Solomon Seruya (1926 - 31 March 2015) was an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

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 businessman. He had an early political success in an election to 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 ...

in 1956, when ten candidates contested seven seats. The winners were

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 ...

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 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 ...

, 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, Seruya 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 b ...

.'Gibraltar Election' in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), issue 53643 dated 22 September 1956, p. 5 Seruya went on to serve as Tourism and Ports Minister of Gibraltar.Juan de la Roca
Pillar of Gibraltar's Jewish community honored by Spain
in ''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' dated 15/11/2008, accessed 17 February 2014 In 1969 Seruya

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and lived in Jerusalem until 1983, serving in the

United Israel Appeal United Israel Appeal (UIA), a subsidiary of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), is a link between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel. An independent legal entity with 501(c)(3) charity status, and a Board of Direc ...

and as ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In 1981, he returned to Gibraltar to take over the family business, but in 2008 was reported to have kept a home in Jerusalem, where a daughter lives. Seruya received the Spanish Grand Cross of Civil Merit award in 2008, "for his consistent calls for dialogue to resolve the status of Gibraltar, and because of his involvement in defending the interests of the Sephardic communities all over the world".

References

1926 births 2015 deaths Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews Gibraltarian politicians Government ministers of Gibraltar Jewish Gibraltarian politicians Israeli diplomats Israeli Sephardi Jews Emigrants from the British Empire to Israel {{Israel-bio-stub