibraltar created in 1950 and sat until the creation of the Gibraltar House of Assembly in 1969. History Prior to 1950, the Governor-in-Council retained the legislative power in the then Cr ...

during the 1950s and early 1960s, as candidate of the AACR. He was elected in 1950,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. Risso stood for election for all AACR candidatures to the City Council and to the Legislative Council first, and the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

until the 1970s.Workers champion gets Gibraltar Award
''

'' He was also a member of the Constitutional Conference which drafted the Gibraltar's first constitution.

Honours

In the 1980s, Risso was offered a

decoration Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

. However, he refused on the grounds of his egalitarian ideals. In 2004, Risso was posthumously granted the Gibraltar Award by the Self Determination for Gibraltar Group for his contribution to Gibraltar as a civil rights activist and politician. On 22 February 2005 the

Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

announced that a proposed

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

s building at Waterport in Gibraltar was to be named ''Albert Risso House'' following his enormous contribution to public life.Government of Gibraltar Press Release: Naming of Edinburgh Estate Blocks
Upon the creation of the

Gibraltar Medallion of Honour The Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (GMH) is a civil award scheme established by the Government of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Its creation was announced in July 2008 by Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana. It ranks below t ...

in 2008, Albert Risso was posthumously awarded the Medallion and therefore was recorded in the Gibraltar Roll of Honour.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Risso Albert History of Gibraltar Year of death missing Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights politicians Year of birth missing