1. Sir Joseph John Bossano was born on 10 June 1939 and is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011.
13 Facts About Joe Bossano
1. 2.
Joe Bossano served as Leader of the Opposition from 1984 to 1988 and 1996 to 2011.
3.
Joe Bossano was first elected to the then Gibraltar House of Assembly in 1972 and is often referred to as the Father of the House for being the longest-serving parliamentarian in Gibraltar.
4.
Joe Bossano was born in Gibraltar and has a degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, as well as a degree in Italian from the University of Birmingham.
5.
Joe Bossano became part of the trade union movement in the 1960s while working as a seaman in Britain, where he was a member of the British Labour Party.
6.
Joe Bossano was asked by a group of Gibraltarian politicians to return to Gibraltar and was elected a member of the House of Assembly in 1972, as a candidate of the Integration with Britain Party.
7.
Joe Bossano became the Branch Officer for the Transport and General Workers Union.
8.
Joe Bossano consistently maintained a hard-line stance against any sovereignty deal with Spain without the consent of the Gibraltarians.
9.
Joe Bossano received a personal vote of 8,1128, about 4,000 more than his contender, Adolfo Canepa.
10.
Joe Bossano helped resolve the severe housing problem existing in Gibraltar before he came into power, by reclaiming land from the sea and constructing hundreds of affordable flats, which were offered at very reasonable prices.
11.
Joe Bossano stood down as GSLP leader in April 2011, replaced by Fabian Picardo.
12.
Joe Bossano remains active in politics and was a GSLP candidate in the Gibraltar general election in December 2011.
13.
Joe Bossano was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the 2018 New Year Honours.