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).
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.
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.
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.
Kenneth Christian Skates is a Welsh Labour politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport since 2024. Skates has represented the constituency of Clwyd South in the Senedd since the election of 2011. He is an alumnus of the University of Cambridge,and worked as a journalist prior to becoming a politician. In September 2014 he became the deputy minister for Culture,Tourism and Sport. From May 2016 to December 2018 he was the Cabinet Secretary for Economy,Infrastructure and Skills,and was the Minister for Economy,Transport and North Wales until he stood down on 13 May 2021.
Julie James is a Welsh Labour politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Housing,Local Government,and Planning since 2024. James has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Swansea West since 2011. She served as Minister for Housing and Local Government from 2018 to 2021.
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 was previously Minister for Finance from 2018 to 2024. Evans 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.
Hannah Blythyn is a Welsh politician who is currently serving as the Minister for Social Partnership in the Welsh Government as of March 2024. She was previously the Environment Minister from 2017 to 2018,Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government from 2018 to 2021,and Deputy Minister for Social Partnership from 2021 to 2024. A member of Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party,she has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Delyn since 2016.
This is a list of Assembly Memberselected to the fifth National Assembly for Wales at the 2016 election. In May 2020,the representatives were renamed to Members of the Seneddin the fifth Senedd,they would be known as the fifth Senedd for the remainder of their term. From the 2021 election members would be elected under this new title of Senedd. There are a total of 60 members elected,40 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 20 members being returned from five regions,each electing four AMs through mixed member proportional representation. In between elections,members of the legislature may not necessarily be of the same party or the same candidate elected in 2016.
The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd. It was the sixth devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Scottish Parliament election,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
The 2018 Welsh Labour Party leadership election took place between 9 November and 6 December 2018 to elect a successor to Carwyn Jones as leader of the Welsh Labour Party.
The First Drakeford government was a Labour-led government formed after the resignation of Carwyn Jones as First Minister of Wales on 12 December 2018,and the subsequent appointment of Mark Drakeford in his place following a leadership contest. The government was also supported by the sole Welsh Liberal Democrat MS Kirsty Williams and the independent MS Dafydd Elis-Thomas. Drakeford's first term as First Minister is known for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the run-up to the 2021 Senedd election,various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intentions. Results of such polls are displayed in this list. Most of the pollsters listed are members of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abide by its disclosure rules.
The next Senedd election is due to be held on or before 7 May 2026 to elect 96 members to the Senedd. It will be the seventh devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. It will also be the second election since the Senedd changed its name in May 2020,and the first following reforms to the voting system which increased the size of the Senedd from 60 members to 96 and shortened its term from five years to four.
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.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport is a minister of the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Ken Skates,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.
