No sooner was the airport agreement reached than Sir Joshua Hassan dropped a political bombshell on the inhabitants of the Rock by announcing on 9 December 1987 that he would stand down as Chief Minister with immediate effect, and that he would not stand for re-election at the House of Assembly elections scheduled for February.

Sir Joshua had been leader of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) party since 1947 and a member of the Gibraltarian legislature since 1950. He became Gibraltar's first Chief Minister following legislative changes in 1964, and apart from the years 1969–72 (when Robert Peliza, leader of the Integration with Britain Party held the post), he had acted in that capacity ever since. He had become almost a permanent fixture of Gibraltarian politics, but now at the age of 72 he had decided, in the catch-phrase of the late 1980s in British politics, to spend more time with his family.

Given the timing of his announcement, it was natural to assume that there was some connection between his decision and the outcome of the airport negotiations. However, Sir Joshua stressed that the decision had been taken some months before, and that he had waited until the airport negotiations had been concluded before making his decision public, although he conceded that if an agreement had not been reached he would have stayed on until it was. In a resignation statement, he called upon Gibraltarians to decide on the airport agreement with their heads and not with their hearts.

His successor as Chief Minister was Adolfo Canepa, aged 46 and former Deputy to Sir Joshua.