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His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, [1] or the Official Opposition in Gibraltar, is led by the Leader of the Opposition. This is usually the political party with the second largest number of seats in the Gibraltar Parliament, as the largest party will usually form the government. Since the 2011 General Election, the Official Opposition has been the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) led by Peter Caruana (2011–2013), Daniel Feetham (2013- –2017), Roy Clinton as Interim Opposition Leader and now Keith Azopardi. [2]
The Leader of Opposition earns (per annum) £58,230 whilst other Opposition MPs and Shadow Ministers earn £34,594.
The current composition of the Opposition is the following (as from 2023): [3]
Name | Image | Party | Shadow Ministerial Portfolios (Responsibilities) |
The Hon. Keith Azopardi, MP | GSD | Leader of the Opposition
| |
The Hon. Edwin Reyes , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Education, Employment & Culture
| |
The Hon. Craig Sacarello, MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Business, Trade, Industry, Utilities & Community
| |
The Hon. Atrish Sanchez , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Care & Opportunity
| |
The Hon. Roy Clinton , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Finance & Value for Money
| |
The Hon. Damon Bossino , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Housing, Lands & Transport
| |
The Hon. Joelle Ladislaus , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Health and Justice
| |
The Hon. Giovanni Origo , MP | GSD | Shadow Minister for Environment, Tourism, Youth & Equality
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The politics of Gibraltar takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Overseas Territory, whereby the Monarch of the United Kingdom is the constitutional head of state represented by the Governor of Gibraltar. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar is the head of Government. As a British Overseas Territory, the Government of Gibraltar is not subordinate to the Government of the United Kingdom. The British Government, however, is responsible for defence and external affairs but Gibraltar has full internal self-government under its 2006 Constitution.
Sir Peter Richard Caruana, is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013. He is the longest serving Chief Minister to date.
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 election until the party's electoral defeat in the 2011 election by the GSLP–Liberal Alliance.
The Liberal Party of Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.
The Gibraltar Labour Party was a political party in Gibraltar. They described themselves as an integrationist party and stated that their formation was prompted by the need for a strong opposition to the government. They were founded and led by Daniel Feetham and former Leader of the Opposition and integrationist, Maurice Xiberras.
Daniel Anthony Feetham KC MP is a Gibraltarian lawyer and former politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 2013 to 2017.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each post. Following defeat in 2015, she announced that she would step down as both Danish Prime Minister and Social Democratic party leader. Ending her political career in April 2016, she was the chief executive of the NGO Save the Children until June 2019.
The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) was a liberal conservative political party from Gibraltar.
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 11 October 2007. The incumbent Chief Minister Peter Caruana narrowly won a fourth term, but opposition leader Joe Bossano had a very strong showing. Joe Bossano noted that this would be his last term as an MP, and joked that he would not join the government, despite receiving a higher personal vote than some members of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD).
Keith Azopardi is a Gibraltarian lawyer and politician serving as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats since 2017.
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 8 December 2011. Two parties, the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) and the Progressive Democrative Party (PDP) and an alliance of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) and the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG) each presented a full slate of ten candidates each, making a total of thirty candidates standing for seventeen seats in the Gibraltar Parliament. Members of Parliament in Gibraltar are elected "at-large" in a single electoral area covering the whole territory.
Fabian Raymond Picardo 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, Picardo was re-elected to two further four-year terms. He was narrowly re-elected for a fourth term in the 2023 Gibraltar general election.
General elections were held in Sweden on 14 September 2014 to elect all 349 seats in the Riksdag, alongside elections for the 21 county councils, and 290 municipal assemblies.
Damon James Bossino is a Gibraltarian barrister and Member of the Gibraltar Parliament representing the Gibraltar Social Democrats. He is married to Rosa Arrimadas from Spain with whom he has three children.
Yvette Del Agua is a Gibraltarian legal executive and former politician. She served as a Minister for the Government of Gibraltar from 2000 to 2011.
A by-election was held to the Gibraltar Parliament on 4 July 2013 to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Housing Minister Charles Bruzon in April 2013. The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP), Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and an independent contested the by-election. The Liberal Party of Gibraltar who is in alliance and in Government with the GSLP backed the GSLP's candidate.
Marlene Dinah Esther Hassan-Nahon is a Gibraltarian historian, journalist and former politician, who served as a member of the Gibraltar Parliament from 2015 until 2023.
European Parliament elections were held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar on 23 May 2019. They were held as part of the European Union-wide elections after the date of United Kingdom withdrawal was delayed by the UK government. This was Gibraltar's final participation in a European Parliament election before the withdrawal took place on 31 January 2020.
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. In September 2019, it was announced that Libs MP and GSLP/Libs Minister, Neil Costa, would not seek re-election and had his candidacy and seat replaced by Vijay Daryanani of the same party.
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 12 October 2023 to elect all 17 members of the fifth Gibraltar Parliament. This was the first election in Gibraltar's history to use an electronic voting count system. The GSLP–Liberal Alliance secured a fourth term in office, though it saw its majority reduced to one seat, whilst the GSD became the sole opposition party, gaining two seats.