Charles Arthur Bruzon (10 June 1938 – 16 April 2013) 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 ...

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 ...

and former

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest. He was affiliated with 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). In the general elections of 2011, he was 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 uni ...

and appointed ''Minister for Housing and the Elderly''.

Early life and education

Despite being the son of a

City Councillor 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, rural council ...

and former member of the Legislative Council

Luis Francis Bruzon Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

, Bruzon's political vocation came after a religious vocation. In his youth, he studied for six years in the

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Roman Catholic Church, Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for ...

Catholic seminary This is a list of Catholic seminaries in the world, including those that have been closed. According to the 2012 Annuario Pontificio, Pontifical Yearbook, the total number of candidates for the Priesthood (Catholic Church), priesthood in the wor ...

) at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, which he left after being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

. His family is originally from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Career

Ordained ministry

Bruzon was

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

1962. He was sent to Gibraltar and remained there for seven years as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

John Farmer Healy John Farmer Healy Order of the British Empire, CBE (1900−1973) was a Jamaican people, Jamaican-born Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Gibraltar, Bishop of Gibraltar from 1956 to 1973. Born in ...

. However, after seven years in office, he began questioning his choice. It was not just a question of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

, since he says he fell in love with his future wife over a year after having leaving his clerical post but he was feeling that the church had moved away from people. According to Bruzon, despite having shown sympathy for the personal dilemma of the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, his superiors could do little to speed up the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

's dispensation process from priestly obligations, which took eighteen months to be realized.

Later career

After leaving the clerical life, he got a job

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

for the Castle Marketing Group, where he worked for three years for the father of

Joe Holliday Joseph John Holliday, (born 26 September 1958) is a former Gibraltarian people, Gibraltarian politician and member of the Gibraltar Social Democrats. He served as Gibraltar's Minister for Tourism and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Trade an ...

. However, newly married and pressured by the lack of housing in Gibraltar, he decided to take a job in

Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favourit ...

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 ...

. He worked at South Africa's Deciduous Fruit Board in the

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

in London. Their two children were born during their stay in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. in 1987 he returned to Gibraltar with his family. Working in a furniture shop, Bruzon claims to have come into contact with the problems of the population of the Rock, not only insofar as it concerns the issue of housing (or lack thereof), but also the difficulty in delivering furniture, because of the way that many of the local houses had been designed. But his political activism work only began to develop in 1996, when he joined the Voice of Gibraltar Group and went to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, asking for a resolution concerning the pressures of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

against the residents of Gibraltar.

Political career

In 2001, Bruzon joined the

(GSLP). In the 2003 general election, he was elected to the

. He received the third highest number of votes of the opposition, along with another newcomer, Lucio Randall. Appointed Shadow Minister for Housing, Bruzon said he had carefully studied all the promises made by the

Gibraltar Social Democrats The Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) is a liberal-conservative, centre-right political party in Gibraltar. The GSD was the governing party for four successive terms in office under the leadership of Peter Caruana, from the 1996 general electi ...

(GSD) since 1996, about a solution to the chronic housing question in the Rock. In his analysis, the problem worsened during the administration of

Peter Caruana Sir Peter Richard Caruana, (born 15 October 1956) is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013. Caruana is a barrister by pr ...

(from 1996 to 2011). He was re-elected to the Parliament in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and remained as Minister for Housing. In 2011, with the victory of the GSLP/

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

alliance in the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, he was appointed Minister for Housing and the Elderly. From 2003, Bruzon was a member of the

Christian Socialist Movement Christians on the Left, formerly known as the Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), is a socialist society in the UK. The movement fulfils a need among Christian socialists for an organisation that would be both politically engaged and theologi ...

Death

Bruzon died on 16 April 2013 at age 74.

Personal life

His nephew, Fr Charles Bruzon, is the

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

aboard .

References

External links

The Isthmus - True or False?

Obituary
at YGTV News {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruzon, Charles Arthur Government ministers of Gibraltar Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party politicians 1938 births 2013 deaths Gibraltarian people of Italian descent Alumni of Ushaw College Laicized Roman Catholic priests British Christian socialists Catholic socialists