List of first ministers of Wales

This article is about a list of First ministers of Wales. For the office itself, see First Minister of Wales.

This is a list of the first ministers of Wales. The role of "First Secretary of Wales" was introduced in 1999 with the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales (now Senedd) following the 1997 referendum. The title of the role was changed to "First Minister of Wales" in October 2000, a change which was recognised in law following the enactment of the Government of Wales Act 2006. All first ministers to date have also served concurrently as leader of Welsh Labour.^[1]

The first minister's office is located at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay.

• Top left: Alun Michael was the first-ever first minister of Wales.
• Top right: Rhodri Morgan was the longest-serving first minister of Wales.
• Bottom left: Vaughan Gething was the first black first minister of Wales and the shortest-serving first minister.
• Bottom right: Eluned Morgan, the current first minister and first female first minister.

List of First Ministers of Wales

No.		Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency/Title	Term of office			Political party	Elected	Government	Deputy
	1		Alun Michael (born 1943) AM for Mid and West Wales As First Secretary	12 May 1999	9 February 2000	273 days	Labour[a]	1999	Michael Lab (minority)	none
	2		Rhodri Morgan (1939–2017) AM for Cardiff West Office renamed First Minister on 16 October 2000	9 February 2000	10 December 2009	9 years, 304 days	Labour	—	Interim Rh. Morgan Lab (minority)	none
									Rh. Morgan I Lab – LD		Mike German (LD) 2000–01 and 2002-03 Jenny Randerson 2001–02 (acting)
								2003	Rh. Morgan II Lab (minority)	none
								2007	Rh. Morgan III Lab (minority)
								—	Rh. Morgan IV Lab – Plaid		Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru)
	3		Carwyn Jones later created Baron Jones of Penybont (born 1967) AM for Bridgend	10 December 2009	12 December 2018[2]	9 years, 2 days	Labour		Jones I Lab – Plaid
								2011	Jones II Lab (minority)	none
								2016	Jones III Lab – LD - Ind
	4		Mark Drakeford (born 1954) MS for Cardiff West	13 December 2018	20 March 2024	5 years, 98 days	Labour	—	Drakeford I Lab – LD - Ind	none
								2021	Drakeford II Lab (minority)	none
	5		Vaughan Gething (born 1974) MS for Cardiff South and Penarth	20 March 2024	5 August 2024	138 days	Labour[a]	—	Gething Lab (minority)	none
	6		Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely (born 1967) MS for Mid and West Wales	6 August 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 5 days	Labour[a]		E. Morgan Lab (minority)		Huw Irranca-Davies Labour

Timeline

Previous nominations

August 2024

August 2024 Nomination of First Minister

Date:		6 August 2024
Candidate		Votes
	Eluned Morgan (Labour)	28 / 56
	Andrew R. T. Davies (Conservative)	15 / 56
	Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru)	12 / 56
	Abstentions	1 / 56
Source: Senedd[3]

March 2024

March 2024 Nomination of First Minister

Date:		20 March 2024
Candidate		Votes
	Vaughan Gething (Labour)	27 / 51
	Andrew R.T. Davies (Conservative)	13 / 51
	Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru)	11 / 51
Source: Senedd[4]

2021

On 12 May 2021, Mark Drakeford was the only person nominated for the position (by Rebecca Evans), and was a subsequently recommended by the presiding officer to be appointed as First Minister.^[5]

2018

2018 Nomination of First Minister

Date:		12 December 2018
Candidate		Votes
	Mark Drakeford (Labour)	30 / 56
	Paul Davies (Conservative)	12 / 56
	Adam Price (Plaid Cymru)	9 / 56
	Abstentions	5 / 56
Source: Senedd[6]

2016

2016 Nomination of First Minister

Date:		11 May 2016
Candidate		Votes
	Carwyn Jones (Labour)	29 / 58
	Leanne Wood[b] (Plaid Cymru)	29 / 58
	Abstentions	0 / 56
Source: Senedd[8]

2011

On 11 May 2011, Carwyn Jones was the only person nominated for the position (by Janice Gregory), and was a subsequently recommended by the presiding officer to be appointed as First Minister.^[9]

2009

On 9 December 2009, Carwyn Jones was the only person nominated for the position (by Rhodri Morgan), and was a subsequently recommended by the presiding officer to be appointed as First Minister.^[10]

2007

On 25 May 2007, Rhodri Morgan was the only person nominated for the position (by Jane Hutt), and was a subsequently recommended by the presiding officer to be appointed as First Minister.^[11]

2003

On 7 May 2003, Rhodri Morgan was the only person nominated for the position (by Lynne Neagle), and was a subsequently elected as First Minister.^[12]

2000

On Wednesday 9 February 2000, following the resignation of Alun Michael, the Assembly cabinet unanimously elected Rhodri Morgan as acting First Secretary.^[13] He was elected unopposed as First Secretary by the whole Assembly (after being proposed by Andrew Davies) the following week on Tuesday 15 February.^[14]

1999

On 12 May 1999, Alun Michael was the only person nominated for the position (by Rhodri Morgan and seconded by Ann Jones), and was a subsequently elected as First Secretary.^[15]