Vaughan Gething set to be new Welsh First Minister

Vaughan GethingImage source, Getty Images

Vaughan Gething is set to become First Minister of Wales, after he won the election to be leader of the Welsh Labour Party .

He'll take the place of Mark Drakeford in both jobs.

The job of First Minister at the Senedd Cymru, or Welsh Parliament, is carried out by the leader of the party with the most elected representatives, which at the moment is the Labour Party.

As he accepted the job, Mr Gething said it was "an honour" to be the first black man to lead the country, adding: "Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation's history."

Before he is formally appointed to the job, there will be a vote in the Senedd, which he is expected to win.

Who is Vaughan Gething?

Image caption,

Jeremy Miles (left) and Vaughan Gething (right) both stood to be leader

Mr Gething, who is trained as a lawyer, has experience in the Welsh government and was health minister during the Covid pandemic.

Since 2021 he's been the economy minister, in charge of Wales's money.

Born in Zambia, he spoke in his acceptance speech of how he will be the "first black leader in any European country".

He said he wanted to "use this moment as a starting point for a more confident march into the future... Can we answer the call to the generation in waiting to deliver the Wales that they want?"

In the election, Mr Gething beat his rival, Education Minister Jeremy Miles, getting the vote of 51.7% of Labour Party members versus 48.3% for Mr Miles.

What about Mark Drakeford?

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Mark Drakeford has been First Minister of Wales since 2018

Mark Drakeford had announced he would resign as First Minister in December 2023, though he said he would remain in the job until his replacement was elected.

Now Mr Gething has won the election, Mark Drakeford will step down from the post.

"When I stood for the leadership, I said that, if elected, I would serve for five years. Exactly five years have passed since I was confirmed as first minister in 2018," he said, adding that it had been a "huge privilege to lead both the Welsh Labour Party and the Welsh government".

How does the Welsh parliament work?

Wales has a devolved parliament which means it's in charge of some decisions separately from the UK parliament in London.

Since May 2020, the Welsh parliament has been known as the Senedd Cymru. It meets in Cardiff Bay, and is made up of 60 elected Members of the Senedd (MS), they are from different political parties and represent areas from across Wales. They are elected by the people of Wales to represent them and their communities, make laws for Wales and to ensure the Welsh Government is doing its job properly.

The Welsh government, which is in charge of day-to-day running of the assembly, is led by the First Minister of Wales.

It has control over public services such as health, education and local government.

The Welsh Labour party, does not have an outright majority in the devolved parliament and in December 2021, the Welsh Labour government and Plaid Cymru signed an agreement, where the two parties agreed to work together in 46 policy areas.