Keith Azopardi
Encyclopedia
Keith Azopardi is a Gibraltarian
Gibraltarian people
The Gibraltarians are a cultural group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean sea.- Origins :...

 lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, and leader of the Progressive Democratic Party
Progressive Democratic Party (Gibraltar)
The Progressive Democratic Party is a political party from Gibraltar established in June 2006 by Gibraltarian lawyer and former Gibraltar Social Democrat Deputy Chief Minister, Keith Azopardi....

 (PDP)

He was born in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 on 6 June 1967 and was called to the Bars of England, Wales and Gibraltar in 1990. He is of Maltese descent
History of the Maltese in Gibraltar
A Maltese community has existed in Gibraltar since shortly after the British conquest in 1704. Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus were the three stepping stones whereby Great Britain controlled the Mediterranean and the vital route to the Suez Canal and thence to India...

.

He served as Minister for Environment & Health for the Gibraltar Social Democrats
Gibraltar Social Democrats
The Gibraltar Social Democrats, abbreviated to GSD, is a centre-right political party in Gibraltar.Their current leader is Peter Caruana, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. The GSD has been the governing party in Gibraltar since 1996.-History:...

 from 1996 to 2000, after which he was appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar
Chief Minister of Gibraltar
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar is the leader of the largest party elected to the Gibraltar Parliament, and is formally appointed by the Governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British Crown.-List of Chief Ministers:...

 and Minister for Trade and Industry, a position he held until 2003.

He stood down from politics in 2003 but later founded the Progressive Democratic Party in June 2006. He was also involved in the negotiations with the British Government that led to the grant of the new Gibraltar Constitution of 2006.

In October 2009, Azopardi published a book "Sovereignty and the Stateless Nation: Gibraltar in the Modern Legal Context" (Hart Publishing ISBN 978-1841139166) discussing the constitutional status of Gibraltar, and proposing ways forward to achieve an enduring settlement to the dispute with Spain
Disputed status of Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory, near the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, which is the subject of a disputed irredentist claim by Spain....

.
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