Mayor of Gibraltar


the Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of Parliament and the office is situated at City Hall John Mackintosh Square. Since 4 April 2019, John Gonçalves has held the position of Mayor of Gibraltar, succeeding Kaiane Aldorino.

History

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, the chairman of the city council at the time become the first mayor of Gibraltar.

1969 Constitution

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. This meant that office was invariably taken by the Speaker or a government minister.
The 1969 Constitution stated:

2006 Constitution

Following the new 2006 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. The Government of Gibraltar announced that a deputy mayor would also be appointed for the same period and would take up the office of mayor the following year.

Appointment

The mayor of Gibraltar is appointed by Parliament but no longer from within Parliament, and is to hold the position for a one-year period. As per the 2006 Constitution:

Deputy

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.

Duties

Since 1969, the mayor is not a political figure as his or her duties are entirely ceremonial and civic. The posts of mayor and deputy mayor of Gibraltar are honorific and thus unpaid.

List of mayors

The following is a list of all the mayors of Gibraltar since the first tenure began in 1955:
PictureNameTook OfficeLeft Office
1The Hon. Sir Joshua Hassan CBE MVO QC JP23 February 19552 June 1969
2The Hon. Col. William Thompson OBE JP2 June 19696 November 1970
3The Hon. Alfred J. Vasquez CBE MA6 November 197022 April 1976
4The Hon. Adolfo J. Canepa22 April 197631 December 1978
5The Hon. Horace J. Zammit1 January 197931 July 1979
6The Hon. Abraham W. Serfaty CBE JP1 August 197931 July 1988
7The Hon. Mari I. Montegriffo1 August 198820 March 1995
8The Hon. Robert Mor20 March 199531 July 1996
9Judge John E. Alcantara CBE1 August 199631 July 2004
10The Hon. Clive G. Beltran1 August 200431 July 2008
11Solomon 'Momy' Levy1 August 200831 July 2009
12Olga Zammitt OBE, JP1 August 200931 July 2010
13Anthony J P Lombard Ll.B.1 August 201031 July 2011
14Julio Alcantara1 August 201131 July 2012
15Anthony Lima1 August 201231 July 2014
4The Hon. Adolfo J. Canepa1 August 201431 July 2017
16Kaiane Aldorino1 August 20174 April 2019
16John Gonçalves4 April 2019Incumbent