Mair Eluned Morgan,Baroness Morgan of Ely,PC (born 16 February 1967),is a Welsh politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2024.[1] Morgan is the first woman and the first member of the House of Lords to serve as First Minister. [2][3] Before becoming First Minister,she served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2024.[a][4][5]
As leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister,Morgan has revived Welsh Labour's clear red water strategy used by some of her predecessors,shifting Welsh Labour back to the political left and distancing it from the centrist UK Labour leadership of Keir Starmer,criticising some of the policies implemented by Starmer's government.[8][9][10][11]
Morgan is married to Rhys Jenkins,who is a GP and also a non-stipendiary priest.[15][16] Morgan's family hails from St David's in Pembrokeshire.[17]
In March 2022,Morgan was banned from driving for six months following repeated speeding fines. The offence which took her over the 12-point limit was on a 30mph road in Wrexham.[18]
She has been described as a "committed Christian".[19]
Professional career and voluntary positions
Morgan formerly worked as a researcher for S4C,Agenda TV and the BBC.[20]
After leaving the European Parliament she worked as the Director of National Development for SSE in Wales (SWALEC) from 2009 to June 2013 where she was responsible for establishing the new SWALEC Smart Energy Centre in Treforest. She was appointed Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.
Morgan is a Fellow of Trinity College Carmarthen[21] and is an Honorary-Distinguished Professor and Fellow of Cardiff University.[22] She served on the board of the International Baccalaureate Organisation for three years.[23][bettersourceneeded] She was the Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.[24] She was a member of the External Advisory Board to the Wales Governance Centre.[25] She served on the Council of Atlantic College. She was Chair of Live Music Now in Wales,a charity which sends talented young musicians to care homes and special schools and demonstrates the transformational impact of music,from 2012 to 2016.[26][6]
Political career
Welsh Labour and Yes for Wales
Morgan served on the Welsh Labour Party Executive for ten years and was appointed to the Welsh Assembly Advisory Group,which was responsible for developing the standing orders of the Senedd. She was a founding member of the Yes for Wales Cross-party group,which campaigned for the Assembly to be established.[27]
European Parliament
Morgan as an MEP at a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1995
In 1990,Morgan worked as a stagiaire in the European Parliament for the Socialist Group.
In 1994,Morgan was elected as a Member of the European Parliament representing Mid and West Wales. At the time she was the youngest MEP when she took up her seat.[28] She continued as an MEP representing the Wales constituency,being elected at both the 1999 and 2004 elections,before standing down at the 2009 elections.[29]
Morgan served as the budget control spokesperson for the 180 strong Socialist Group. She was also the Labour Party's European spokesperson on Energy,Industry and Science.[30] She was responsible for drafting the European Parliament's response to the Energy Green Paper and also took the lead role in negotiating on behalf of the Parliament the revision of the Electricity Directive.
House of Lords
On 19 November 2010 it was announced that Morgan had been granted a life peerage and would sit on the Labour benches of the House of Lords,[31] and was gazetted on 27 January 2011 as Baroness Morgan of Ely,in the City of Cardiff.[32][33] From 2013–2016,Morgan served as the Shadow Minister for Wales in the House of Lords,and from 2014 to 2016 she served as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and also as a whip.[6] She was responsible for leading for Labour in the House of Lords on the EU Referendum Bill and led for Labour on two Wales Bills.[34]
Morgan is currently on a leave of absence from the House of Lords,and has been since 2017.[6] In 2018,Morgan stated that if she were to become First Minister,she would renounce her peerage.[35] In 2024,when Morgan became First Minister,she instead stated she wanted to 'pause' her peerage,and 'have that opportunity if necessary to think about what happens in the future.'[3][36]
Senedd and Welsh Government
A video of Morgan taking the daily COVID-19 press conference in November 2020
Morgan being sworn in as First Minister on 6 August 2024Morgan meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Cardiff
On 6 August 2024,Morgan was officially sworn in as the First Minister of Wales,following her nomination by the Senedd,which was recalled from its summer recess for this purpose. As the leader of the largest party in the Senedd,[2] Morgan secured the position with 28 votes,marking the beginning of her tenure as Wales' first female First Minister.[47]
Upon entering government as the First Minister,one of the first issues to face Morgan was the prospect of the 2024 United Kingdom riots beginning in Wales. In a statement,Morgan said that she was "not complacent",further adding that Wales was a "society and a nation that should be welcoming people... we cannot let those people who are determined to be destructive within our communities to get a hold".[48]
Shortly after taking office,Morgan met with Prime MinisterKeir Starmer in Cardiff during his visit to Wales.[49] The meeting focused on "resetting the relationship" between the UK and Welsh governments. Key topics included NHS funding,energy independence,and the future of Tata Steel jobs in Wales. They also discussed the development of renewable energy through the Welsh Government's initiative,Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru,aimed at producing clean energy and creating skilled jobs in Wales.[50]
In the 2026 Senedd election,she will be a candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency.[52] She will be the lead candidate on the party list.[53] Morgan was reportedly involved in a controversial selection in Cardiff in which would-be candidate Owain Williams was rejected in favour of her minister Jeremy Miles.[54]
Notes
1 2 As Minister for Health and Social Services from 2021 to 2024
↑ Deputy Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language from 3 November 2017 to 13 December 2018; Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language from 13 December 2018 to 8 October 2020; Welsh Language from 8 October 2020.
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