Marlene Hassan Nahon (born 1976) 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 ...

historian, journalist and politician, currently 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.

Biography

Hassan Nahon is daughter of the late

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan and his second wife, Marcelle Bensimon, both Jews of Moroccan and Portuguese origin. Her sister,

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum Fleur Hassan-Nahoum ( he, פלר חסן-נחום; born September 27, 1973) is an Israeli politician and policy maker. She currently serves as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem in charge of foreign relations, international economic development and touri ...

, is a Barrister and current Deputy Mayor of

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

. She has a BA in History of Art and Architecture from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the London School of Journalism.

Political career

After the death of minister Charles Bruzon, Hassan Nahon announced her candidacy for 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) in the by-election of 4 July 2013. In a press conference, she stated that she didn't have an agenda (besides the desire to contribute positively to

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 said that she was "disappointed" with the policies of the ruling party (the GSLP) and willing to change the composition of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, where there is an "overwhelming number of lawyers" representing both groups of parties. Hassan Nahon received 39.95% of the total votes cast, but was not elected.

Member of the Parliament of Gibraltar

For the thirteenth election of the

Parliament of Gibraltar 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 ...

, Hassan Nahon ran for a seat, resulting in her being elected on 26 November 2015 for the period starting on 9 December 2015 and ending in 2019. On 19 May 2016, she resigned from the

, alluding to "toxic" tensions within the party; she decided to continue as a member of the parliament, albeit as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. On 15 September 2016, during a heated exchange of words in Parliament, the Minister of Justice,

Gilbert Licudi The Hon. Gilbert Horace Licudi is a Gibraltarian barrister and legal partner at Hassans and former Minister (2011-2020) and former MP (2007-2023) of Gibraltar, member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). He is married and has two c ...

, swore at Hassan Nahon repeatedly while the microphone was off, but still clearly audible. The Gibraltar Women's Association, represented by the committee member Zohra El Gharbaoui, questioned the lack of attention to this matter by the Gibraltarian government, adding that this was beyond a gender issue, a "complete lack of respect for a fellow MP". On 23 September Licudi issued a public apology to MP Hassan-Nahon. In 2017 Hassan Nahon launched her movement, Together Gibraltar, a grassroots civil society platform. In November 2018, the movement democratically voted to transition into a political party. On 24 September 2019, the party entered the Gibraltar General Elections. Together Gibraltar finished with an unprecedented result at the General Elections, with party leader Hassan Nahon achieving the most votes in the Opposition Benches. Together Gibraltar received 21% of the overall votes, coming only 3% behind the current official Opposition. Hassan Nahon was a vocal critic of the Gibraltar government's handling of the British withdrawal from the European Union. As a result, she was subject of attacks, many anti-Semitic in nature.

References

External links

The Governor, the Chief Minister, the Mayor and Colonialism

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan-Nahon, Marlene Living people 1976 births 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of the London School of Journalism Alumni of the University of Manchester Gibraltar Social Democrats politicians Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews Gibraltarian people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Gibraltarian people of Spanish-Jewish descent Gibraltarian women in politics Jewish British politicians Jewish Gibraltarian politicians British political party founders