Mayor of Gibraltar
| Mayor of Gibraltar | |
|---|---|
Incumbent Carmen Gomez since 6 June 2023 | |
| Style | Her Worship |
| Residence | Gibraltar City Hall |
| Appointer | Parliament |
| Inaugural holder | Sir Joshua Hassan |
| Deputy | Nicky Guerrero |
| Salary | None |
| Website | http://www.mayor.gi/ |
TheMayor of Gibraltaris the ceremonial official of theBritish overseas territoryofGibraltar.Themayoris appointed by theelectedMembers ofParliament[1]and the office is situated atCity HallJohn Mackintosh Square. Since 6 June 2023, theatre actress, author and Miss Gibraltar 1970, Carmen Gomez, has held the position of Mayor of Gibraltar, succeeding Christian Santos GMD.[2]
History
[edit]
Since its creation in 1921, the city council had a chairman. In 1955, upon request of the members of the city council, the post was renamed to mayor, and therefore, the mayor of Gibraltar was chosen from among the members of the council.Joshua Hassan,MVO, QC, JP, the chairman of the city council at the time became the first mayor of Gibraltar.
1969 Constitution
[edit]The city council disappeared when the new Gibraltar Constitution Order in Council was signed in 1969. However, the mayor of Gibraltar survived, but only with a ceremonial character, and was to be elected by the House of Assembly (later the Parliament).[3]This meant that office was invariably taken by theSpeakeror a government minister.[4]
The1969 Constitutionstated:[3]
A person elected to the office of Mayor shall hold office upon such terms and conditions, and shall perform such functions (being ceremonial functions of a civic character), as may be determined by theGovernor,acting after consultation with theGibraltar Council.
2006 Constitution
[edit]Following the new2006 Constitution,the mayor no longer had to be chosen from among the members of Parliament. Instead, the mayor is appointed by Parliament. The intention was to move to a new system whereby citizens from the community at large can be appointed mayor for a one-year period, although this can sometimes be for longer. TheGovernment of Gibraltarannounced that a deputy mayor would also be appointed for the same period and would then take up the office of mayor.[4]
Appointment
[edit]The Mayor of Gibraltar is appointed by Parliament but no longer from within Parliament, and is to hold the position for a minimum one-year period.[5]As per the 2006 Constitution:[1]
A person elected to the office of Mayor shall hold office upon such terms and conditions, and shall perform such functions (being ceremonial functions of a civic character), as may be determined by the Parliament.
Deputy
[edit]A deputy mayor is at the same time appointed by Parliament for one year to assist and support the mayor in the discharge of mayoral duties, as well as to act as mayor when she or he is unable to participate in a civic event. The deputy will take office as mayor the following year and a new deputy appointed, and so on.[5][6]
Duties
[edit]Since 1969, the duties of the mayor are entirelyceremonialandcivic.[5]The posts of mayor and deputy mayor of Gibraltar arehonorificand thus unpaid.[4]
List of mayors
[edit]The following is a list of all the mayors of Gibraltar since the first tenure began in 1955:[7]
| No. | Image | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
The Hon.Sir Joshua HassanCBEMVOQCJP | 23 February 1955 | 2 June 1969 |
| 2 | 
|
The Hon.Col.William ThompsonOBE JP | 2 June 1969 | 6 November 1970 |
| 3 | 
|
The Hon.Alfred J. VasquezCBE MA | 6 November 1970 | 22 April 1976 |
| 4 | 
|
The Hon.Adolfo J. CanepaEsq | 22 April 1976 | 31 December 1978 |
| 5 | 
|
The Hon.Horace J. ZammitEsq | 1 January 1979 | 31 July 1979 |
| 6 | 
|
The Hon.Abraham W. SerfatyCBE JP | 1 August 1979 | 31 July 1988 |
| 7 | 
|
The Hon.Mari I. Montegriffo | 1 August 1988 | 20 March 1995 |
| 8 | 
|
The Hon.Robert Mor Esq | 20 March 1995 | 31 July 1996 |
| 9 | 
|
JudgeJohn E. AlcantaraCBE | 1 August 1996 | 31 July 2004 |
| 10 | 
|
The Hon.Clive G. BeltranMP | 1 August 2004 | 31 July 2008 |
| 11 | 
|
Solomon 'Momy' Levy,MBE, JP | 1 August 2008 | 31 July 2009 |
| 12 | 
|
Olga ZammittOBE, JP | 1 August 2009 | 31 July 2010 |
| 13 | 
|
Anthony J P LombardLL.B. | 1 August 2010 | 31 July 2011 |
| 14 | 
|
Julio AlcantaraMBE MA | 1 August 2011 | 31 July 2012 |
| 15 | 
|
Anthony LimaMBE RD RNR Retd. | 1 August 2012 | 31 July 2014 |
| 16 |
|
The Hon.Adolfo J. CanepaOBE GMH MP | 1 August 2014 | 31 July 2017 |
| 17 | 
|
Kaiane AldorinoGMH | 1 August 2017 | 4 April 2019 |
| 18 | 
|
John GonçalvesMBE GMD | 4 April 2019 | 1 June 2021 |
| 19 | 
|
Christian SantosGMD | 1 June 2021 | 6 June 2023 |
| 20 | Carmen Gomez | 6 June 2023 | Incumbent |
References
[edit]
- ^abGibraltar Constitution Order 2006Archived21 November 2008 at theWayback Machine
- ^ "New Mayor John Gonçalves says he wants to give young people a voice".Retrieved5 April2019.
- ^abGibraltar Constitution Order 1969
- ^abcChanges in Mayorship of Gibraltar[permanent dead link]
- ^abcSur in English - Gibraltar appoints its first non-parliamentary Mayor, Solomon Levy
- ^"Gibraltar.gi - Who wants to be Mayor?".Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2011.Retrieved22 August2009.
- ^Portraits of Gibraltar's 10 Mayors[permanent dead link]
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