Lesley Griffiths | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice | |
| In office 21 March 2024 – 16 July 2024 | |
| First Minister | Vaughan Gething |
| Preceded by | Jane Hutt |
| Succeeded by | Jane Hutt |
| Trefnydd of the Senedd | |
| In office 13 May 2021 – 21 March 2024 | |
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford |
| Preceded by | Rebecca Evans |
| Succeeded by | Jane Hutt |
| Minister for North Wales | |
| In office 13 May 2021 – 20 March 2024 | |
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford |
| Preceded by | Ken Skates |
| Succeeded by | Ken Skates |
| Minister for Rural Affairs[a] | |
| In office 19 May 2016 – 21 March 2024 | |
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones Mark Drakeford |
| Preceded by | Carl Sargeant |
| Succeeded by | Huw Irranca-Davies |
| Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty | |
| In office 11 September 2014[1] – 19 May 2016 | |
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Cuthbert |
| Succeeded by | Carl Sargeant |
| Minister for Local Government and Government Business | |
| In office 14 March 2013[2] – 11 September 2014 | |
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones |
| Preceded by | Carl Sargeant |
| Succeeded by | Leighton Andrews (Public Services) Jane Hutt (Government Business) |
| Minister for Health and Social Services | |
| In office 11 May 2011 – 14 March 2013 | |
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones |
| Preceded by | Edwina Hart |
| Succeeded by | Mark Drakeford |
| Member of the Senedd forWrexham | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2007 | |
| Preceded by | John Marek |
| Majority | 1,350 (6.0%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1960 (age 64–65) |
| Political party | Welsh Labour |
| Occupation | Political Advisor |
| Website | Lesley Griffiths |
Susan Lesley Griffiths (born 1960) is aWelsh Labour[3] politician who wasCabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice from March to July 2024.[4][5] She previously served asTrefnydd of the Senedd andMinister for North Wales from 2021 to 2024, andMinister for Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2024. She worked as a secretary toJohn Marek and the constituency assistant toIan Lucas, successiveMembers of Parliament forWrexham, and was elected to theSenedd from theWrexham constituency in 2007. She has held a number of cabinet positions in theWelsh Government. In December 2009 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills.[6]
In 2011, she was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services.[7] She was then appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business in March 2013.[6] In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.[8] Following the2016 election, she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following her own re-election.[6] She retained her post in a Welsh Government Cabinet reshuffle in November 2017, but with a revised portfolio of Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs[9] withHannah Blythyn becoming her Deputy Minister for the Environment.
Griffiths was the secretary ofJohn Marek, who representedWrexham as a Labour member of the Welsh Assembly. However, in 2003 Marek was de-selected by the local party and Griffiths was selected in his place. There followed a Labour Party inquiry, in which Marek was first contacted by telephone half an hour before the result was announced, and his de-selection was upheld. Marek then decided to fight to retain his seat as anIndependent,[10] and Griffiths struggled during the campaign; an early poll showed Marek beating her by 40% to 29%.[11] In the event, on polling day Marek beat Griffiths by 973 votes.
Having been a supporter ofWrexham Football Club, Griffiths was elected to the board of the Wrexham Supporters Trust. In December 2005 she was selected again as Labour candidate for the Wrexham constituency for the 2007 Assembly elections. She benefited from high-profile support as the party saw an opportunity to recapture the seat; John Marek appealed to the largePolish immigrant population by translating his election material intoPolish.[12] However, Griffiths increased her numerical vote while Marek's vote fell, and she won the seat by 1,250.
In2011, Griffiths faced Marek for a third time, though by now Marek had joined theConservatives. Both of them saw increases in their votes compared to 2007, but Griffiths held the seat with an increased majority of 3,337.[13] Griffiths was re-selected to defend her seat at the2016 election,[14] and retained it with a reduced majority of 1,325 over the Conservative candidate.[15]
Griffiths was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills in December 2009.[16] After the 2011 election, she was promoted to the Minister for Health and Social Services, a post she held until March 2013 when she was appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business. In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.[8] She was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following re-election in May 2016,[6] before being appointed Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs in November 2017. She became Minister for Environment, Energy, and Rural Affairs in theFirst Drakeford government[17] in December 2018 and thenMinister for Rural Affairs andNorth Wales, andTrefnydd in May 2021.[18] In March 2024, Griffiths was appointedCabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice in theGething government.[4]
In October 2018 Griffiths used her ministerial office to overturn the decision of aplanning inspector to refuse a proposedwind farm nearLlandrindod Wells. In November theCampaign for the Protection of Rural Wales announced that it was challenging this in theHigh Court.[19]
In July 2024, Griffiths resigned from the Welsh Cabinet, alongside three other cabinet members, fromFirst MinisterVaughan Gething'sgovernment, prompting Gething'ssubsequent resignation as First Minister.[20][21]
| Senedd | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Senedd forWrexham 2007–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Health and Social Services 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Minister for Communities 2013–2016 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Minister for Rural Affairs 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Previous: Ken Skates | Minister for North Wales 2021–present | Incumbent |