Parliament pays tribute to former Speaker, a Gibraltarian trailblazer

The Gibraltar Parliament paid tribute to former Speaker and Supreme Court judge John Alcantara, CBE, who died last weekend aged 99 after a life of public service.

Karen Ramagge, the Speaker of Parliament, led the tributes and said Mr Justice Alcantara had been firm and practical in his approach to his judicial and parliamentary duties, but always with “a mischievous sense of humour”.

Ms Ramagge, who like Mr Justice Alcantara became Speaker after a career in the judiciary, described him as “a formidable force of a man”.

“I am honoured to follow in his footsteps from judiciary to Speaker, and in his time as Speaker, I know from staff, past ministers and members how respected and valued he was,” she said.

“He made Parliament better.”

“He served Parliament faithfully and professionally with his intellect, practicality and strength.”

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo echoed the Speaker’s words.

“John is somebody who is close to all our hearts and in particular to the heart of democracy in Gibraltar, this place which he served with such distinction in the years that he was Speaker,” he said.

He recalled how Mr Justice Alcantara had moved to Belize to serve as a judge before returning to Gibraltar as the Rock’s first Gibraltarian puisne judge.

“He broke the glass ceiling for other Gibraltarians who were then to follow him to the bench,” he said.

“It took him to break that glass ceiling, which in those days… prevented [not just] some of a particular gender getting through it, but some from a particular birthplace getting through it.”

“And John Alcantara had the intellect and ability about him to break that glass ceiling.”

“And he did it with, as ever, the usual distinction, the fairness that he displayed on the bench, both here and abroad, and the mischief that also characterised him.”

Keith Azopardi, the Leader of the Opposition, said Mr Justice Alcantara’s career “was marked always with a sense of justice”.

He was, Mr Azopardi added, “a man who could see the issues” and was a “supporter of the underdog, a supporter of the Gibraltarian, which he felt in his heart”.

Mr Justice Alcantara was “an illustrious Gibraltarian”, Mr Azopardi said, adding: “We will remember him fondly”.

Dr Joseph Garcia, the Deputy Chief Minister, recalled Mr Justice Alcantara’s active involvement in politics as a young man of 27 in the AACR administration in the 1950s, before he devoted his life to the judiciary first in Belize and then here.

The UK colonial establishment had signalled him out as “a very staunch pro-Gibraltarian” even back then.

“And he had, it's true, a wonderful sense of humour and an incredible wit,” Dr Garcia said.

Sir Joe Bossano, the Father of the House, recalled how Mr Justice Alcantara, during his time as Speaker, had been able to “bring the temperature down quite effectively” during sometimes tense exchanges, but still “with that hidden sense of humour that was obvious to us”.

“And, of course, he is something that is important in Gibraltar's history,” Sir Joe added.

“He is a figure of what we Gibraltarians have been able to do.”

“We as a people come from a place that is practically a dot of the planet, and we produce a level of ability, I think, within our own confines and by exporting much of our talent elsewhere, that shows that not only are we one single people, which is one single family, but it's a family that we can all be proud of, irrespective of our political ideology.”

Parliament then held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for Mr Justice Alcantara.