Sir Joseph John Bossano (born 10 June 1939) is 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 ...
who served as
Chief Minister of Gibraltar
The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British monarch. The incumbent chief ...
from 1988 to 1996 and Leader 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 ...
from 1978 to 2011. He served as
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 1984 to 1988 and 1996 to 2011.
Early life and career
Bossano was born 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 ...
and has a degree in Economics from the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
,
as well as a degree in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
from the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
. He became part of the trade union movement in the 1960s while working as a seaman in Britain,
where he was a member of the British
Labour Party.
He was asked by a group of Gibraltarian politicians to return to Gibraltar and was elected a member of 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 ...
in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, as a candidate of the
Integration with Britain Party
The Integration with Britain Party (IWBP) was a political party in Gibraltar. Although it never won an election, it was briefly in power from 1969 to 1972 when Robert Peliza of the IWBP was Chief Minister.
History
The party was established in ...
(IWBP). In 1969 the IWBP leader, then the Chief Minister,
Sir Robert Peliza, was the mover of the Preamble to the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
which safeguards Gibraltar from ever passing to Spain without the expressed wishes of the Gibraltarians. He also became the Branch Officer for the
Transport and General Workers Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...
(responsible for the public sector in Gibraltar and was the main force behind the attainment of parity of wages with the UK for Gibraltarians).
In 1975, he left the IWBP to form the
Gibraltar Democratic Movement
The Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG) was a Pro-British political party in Gibraltar.
History
Following the disbandment of the Integration with Britain Party, the Gibraltar Democratic Movement was established in 1976 in response t ...
, which won four seats in the Assembly in the
1976 election and two years later became the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.
He has always kept a hard line stance against any
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
deal with Spain without the consent of the Gibraltarians. In 1980 he led a demonstrations of about 2,000 Gibraltarians protesting at the opening of negotiations between Spain and the United Kingdom agreed on the
Lisbon Agreement. In 1987 he supported the position of the Government of Gibraltar and the Assembly against any agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to the joint use of the
Airport of Gibraltar. On 10 November, Bossano and Joshua Hassan, then Chief Minister, led a demonstration of about 12,000 Gibraltarians, one of the largest ever held in the territory. In February 1988, Bossano and
Adolfo Canepa
Adolfo John Canepa, CMG, OBE, GMH (born 17 December 1940) is a Gibraltarian politician. He has dedicated most of his life to politics and the development of Gibraltar, having served both as Leader of the Opposition and as Chief Minister of Gib ...
, the leader 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 ...
, stated that the
Gibraltar House of Assembly would not approve the
agreement Agreement may refer to:
Agreements between people and organizations
* Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law
* Trade agreement, between countries
* Consensus, a decision-making process
* Contract, enforceable in a court of law
** Meeting o ...
reached by Spain and UK in December 1987 on the joint use of the Airport unless Spain accepted the British sovereignty over the isthmus.
In the key 1988 election, Bossano's party called for the
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
, expressed its opposition to the negotiations over the sovereignty and future of Gibraltar between Spain and the United Kingdom, and opposed to any transfer of sovereignty to Spain. It also asked for the withdrawal of the negotiations on the
Brussels Declaration
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and opposed to the Airport agreement. The GSLP got 8 seats and a 58.2% of the popular vote. Bossano received a personal vote of 8,1128, about 4,000 more than his contender, Adolfo Canepa. Therefore, Bossano was the new Chief Minister.
His
re-election in 1992 with a 72% share of the vote (using the campaign slogan "''Give Spain No Hope''"), caused considerable friction with governments in both London and
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
who were looking for a solution to the 300-year-old
Spanish claim to Gibraltar. As Chief Minister he maintained good relations with Spanish politicians at municipal level, but would not sit to discuss the sovereignty of Gibraltar with them. During his time in office, Bossano also oversaw significant economic change, resulting from the decline of traditional sources of employment, such as the
UK Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to d ...
, and the creation of a
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
economy based on
offshore finance
An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy."
"Offshore" does not refer ...
and
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
. He broke the back of the severe housing problem existing in Gibraltar before he came into power, by reclaiming land from the sea and constructing hundreds of
affordable flats, which were offered at very reasonable prices. For the first time, and since then, Gibraltarians have become home owners, rather than
renting from the government, as was traditional.
His main quest is and has always been to achieve the
decolonisation
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
of Gibraltar through the maximum level of self-government possible resulting in the removal of Gibraltar from the
United Nations list of non-self-governing territories
Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gener ...
.
As leader of the GSLP and the Opposition and following his retirement as party leader, Bossano is still prominent in Gibraltar politics. He stood down as
GSLP leader in April 2011, replaced by
Fabian Picardo
Fabian Raymond Picardo (born 18 February 1972) is a Gibraltarians, Gibraltarian politician and barrister serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011 Gibraltar general election, 2011. At t ...
. Bossano remains active in politics and was a GSLP candidate in the
Gibraltar general election in December 2011. Upon the GSLP-Liberal victory, Bossano got a seat in the Gibraltar Parliament and was appointed
Minister for Enterprise, Training and Employment by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo.
The GSLP-Liberal government under Fabian Picardo won a second term at the
2015 general election and as of 2017, Bossano held the position of Minister for Economic Development, Telecommunications & the
Gibraltar Savings Bank.
Awards
Bossano was appointed a
Knight Commander
Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders.
The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...
of the
Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(KCMG) by Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in the
2018 New Year Honours
The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
.
, -
, -
See also
*
List of Gibraltarians
The Gibraltarians (also called '' Llanitos/as'', es, link=no, Gibraltareños/as) are a cultural group or nation from the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
The following is a list of notable Gibraltarians or people born in Gibraltar, ...
*
Politics of Gibraltar
The politics of Gibraltar takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Overseas Territory, whereby the Monarch of the United Kingdom is the constitutional head of state represented by the Governor of Gib ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bossano, Joe
Chief Ministers of Gibraltar
1939 births
Living people
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
Gibraltarian atheists
British trade unionists
Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party politicians
Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar politicians
Integration with Britain Party politicians
People of Ligurian descent
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George