Elisabeth Velina Jones [1] is a Welsh lawyer who served as the Counsel General-designate for Wales, from 7 August 2024 to 11 September 2024 [2] and has also served as legal adviser to the Senedd. [3] [4]
Jones studied French and German at Somerville College, Oxford, and studied for an LLM at the University of Bristol. [5]
Jones initially worked in commercial and employment law in the City of London and Bristol. She also worked giving free legal advice at the Gloucester Law Centre. She later worked at the European Court of Human Rights. [6]
In 2012, she was appointed Chief Legal Advisor to the National Assembly for Wales. She served in this role until 2019. [7]
In 2024, she was appointed as Counsel General-desginate in the Eluned Morgan government on "an interim basis". [7] She replaced Vaughan Gething, who had appointed himself to the role after Mick Antoniw resigned from the cabinet. [8] She has specific statutory functions in that role, including in relation to Senedd Cymru Bills. However, as she is not an elected Minister, any ministerial powers associated with the role will have to be executed by a sitting minister. [1] The Law Society responded to her appointment by calling for a return to a political appointee in the role, saying that the lack of an elected Senedd member in the role presents a risk of loss of political focus around justice in wales. [9] [10]
The Welsh Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects 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.
Ifor Huw Irranca-Davies is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Wales since August 2024, and as Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs since March 2024. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ogmore since 2016. Irranca-Davies was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ogmore from 2002 to 2016.
The first minister of Wales 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.
Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely,, is a Welsh Labour politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2024. She previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in the Welsh Government from 2021 to 2024.
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).
The Counsel General for Wales is the Welsh Government's Law Officer, which means the government's chief legal adviser and representative in the courts. In addition to these "lawyer" roles the Counsel General also works to uphold the rule of law and integrity of the legal community in Wales, and has a number of important specific statutory functions, some of which are to be exercised independently of government and in the public interest.
Mick Antoniw is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, who was Counsel General for Wales from 2021 to 2024, 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 Party politician who served as First Minister of Wales from March to August 2024, and served as leader of Welsh Labour from March to July 2024, making him the first black leader of any European country. 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 Health and Social Care since September 2024.
Julie James is a Welsh Labour politician currently serving as Counsel General and Minister for Delivery since September 2024. She has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Swansea West since 2011, and has served in the Welsh Government in various roles since 2018.
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Hannah Blythyn is a Welsh politician who served as the Minister for Social Partnership in the Welsh Government from 2021 to 2024. She was previously the Environment Minister from 2017 to 2018 and the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government from 2018 to 2021. A member of Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party, she has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Delyn since 2016.
Dawn Alison Louise Bowden is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist serving as Minister for Children and Social Care since 2024. She previously served as Chief Whip of the Welsh Government from 2021 to 2023 and Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport from 2021 to 2024. Bowden has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney since 2016.
Jayne Bryant is a Welsh Labour Party politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government since July 2024. Since May 2016 she has represented Newport West in the Senedd.
Sarah Murphy is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, serving as Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing since July 2024.
The July 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election was held to find Vaughan Gething's successor as leader of Welsh Labour, after he announced his resignation on 16 July 2024, just four months after he was elected. After nominations closed on 24 July 2024 at 12:00, Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely was confirmed to be the sole candidate, and therefore elected leader unopposed.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution was a member of the cabinet in the Welsh Government from 2021 to 2024.
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice is a member of the Cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Jane Hutt since July 2024.
The Gething government was the Labour-led government of Wales formed on 21 March 2024 following the appointment of Vaughan Gething as First Minister on 20 March 2024.
The Eluned Morgan government is the government of Wales formed by Eluned Morgan from August 2024, following her appointment as First Minister of Wales on 6 August. Morgan first formed an interim government largely continuing the previous Gething government, then announced a fuller reshuffle in September 2024.