Albert Risso

Albert Risso GMH
Born	Albert J. Risso Gibraltar
Died	Gibraltar
Resting place	Gibraltar
Residence	Gibraltar
Nationality	British
Occupation	Mechanic Trade unionist Politician
Known for	First president of the AACR and the GCL
Home town	Gibraltar
Political party	Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights
Awards	Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (2008)

Albert J. Risso, GMH was a Gibraltarian trade unionist and politician. He was the first president of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) in Gibraltar.

Albert Risso was one of the first political activists in the British territory of Gibraltar. at a very young age, he was one of the campaigners for the involvement of the Gibraltarian civilian population (and especially its working class) in governing the colony. In 1919, he was one of the members of a so-called "deputation of working men" who went to London to meet the Secretary of State for the Colonies and ask for the creation of a representative body that could succeed the Sanitary Commission, an unelected body whose members, usually belonging to the upper class, were nominated by the Governor. The campaign, driven by the trade unions, brought about the creation of the Gibraltar City Council in 1921.

By the start of World War II, Risso was a foreman mechanic and a City Council employee. When most of Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated, Risso was one of the few Gibraltarians that remained on The Rock. In September 1942, a group of fellow Gibraltarians, clerks and workers, led by Risso came together to form the AACR, an association advocating the Gibraltarians' civil rights. Risso was president of the AACR from 1942 to 1948, when he was succeeded by former vicepresident, Joshua Hassan. In 1947, he was appointed president of the Gibraltar Confederation of Labour, a trade union created to represent the AACR's working class supporters.

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