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Vaughan Gething has been elected leader of the Welsh Labor Party and will become the first black leader of a European country next week when he is confirmed as Prime Minister of Wales.
Gething, 50, who has been Welsh Health Minister during the pandemic and Economy Minister for the past three years, beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles by 52% to 48%.
The son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, Gething said: “Today we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A story we write together. Not only because I have the honor of becoming the first black leader in any European country, but because the generational dial has also increased.”
Gething’s victory increases the diversity of the UK’s national political leadership. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a Hindu of Indian descent, while Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf is the grandson of a Pakistani tailor who emigrated to western Scotland in the 1960s.
Labor has governed Wales for a quarter of a century since devolution in 1999, either alone or with the support of the Liberal Democrats or nationalist Plaid Cymru. Labor currently has a limited “co-operation agreement” with Plaid on a number of policies that fall short of a full coalition.
The dispute began when Mark Drakeford, who had been prime minister since 2018, announced in December that he would step down.
Gething had campaigned to raise educational standards, improve Wales’ NHS, build more homes and create more green jobs. His challenges include managing criticism of Wales’ controversial 20mph speed limits in urban areas, as well as environmental policies that have led to farmer protests.
The Welsh Government is also exploring plans for the biggest change to council tax in the UK since the tax was introduced in 1993.
In his victory speech, Gething predicted that Labor would win this year’s general election to “defeat the narrow forces of division”.
Keir Starmer, National Labor leader, said: “His appointment as First Minister of Wales, the first black leader in the UK, will be a historic moment that speaks to the progress and values of modern Wales.”
Gething was criticized during the campaign for receiving £200,000 in donations from a company whose director was given a suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste at a conservation site.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid, said: “It is a matter of deep concern that we now have an incoming prime minister who before even assuming the highest public office is facing serious allegations and questions about his judgement.
“At the very least, Vaughan Gething should surely return the £200,000 campaign donation which has rightly attracted so much criticism within his own party and beyond.”