Neil Francis Costa is a Gibraltarian barrister and

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 ...

affiliated to the

Liberal Party of Gibraltar The Liberal Party of Gibraltar (Libs or LPG) is a liberal political party in Gibraltar. It was founded in 1991 as the Gibraltar National Party and is led by Dr. Joseph Garcia. The LPG forms the GSLP–Liberal Alliance in partnership with the Gi ...

(LPG). In December 2011 he was elected an MP to the Gibraltar Parliament and was elected Minister for Tourism, Public Transport, Commercial Affairs and the Port. After the Ministerial reshuffle of December 2014, he became Minister for Business and Employment. In October 2016, he was appointed Minister for Health, Care and Justice. In October 2019, Costa confirmed his decision that he would not seek re-election and returned to work as a barrister.

Biography

Costa 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 ...

into a working-class family. He grew up in the government flat which his parents shared with his grandparents and other family members. His father was a stonemason and his mother a cashier at supermarket. He stood out when he obtained three A grades, two with Distinction, at A-level at Bayside Comprehensive School. He went on to study law and Spanish at the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

where he graduated with honours. Costa completed his law studies at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...

in London, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in London in November 2002 and to the Gibraltar bar in January 2003. In 2016, Costa embarked on an LL.M. in Law from the University of Edinburgh, obtaining a Distinction in October 2019. Costa has been involved in the politics of Gibraltar since his student days, and he joined the Liberal Party of Gibraltar in 1999. In 2007, he was elected to Parliament and became Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services. In 2011, along with Dr. Joseph Garcia and Steven Linares, formed the group of LPG candidates who stood in alliance with the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) to contest the 2011 general elections. Re-elected to parliament in 2011, this time in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

, Costa was appointed by

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 ...

Fabian Picardo Fabian Raymond Picardo (born 18 February 1972) is a Gibraltarian politician and barrister serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011. At the 2015 and 2019 Gibraltar general elections, P ...

as Minister for Tourism, Public Transport, Commercial Affairs and the Port. After the Ministerial reshuffle in December 2014, Costa was appointed Minister for Business and Employment. In October 2016, he was appointed Minister for Health, Care and Justice. In September 2019, Costa announced that he would not stand in the

2019 Gibraltar general election General elections were held in Gibraltar on 17 October 2019 to elect all 17 members to the fourth Gibraltar Parliament. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced the date of the election on Monday 16 September 2019. The GSLP–Liberal Alliance wo ...

. After the election he resumed his legal career. In November 2021, Costa graduated from Oxford University, New College, with Distinction in his Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law. Neil was awarded the Morris Prize for the highest overall grade for the year and for the highest grade in the dissertation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Neil Francis Alumni of the University of Wales Liberal Party of Gibraltar politicians Gibraltarian barristers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Justice ministers of Gibraltar Health ministers of Gibraltar Tourism ministers of Gibraltar Transport ministers of Gibraltar 21st-century Gibraltarian lawyers