Jun 16 - Chief Minister Congratulates Recipients Of Queen's Birthday Honours

The Government of Gibraltar has noted with pleasure the award to Gibraltarians of a total of 3 state honours as well as four Overseas Territories Medals to Police Officers.

Commenting on the main awards, Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: “John Bassadone is a very worthy recipient of the OBE. He has built a business from Gibraltar which spans the globe and has put Gibraltar on the map. He has created wealth which has spread throughout the community and beyond. John has also been instrumental in making many of the early government co-ownership schemes a reality as an investor who supported the principle of home ownership for Gibraltarians in the early 1990's. As an established leader in business, he has created jobs and also been generous in sponsoring cultural events for the community, not least the Literary Festival we pursued and which he was immediately prepared to help us make a reality. This is a richly deserved award that the whole of our business community will agree is absolutely appropriate.

“I sincerely welcome that both Michael Gil and Dilip Dayaram have been awarded MBEs. Both become massively important parts of my team immediately upon my election as Chief Minister. Each has achieved hugely in their respective fields, Michael being the first Chief Technical Officer and Dilip the first Gibraltarian Financial Secretary. I am very proud that the work they have done for successive administrations of Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has now been recognised by Her Majesty herself in this way. They have both always been known as individuals who have gone the extra mile beyond their duties and obligations. I am particularly happy to regard them as friends now that they have formally ended their careers in Government service.

“I am also very happy to see that four police officers of the Royal Gibraltar Police have been recognised for their service. Ian McGrail, Isaac Massias, Leo Rodriguez and Andrew Watson will be justly proud of their achievements. Commissioner Eddie Yome will be proud that RGP officers continue to be objectively recognised as having achieved the highest standards of policing, as these awards demonstrate."

Mr Picardo added: "I also want to congratulate Esperanza Flower, Frances Garro and Anurag Dikshit for their receipt of the Gibraltar Award.

"Esperanza is rightly recognised for her hard work in organising events at Bishop Canilla House for the benefit of the residents there in all the time she has been leading the tenants’ association. She has brought much joy to those older than herself who have benefitted greatly from her selfless dedication.

"Frances Garro is well known in Government service for always doing more than her fair share. Having spent many years at No6 Convent Place she is now one of the lynchpins of Mr Speaker's team in Parliament and she has shouldered the burden of retyping some of the old Hansards so that they are now searchable online as Parliament modernises its records and is always a friend to all members of the Parliament and a huge help to all of us.

"As for Anurag Dikshit, although some may not recognise his name they will recognise the names of PartyGaming, the company he was a founder of (now BwinParty), one of our largest online gaming companies and of the Kusuma Trust, which he founded and which is one of the most important philanthropic institutions in Gibraltar. Kusuma benefits so many different causes in our community and this award rightly recognises that."

In relation to the list generally, Mr Picardo added: "These awards evidence the hard work and effort of so many in Gibraltar. That selfless dedication is one of the things that makes us so special!" 

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