Who is Wales’ new first minister?

Politics

Baroness Eluned Morgan has been nominated as Wales’ first female first minister.

The 57-year-old has a political career spanning three decades.

In that time, she’s served as an MEP, shadow minister in the House of Lords and has held several positions within the Welsh government.

She unsuccessfully stood for the Welsh Labour leadership in 2018, finishing in third place after a vote of the membership.

Ahead of the vote, she said she would renounce her peerage if elected first minister.

In an interview with WalesOnline during that campaign, she described herself as “quite normal for a politician and quite down to earth”.

Image:
Eluned Morgan (left) served as an MEP alongside Glenys Kinnock. Pic: PA

Early life

Ms Morgan was born in Ely, Cardiff, the daughter of a vicar.

The Reverend Canon Bob Morgan was himself a Labour Party politician, who served as leader of South Glamorgan County Council.

The family of her mother, who was also a councillor, hail from Pembrokeshire in west Wales.

Baroness Morgan studied at a Welsh-medium secondary school and won a scholarship to study at the United World College of the Atlantic in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Image:
Pic: Senedd Cymru / Welsh parliament

She says she was interested in politics before starting her studies but that “an interest in the international dimensions of politics and world affairs was kindled during my two years there”.

Having her beliefs challenged by people from around the globe during her studies “helped shape [her] political beliefs”.

She then gained a degree in European Studies from the University of Hull.

She has previously worked as a researcher for the BBC and Welsh-language broadcaster S4C.

Image:
Eluned Morgan backed Vaughan Gething for the leadership in March. Pic: Senedd Cymru / Welsh parliament

Entering politics

Baroness Morgan was 27 years old when she was elected to the European parliament, and became its youngest member, in 1994.

Only the fifth woman to be elected to a full-time political position in Wales, Baroness Morgan was the first full-time politician to have a baby while in office.

She remained an MEP for 15 years and was granted a peerage, a year after she decided not to run again, in 2011, and has since been formally known as Baroness Morgan of Ely, in reference to a suburb of Cardiff.

In the House of Lords, she served as shadow minister for Wales from 2013 to 2016 and from 2014 to 2016 as shadow minister for foreign affairs.

Image:
Pic: Welsh government

Time in the Senedd

In 2016, Baroness Morgan stood for election to the Senedd and has represented Mid and West Wales since that vote.

The following year, she was appointed minister for the Welsh language and lifelong learning

She then held ministerial roles with responsibility for international relations and mental health.

Since the 2021 Senedd election, Baroness Morgan has served as health secretary under both Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething.

Image:
Eluned Morgan has been health secretary since 2021. Pic: Welsh government

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Read more from Sky News:
Musk hits back at Starmer after ‘civil war’ comments
‘Worst is yet to come’ after deadly Storm Debby hits US

Toward the latter stages of the COVID pandemic, she became one of the most prominent faces in the Welsh government’s response to the virus, often fronting news conferences with the latest announcements.

Last year, she won a vote of no confidence called by opposition parties after a damning report into Wales’s largest health board.

Articles You May Like

Is Nissan launching its sleek new N7 electric car overseas?
Toyota unveils new bZ7 EV in China, a surprisingly stylish electric sedan
Germany set NL record with 7-0 rout of Bosnia
Police officer denies GBH after tasered man fell from outbuilding
Tesla adds 3 months of free Supercharging and Full Self-Driving to its end-of-year deals