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

politician, and first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and

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 chi ...

, 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 The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

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 (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

Jewish family Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...

from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, 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 Majorca. Its cap ...

, 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 exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

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 ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

in 1939. When

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

broke out, he volunteered as a gunner in the

Gibraltar Defence Force The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It was formed in 1958 from the Gibraltar Defence Force as an infantry unit, with an integrated artillery troop. The regiment is ...

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 Albert J. Risso, GMH was a Gibraltarian trade unionist and politician. He was the first president of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) in Gibraltar. Constantine, p. 346 Career Albert Risso was one of the first politica ...

, 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' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

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 thirty 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 Abraham Serfaty ( ar, أبراهام سرفاتي‎; January 16, 1926 – 18 November 2010) was an internationally prominent Moroccan Marxist-Leninist dissident, militant, and political activist, who was imprisoned for years by King Hassan II ...

, 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 memb ...

, 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 cond ...

. 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, 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 Sir Robert John Peliza KBE GMH ED (16 November 1920 – 12 December 2011) was a Gibraltarian politician. Career He founded and led the Integration with Britain Party and was the second Chief Minister of Gibraltar serving in office from 6 A ...

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, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting ...

on the shared use of

Gibraltar Airport Gibraltar International Airport or North Front Airport is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian o ...

was signed by Spain and the United Kingdom, citing personal reasons. He was succeeded by the then Deputy Chief Minister,

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 G ...

. However, Canepa lost the 1988 election to

Joe Bossano Sir Joseph John Bossano (born 10 June 1939) is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011. He served as Leader of the Opposition ...

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 ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

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 (1945–1950, 1953–1969; until 1955 the name of the title was chair of the

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, rural coun ...

), and as the chief member of the Legislative Council (1950–64). He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of 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. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

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 1963 and was therefore styled "''Sir''" since then. Hassan's ''Triumphant Return'' to Gibraltar in 1963 when he and

Peter Isola Peter Joseph Isola, OBE, GMH (Gibraltar, 1929 – 28 January 2006 ), was a Gibraltarian politician and lawyer. He succeeded Maurice Xiberras as leader of the Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG). Early life and career Isola was bo ...

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 Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...

, with whom he had two daughters. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is an Israeli politician who has served on the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

City Council and as the city's deputy mayor.

Marlene Hassan Nahon Marlene Hassan Nahon (born 1976) is a Gibraltarian historian, journalist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Gibraltar Parliament since 2015. Biography Hassan Nahon is daughter of the late Chief Minister Sir Joshua Abraha ...

is a

historian, journalist, and politician, serving 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 uni ...

since 2015. 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 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 is the most common ...

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
/ref>

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