PETER ISOLA was one of the key figures of Gibraltar politics in the period of troubles with Spain that culminated with the border closure in 1969.
Peter Joseph Isola, the son of Albert Isola, QC, was born in Gibraltar in 1929 and was educated at Stonyhurst and Pembroke College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar in 1952 and went on to become one of Gibraltar’s leading litigation lawyers and to head the family firm, Isola & Isola.
Conservative in his politics and Roman Catholic in his faith, Isola believed passionately in Gibraltar retaining close links with Britain. His ambition to be the Rock’s Chief Minister was thwarted by events and by his rivalry with the late Sir Joshua Hassan, QC, who dominated politics for four decades.
First elected to the then Legislative Assembly as an independent candidate in 1956, he served in the local parliament, the House of Assembly, until 1983. He served two terms as Leader of the Opposition, once as an independent and once as leader of the Democratic Party of British Gibraltar. He was also Minister for Education for four years.
At the height of the problems with Spain in 1965, a coalition Government was formed and, being Leader of the Opposition, he became Deputy Chief Minister with Hassan as Chief Minister. The two politicians set their rivalry aside and appeared five times before the UN on Gibraltar’s behalf to resist demand to integrate Gibraltar into Spain.
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In 1969 he had led the Isola Group at the general election which would align with the IWBP (Integration with Britain Party) to form a Government under Gibraltar’s then new Constitution.
Keen-witted and charming, Isola was popular as a politician and as a litigator, and he made Isola & Isola one of the leading local firms.
On leaving parliament he remained a leading former of public opinion, regularly consulted by citizens as he strolled down Main Street to work each day. More recently he was invited by Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, to join the Gibraltar delegation in constitutional reform talks with Britain.
He married Rose Bellotti in 1956 and is survived by her, their three sons and a daughter.
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Peter Isola, QC, was born on March 20, 1929. He died on January 28, 2006, aged 76.