profile
by Frankie Hatton
the first year of the Comprehensive era. “It was good as we were part of something new but also weird being in such a school with only one year. As we moved up then other years came in making it more normal.” Completing his Bayside studies he took 3 ‘A’ levels in English Literature, French and Spanish but without a real clue as to what he wanted to as a career. “At this time I played guitar and loved drama and dancing I also used to read a lot. I read some Sartre, Camus and Genet and other books of a similar vein.” “What were you doing reading stuff like that at such an age?” I asked. “I was interested in it and I was lucky enough to have mentors like Mario Arroyo and Freddie Trinidad as well as having my father’s books around. “Back to my education, my father incredibly got the single available Government university scholarship during his time of study. When I was looking to higher education there was a level of 14 points or more to qualify. I achieved it and decided to study English and French at Leeds University yet I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. As for scholarships I will say one of the best things the Bossano Government did was, although expensive, provide the opportunity of a university education to a much wider spectrum of students who obtained a place.” Peter then went to Leeds University to study but within a month he decided to change his mind. “During my time at Bayside I was fortunate to get work experience with Sir Joshua Hassan and James Levy at the law firm and this helped me a great deal. I suppose almost as soon as I arrived at Uni I realised I wanted to take up law. It was luck I’d been only going a month — any longer and I wouldn’t have been able to change courses. So I dropped English Literature, having bought all the books and study, as well as French, and moved into the law classes. “There then followed the usual path with me studying further at the College of Legal Education and taking the Bar at Lincolns Inn. I returned to Gibraltar in 1982 and immediately joined Hassans as lawyer number seven (there are currently around 85). “Sir Joshua took an interest in my development and I consider myself very lucky to have worked so closely with him during my early years. For the next 10 years as a lawyer I was involved in general litigation and commercial, private client and probate matters. I had a particular interest in financial services so I did some of the regulatory work at Hassans. It is in the area of commercial and private client matters that I work today and over the past few years I have become more involved with the online gaming industry. This work involves advising clients in all aspects including setting up, taxation and employment. “How did you get into politics?” I asked. “I’ve always had an interest in politics as so many people in Gibraltar do. For me the involvement came through Sir Joshua and the AACR. In fact I almost stood as a candidate in 1984 but I didn’t make it onto the shortlist. I was only 24 at the time maybe that had a bearing. “By the time the next election came along in 1988 the AACR went into Opposition, Adolfo Canepa was leader and I became deputy leader.
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MARCH 2010
At 28 I was raring to go and felt we needed to be a very active Opposition. Sir Joshua had left front line politics by now but behind the scenes he egged me on, so much so that 18 months after the election I challenged Adolfo Canepa for the leadership of the party. “It all came to boiling point one night as the AACR executive sat around a table. I had the feeling that Sir Joshua could quite easily have resolved all the disagreements but for his own reasons he chose to remain silent. So I got up and resigned from the AACR. As I left Terry Cartwright, another member of the executive, walked out with me and I became an independent member of the House of Assembly sitting in the very seat the then Chief Minister, Bossano, had occupied when he was the sole representative of his party at that time. In hindsight it was perhaps the arrogance of youth but I was keen and feisty. “In 1990 I created the GSD and began looking for political allies. I rang Peter Caruana and invited him to join the party which he did. I can still see him sitting in the audience at our first GSD party meeting. By 1991 we were ahead of the AACR in the polls.” “It is at this point when the things you built were bearing fruit you actually left the party, the party you created, why was that?” I wondered. “Well I was becoming politically more relevant and at the same time working within Hassans. An inevitable tension began to develop between the politics and the firm’s relationship with the Government of the day and clients. Essentially this could only be resolved by my backing away from politics or leaving the legal partnership. I had a young family to consider and thus ultimately after a very difficult period,
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I would quite happily have stayed out of politics but... I felt I had to do whatever I could to assist in providing an alternative and therefore announced my return to politics with the GSD
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resigned from my seat in the House. This created a by-election which Peter Caruana as the new leader won. Then in the 1992 election the GSD took seven seats in the House and became the official opposition. “I would quite happily have stayed out of politics but the position in Gibraltar became very difficult in the course of ’94 and ’95. I felt I had to do whatever I could to assist in providing an alternative and therefore announced my return to politics with the GSD in 1995. This again put in jeopardy my position within Hassans and this was handled by my physically leaving the office for that period of time before standing for election and working as a consultant from Leanse Place. “Once the results were in I’d received four more votes than Peter Caruana. Usually if you top the poll you become Chief Minister but that question was never raised and to be fair with only four votes more even if Peter had mentioned it I would have had no problem with the status quo. So I became Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry. What is remarkable about that election was the timing. I believe that if Bossano hadn’t left the election till the last minute which in effect gave the GSD more time to group and prepare and had called that election six months earlier, he might have clinched it, albeit by a narrow margin. He didn’t, we won and the GSD are still in power.” “Yet, Peter, in 2000 you quit once again?” “Well by 2000 Peter Caruana had established a very presidential method of leadership and there were some differences as to the speed and direction on certain issues. I’ve always advocated a progressive style of politics including a dialogue with Spain to ease cross-border tensions and improve practical issues that divide us, rather like it is now happening with the Tripartite Forum. Without going into detail it was better I leave altogether and to be honest I don’t regret it. From where I am now I have no burning desire to return again. My wife Pepita and I are happy enough and our sons Andrew (23) and David (20) are at university studying Law and Law & French respectively.” These days Peter has other such things to occupy him like work at Hassans and reading in his spare time. “The last book I read was Andrew Marr’s History of Britain (post war) and some Milton Freidman. I also try to read in Spanish, my last book being Mario Conde’s (the Financier and ex-President of Banesto Bank) account of the circumstances leading up to and during the time he spent behind bars.” “It seems then you are quite comfortable at the moment and as a successful lawyer you perhaps can relax a little?” I asked, adding “Also with your sons now in the final throes of their education and striking out on their own you can perhaps make waves again and do the politics your way. Will you return as the rumours say you will?” As he smiled at the question he answered: “Politics has become very confrontational and to get ahead you need to be very self-promotional. I don’t particularly relish that aspect of political life but there is indeed a great deal to be done in Gibraltar and there are many difficult issues that Gibraltar has to tackle”. Folks you read it here first, I reckon he’s coming back. n
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