Peter Joseph Isola,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, GMH (

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 ...

, 1929 – 28 January 2006 ), 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 and lawyer. He succeeded

Maurice Xiberras Maurice Xiberras GMH (14 November 1936 – 19 March 2017) was a Gibraltarian teacher, trade unionist and politician. He was regarded as being a strong defender of British sovereignty, who believed there was no future for Gibraltar without the co ...

as leader of the Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG).

Early life and career

Isola was born in Gibraltar in 1929, and was educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

, a Jesuit independent school in Lancashire, and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

, where he read Law. Isola had an early political success in an election to the Gibraltar Legislative Council in 1956, when ten candidates contested seven seats. The winners were Joshua 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 I ...

, J. E. Alcantara, and

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 political ...

, all of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights, one Commonwealth Party candidate,

Joseph Triay Joseph (J.E.) Emmanuel Triay QC (5 October 1931 – 3 July 2012) was a Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, best known for having been one of the promoters of the ''Doves'' in the 1960s. Joseph Triay's daughter Cristina is married to Peter C ...

, and two Independents, Isola and

Solomon Seruya Solomon Seruya (1926 - 31 March 2015) was an Israeli-Gibraltarian politician and businessman. He had an early political success in an election to the Gibraltar Legislative Council in 1956, when ten candidates contested seven seats. The winners we ...

. He remained in the House of Assembly until 1983, and twice served as Leader of the Opposition, first as an Independent, and later as leader of the DPBG. In 1963 and 1964 he went to the United Nations together with Chief Minister

Sir 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 ...

to oppose Spain's attempt to obtain sovereignty over Gibraltar using decolonisation as an argument to achieve its ends. Both leaders returned to a large public welcome. In 1964 Isola defended free association with the UK, which had been unanimously endorsed by the whole legislature as the constitutional formula for decolonisation, which was expected to be achieved by no later than 1969. In 1965, at the height of the Spain's offensive at the United Nations, and as Leader of the Opposition, Isola decided to enter into a coalition Government, serving as Deputy Chief Minister, with Joshua Hassan going on as Chief Minister. He was one of the members of the Constitutional Conference chaired by Lord Shepherd in 1968 which drafted the Gibraltar Constitution of 1969. The DPBG disintegrated after it had failed to win any seats in the

1984 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1984. Africa * 1984 Beninese parliamentary election * 1984 Botswana general election * 1984 Burundian presidential election * 1984 Cameroonian presidential election * 1984 Comorian presidential electi ...

, when Isola even lost his own seat. He then retired from politics to concentrate on his substantial legal practice, heading the legal firm of Isola & Isola (now called Isolas). He was also a member of the constitutional advisory committee.

Honours

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, Peter Isola was posthumously awarded the Medallion and was therefore recorded in the

Gibraltar Roll 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 th ...

. Isola's ''Triumphant Return'' to Gibraltar in 1963 when he and Joshua Hassan were cheered by crowds in John Mackintosh Square has been recorded in a commissioned painting by Ambrose Avellano.'The Triumphal Welcome'
''Panorama''

References

External links

Obituary in the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society Newsletter #75

Early life and career

Honours

References

External links

See also