Speaker of the Gibraltar Parliament | |
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Incumbent Melvyn Farrell since 19 November 2019 | |
Style | Mr Speaker (within Parliament) The Right Honourable (formal) |
Residence | Parliament House |
Appointer | Gibraltar Parliament |
Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure (elected by the Commons at the start of each Parliament, and upon a vacancy) |
Inaugural holder | William Thompson |
Gibraltarportal |
The Speaker of the Gibraltar Parliament is the presiding officer of the Gibraltar Parliament, the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The current Speaker is Melvyn Farrell, who succeeded Adolfo Canepa on 19 November 2019
A Legislative Council, the predecessor of the parliament, was inaugurated on 23 November 1950. A Speaker was appointed in 1958.
Name | Period |
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Presidents (The Governor of Gibraltar): | 1950–1958 |
General Sir Kenneth Anderson, KCB, MC | 1950–1952 |
General Sir Gordon MacMillan, KCB, CBE, DSO, MC | 1952–1955 |
Lieutenant General Sir Harold Redman, KCB, CBE | 1955–1958 |
Speakers | 1958–1969 |
Major Joseph Patron OBE, MC, JP | 1958–1964 |
William Thompson, OBE, JP | 1964–1969 |
Between 1969 and 2007 the Gibraltar Parliament was styled as the House of Assembly. [1]
Image | Name | Term | Parliaments |
---|---|---|---|
Colonel William Thompson, OBE, JP | 1969–1970 | 1st | |
Sir Alfred Vasquez, CBE, QC | 1970–1992 | 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th | |
Robert Peliza, OBE, ED | 1992–1996 | 7th | |
John Alcantara, CBE | 1996–2007 | 8th 9th 10th | |
Haresh Budhrani, KC | 11 October 2007 – 9 December 2011 | 11th | |
Adolfo Canepa, GMH, OBE | 21 December 2011 – 19 November 2019 | 12th 13th | |
Melvyn Farrell, BEM, GMD, RD, JP | 19 November 2019 – present | 14th |
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His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four years, with a unicameral parliament of 18 members of which 17 members are elected by popular vote and one, the Speaker, appointed by Parliament.
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. During the early days of the British administration, Gibraltar was maintained primarily as a military outpost with limited attention paid to its role as a trading post. Initially long term settlement of Gibraltar was uncertain but as Spain's power waned it became established as an important base for the British Royal Navy. Throughout the 19th century there was conflict between the competing roles of military and trading posts, leading to tensions between the civilian population and the Governor of the day. Some Governors encouraged the development of the civilian role in government, whilst others regarded it as a nuisance. As a result, compared with other former British colonies, civilian Government in Gibraltar emerged largely in the 20th century as the needs of the civilian population were often considered by Governors as subordinate to the needs of the military. Since World War II, Gibraltarians have increasingly asserted their own individual identity. The Rock's relationship with Spain and the sovereignty dispute continues to affect the Politics of Gibraltar to this day.
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