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, who is currently Welsh economy minister, narrowly beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles in a race to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford. Drakeford announced late last year he would step down once a replacement was chosen.
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 next week 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. Gething, son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, will be the first Black leader of a government in the U.K. – and, by some definitions, of any European country. (CBS NEWS)
“I have the honour of becoming the 1st black leader in any European country”
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 16, 2024
Vaughan Gething has won the Welsh Labour leadership race & will become Wales's next first minister
The top leaders of Wales, Scotland, the UK &Ireland will all be “men of color”pic.twitter.com/sTNfAvzXFC
“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.” Wales, which has a population of about 3 million, is one of four countries that make up the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (CBS NEWS)
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