First Minister of Wales

Where initially established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, Section 53(1), the post was known as Assembly First Secretary (in Welsh Prif Ysgrifennydd y Cynulliad), as Wales was given a less powerful assembly and executive than either Northern Ireland or Scotland. The choice of title was also attributed to the fact that the Welsh term for First Minister, Prif Weinidog, may also be translated as Prime Minister, so a different title was chosen to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The change of title occurred after the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with Labour in the Welsh Assembly in October 2000. The Government of Wales Act 2006 allowed for the post to be officially known as the First Minister and also made the First Minister Keeper of the Welsh Seal.

Candidates for the position of First Minister are nominated by the members of the Senedd. The members elect the nominee for the First Minister by majority vote. If no one is elected by a majority of votes cast with the first set of nominations, the process continues until a majority decide to cast their vote for one candidate. This process does not require an absolute majority of the Senedd (currently 31 out of 60 members)

Once this process has occurred the Presiding Officer shall formally send a letter to the reigning Monarch who must then appoint that nominee to the position of First Minister.[2]

Under the arrangements in the Government of Wales Act 1998, executive functions are conferred on the Senedd and then separately delegated to the First Minister and to other Cabinet Ministers and staff as appropriate.

Until the Government of Wales Act 2006, these were delegated powers of the UK government. Since that Act came into force in May 2007, however, the First Minister is appointed by the monarch and represents the Crown in Wales. Whilst this has little practical difference, it was a huge symbolic shift as for the first time the head of government in Wales is appointed by the Crown on the advice of the elected representatives of the Welsh people.

The First Minister appoints the Welsh Ministers, Deputy Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General for Wales (collectively known as the Welsh Government), with the approval of Her Majesty.

Following separation between the legislative and the executive on the enactment of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (upon appointment of the First Minister, 25 May 2007), the Welsh Ministers exercise functions in their own right. Any further transfers of executive functions from the UK Government will be made directly to the Welsh Ministers (with their consent) by an Order in Council approved by Parliament.

The First Minister is accountable and responsible for:

• Exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government.
• Policy development and coordination of policy.
• The relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and Wales Abroad.
• Staffing/Civil Service

List of First Secretaries and First Ministers

No.		Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) Constituency/Title	Term of office			Political party	Elected	Government	Deputy
	1		Alun Michael (1943–) AM for Mid and West Wales As First Secretary	12 May 1999	9 February 2000	273 days	Labour	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 Morgan Lab (minority)	none
								—	1st Morgan Lab – LD		Mike German (LD) 2000–01 and 2002-03 Jenny Randerson 2001–02 (acting)
								2003	2nd Morgan Lab (minority)	none
								2007	3rd Morgan Lab (minority)
								—	4th Morgan Lab – Plaid		Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru)
	3		Carwyn Jones (1967–) AM for Bridgend	10 December 2009	12 December 2018[3]	9 years, 2 days	Labour	—	1st Jones Lab – Plaid
								2011	2nd Jones Lab (minority)	none
								2016	3rd Jones Lab – LD - Ind
	4		Mark Drakeford (1954–) MS for Cardiff West	13 December 2018	Incumbent	2 years, 51 days*	Labour	—	Drakeford Lab – LD - Ind	none

* Incumbent's duration of term of office last updated: 1 February 2021.

• List of current heads of government in the United Kingdom and dependencies
• Deputy First Minister for Wales
• Welsh Government

• Dates are from World Statesmen and various BBC News Online articles from 1999 to 2003.

• Roles and Responsibilities.
• Welsh Government: Cabinet and ministers.