The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and deputy ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
The First Minister of Wales, known as First Secretary of Wales from 1999 until 2000, is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government policy. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Wales in an official capacity, at home and abroad, and responsibility for constitutional affairs, as they relate to devolution and the Welsh Government.
Jane Elizabeth Hutt is a Welsh Labour Party politician serving as Welsh Government Chief Whip since 2023 and Trefnydd of the Senedd since 2024. She has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the Vale of Glamorgan since 1999.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Leanne Wood is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from March 2012 to September 2018, and served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 2003 to 2021.
Susan Lesley Griffiths, known as Lesley Griffiths, is a Welsh Labour politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice since 2024. She previously served as Trefnydd of the Senedd and Minister for North Wales from 2021 to 2024, and Minister for Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2024. She worked as a secretary to John Marek and the constituency assistant to Ian Lucas, successive Members of Parliament for Wrexham, and was elected to the Senedd from the Wrexham constituency in 2007. She has held a number of cabinet positions in the Welsh Government. In December 2009 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills.
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language is a member of the Cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Jeremy Miles MS.
Mick Antoniw is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, serving as Counsel General for Wales since 2021, having previously served in the position from 2016 to 2017. He previously served as Minister for the Constitution from 2021 to 2024. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Pontypridd since 2011.
Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and the leader of Welsh Labour since 2024. He previously served as the Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to 2021 and Minister for the Economy from 2021 to 2024. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2011.
Jeremy Miles is a Welsh Labour Co-op politician, serving as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language since 2024. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Counsel General for Wales from 2017 to 2021, Brexit Minister from 2018 to 2021, and the Minister for coordinating Wales’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021. Miles has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Neath since 2016.
Mark Drakeford is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2018 to 2024. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minister for Health and Social Services from 2013 to 2016. Drakeford was first elected as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff West in 2011 and is considered to be on the soft left of Labour.
Rebecca Mary Evans is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office since 2024. She has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Gower since 2016, and a Member for Mid and West Wales from 2011 to 2016.
The 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election took place between February and March 2024 to select Mark Drakeford's successor as leader of Welsh Labour, who in turn would become First Minister of Wales. Drakeford announced his resignation and retirement on 13 December 2023, five years after his election. Voting began in February 2024 with the new leader announced on 16 March 2024. Vaughan Gething won the election with 51.7% of the vote. The next scheduled Senedd election is due on or before 7 May 2026.
Events from the year 2024 in Wales.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution is a member of the cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Rebecca Evans, since March 2024.
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs is a member of the cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Huw Irranca-Davies since March 2024.
The Minister for Social Partnership is a minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice. The current officeholder is Hannah Blythyn since May 2021.
The Minister for Social Care is a minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the cabinet cabinet secretary for health and social care. The current officeholder is Dawn Bowden since March 2024.
The Trefnydd, or Leader of the House in English, and formerly Minister for Assembly Business, is a member of the Cabinet in the Welsh Government, who manages the government's business in the Senedd. The current officeholder is Jane Hutt since March 2024.
The Gething government is the Labour-led government of Wales formed on 21 March 2024 following the appointment of Vaughan Gething as First Minister on 20 March 2024.
