The Baroness Morgan of Ely | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister of Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 6 August 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Charles III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Huw Irranca-Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vaughan Gething | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of Welsh Labour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 24 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Carolyn Harris | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vaughan Gething | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the Senedd forMid and West Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 May 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Rebecca Evans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the House of Lords | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Life peerage 26 January 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the European Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 June 1994 – 4 June 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Morris | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Bufton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Mid and West Wales (1994–1999) Wales (1999–2009) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Mair Eluned Morgan (1967-02-16)16 February 1967 (age 58) Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Rhys Jenkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Hull | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www.elunedmorgan.wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely,PC (born 16 February 1967) is a Welsh politician who has served asFirst Minister of Wales and Leader ofWelsh Labour since 2024.[1] Morgan is the first woman and the first member of the House of Lords to serve as First Minister.[2][3] Before becoming First Minister, she served asCabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2024.[a][4][5]
Morgan has been a member of theHouse of Lords since 2011, amember of the Senedd (MS) since 2016 and was amember of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1994 to 2009. She is currently onleave of absence from the House of Lords.[6]
AWelsh speaker,[7] Morgan served asMinister for the Welsh Language from 2017 to 2021 as well asMinister for Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2020 to 2021.
As leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister, Morgan has revived Welsh Labour'sclear red water strategy used by some of her predecessors, shifting Welsh Labour back to thepolitical left and distancing it from the centristUK Labour leadership ofKeir Starmer, criticising some of the policies implemented by Starmer's government.[8][9][10][11]
Morgan was born and brought up inEly, Cardiff, the daughter ofBob Morgan and Elaine Morgan.[12] She was educated atYsgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, as well as, through a scholarship, the independentUnited World College of the Atlantic, and later gained a degree in European Studies from theUniversity of Hull.[13][14]
Morgan is married to Rhys Jenkins, who is a GP and also anon-stipendiary priest.[15][16] Morgan's family hails from St David's in Pembrokeshire.[17]
In March 2022, Morgan was banned from driving for six months following repeated speeding fines. The offence which took her over the 12-point limit was on a 30mph road in Wrexham.[18]
She has been described as a "committed Christian".[19]
Morgan formerly worked as a researcher forS4C, Agenda TV and theBBC.[20]
After leaving the European Parliament she worked as the Director of National Development for SSE in Wales (SWALEC) from 2009 to June 2013 where she was responsible for establishing the newSWALEC Smart Energy Centre inTreforest. She was appointed Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.
Morgan is a Fellow ofTrinity College Carmarthen[21] and is an Honorary-Distinguished Professor and Fellow of Cardiff University.[22] She served on the board of theInternational Baccalaureate Organisation for three years.[23][better source needed] She was the Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.[24] She was a member of the External Advisory Board to the Wales Governance Centre.[25] She served on the Council ofAtlantic College. She was Chair ofLive Music Now in Wales, a charity which sends talented young musicians to care homes and special schools and demonstrates the transformational impact of music, from 2012 to 2016.[26][6]
Morgan served on the Welsh Labour Party Executive for ten years and was appointed to the Welsh Assembly Advisory Group, which was responsible for developing the standing orders of the Senedd. She was a founding member of theYes for Wales Cross-party group, which campaigned for the Assembly to be established.[27]
.jpg)
In 1990, Morgan worked as astagiaire in the European Parliament for the Socialist Group.
In 1994, Morgan was elected as aMember of the European Parliament representingMid and West Wales. At the time she was the youngest MEP when she took up her seat.[28] She continued as an MEP representing theWales constituency, being elected at both the 1999 and 2004 elections, before standing down at the 2009 elections.[29]
Morgan served as the budget control spokesperson for the 180 strongSocialist Group. She was also the Labour Party's European spokesperson on Energy, Industry and Science.[30] She was responsible for drafting the European Parliament's response to the Energy Green Paper and also took the lead role in negotiating on behalf of the Parliament the revision of the Electricity Directive.
On 19 November 2010 it was announced that Morgan had been granted alife peerage and would sit on the Labour benches of theHouse of Lords,[31] and was gazetted on 27 January 2011 asBaroness Morgan of Ely, in theCity of Cardiff.[32][33] From 2013–2016, Morgan served as the Shadow Minister for Wales in the House of Lords, and from 2014 to 2016 she served as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and also as a whip.[6] She was responsible for leading for Labour in the House of Lords on the EU Referendum Bill and led for Labour on two Wales Bills.[34]
Morgan is currently on aleave of absence from the House of Lords, and has been since 2017.[6] In 2018, Morgan stated that if she were to become First Minister, she would renounce her peerage.[35] In 2024, when Morgan became First Minister, she instead stated she wanted to 'pause' her peerage, and 'have that opportunity if necessary to think about what happens in the future.'[3][36]
In 2015 Morgan was selected as a candidate for the2016 Welsh election on theMid and West Wales regional list.[37] On 5 May 2016 she was elected from the regional list as anAssembly Member in theSenedd.
In November 2017 she was appointed Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning.[38] She contested the2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, but was not successful, coming third. She was then appointed by First MinisterMark Drakeford as Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language in December 2018 before being moved toMinister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and the Welsh Language in October 2020.
Morgan was re-elected at the2021 Senedd election,[39] and a week later was appointedMinister for Health and Social Services.[40] In March 2023, theWelsh Conservatives submitted a motion of no confidence in her, following mounting criticism of Morgan's handling of theBetsi Cadwaladr crisis. The motion was defeated, with 26 votes in favor and 29 against.[41]
Morgan endorsedVaughan Gething in theFebruary–March 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election.[42] She retained her role asCabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in theGething government.[43]
In July 2024, Morgan announced that she would be standing in theJuly 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election on aunity ticket withHuw Irranca-Davies, who would serve as herdeputy First Minister if she was elected leader.[44][45] On 24 July 2024, she was confirmed to be the only candidate that met the 5 nomination threshold, and was therefore elected as leader of Welsh Labour.[46]
.jpg)
.jpg)
On 6 August 2024, Morgan was officially sworn in as the First Minister of Wales, following her nomination by theSenedd, which was recalled from its summer recess for this purpose. As the leader of the largest party in the Senedd,[2] Morgan secured the position with 28 votes, marking the beginning of her tenure as Wales' first female First Minister.[47]
Upon entering government as the First Minister, one of the first issues to face Morgan was the prospect of the2024 United Kingdom riots beginning in Wales. In a statement, Morgan said that she was "not complacent", further adding that Wales was a "society and a nation that should be welcoming people... we cannot let those people who are determined to be destructive within our communities to get a hold".[48]
Shortly after taking office, Morgan met withPrime MinisterKeir Starmer in Cardiff during his visit to Wales.[49] The meeting focused on "resetting the relationship" between theUK andWelsh governments. Key topics includedNHS funding, energy independence, and the future ofTata Steel jobs in Wales. They also discussed the development of renewable energy through the Welsh Government's initiative,Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, aimed at producing clean energy and creating skilled jobs in Wales.[50]
On 2 October 2024, she was sworn into thePrivy Council.[51]
In the2026 Senedd election, she will be a candidate in theCeredigion Penfro constituency.[52] She will be the lead candidate on the party list.[53] Eluned Morgan was alleged to have intervened in the controversial Labour selection in Cardiff, after would-be candidate Owain Williams was initially ruled out on an administrative issue.[54]
| European Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the European Parliament forMid and West Wales 1994–1999 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of the European Parliament forWales 1999–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Senedd | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the Senedd forMid and West Wales 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | First Minister of Wales 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of Welsh Labour 2024–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
.svg)
