Born in 1910, Abraham William Serfaty was a
draughtsman of the
Gibraltar City Council when he received an invitation to work for
Messrs Pearson Mechanical and Civil Engineers in the
UK. While in
England, he completed his studies in
civil engineering. Returning to the
Rock, Serfaty worked as an architect and later joined the
AACR of
Sir Joshua Hassan. However, he became part of the Executive Council, initially as an "unofficial member". In the Legislative Council elections of 1956, he was one of four AACR members elected, the others being
Joshua Hassan,
Albert Risso, and J. E. Alcantara. He served at first as Member or Minister for Medical Services, then as Minister for Tourism, and finally as Minister for Economic Development in successive AACR Governments until his retirement in 1984. Between 1979 and 1988 he served as
Mayor of Gibraltar. In 1980, he became
Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition for public services in Gibraltar. == References ==