Vaughan Gething set to become Wales’ first Black leader

By: AP

Vaughan Gething won the Welsh Labour Party leadership contest on Saturday and is set to become the first Black leader of Wales’ semi-autonomous government.

Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, will be the first Black leader of a government in the U.K. — and, according to him, of any European country.

“Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A history we write together,” Gething said in his victory speech. “Not just because I have the honor of becoming the first Black leader in any European country — but because the generational dial has jumped too.

“I want us to use this moment as a starting point, for a more confident march into the future,” he added.

Gething, who is currently Welsh economy minister, narrowly beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles in a race to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford. Drakeford, 69, announced late last year he would step down once a replacement was chosen.

I am honoured to have been elected Leader of our Welsh Labour Party.

Mae’n anrhydedd i mi gael fy ethol yn arweinydd Llafur Cymru.

To Welsh Labour members, trade union colleagues, and every Labour representative in Wales — thank you for putting your trust in me.

— Vaughan Gething (@vaughangething) March 16, 2024

Somaliland Hanoolato! https://t.co/ExXcujdSG6

— Vaughan Gething (@vaughangething) February 13, 2024

Gething, 50, won 51.7% of the votes cast by members of the party and affiliated trade unions, and Miles 48.3%.

Once he is confirmed on Wednesday by the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, where Labour is the largest party, Gething will become the fifth first minister since Wales’ national legislature was established in 1999.