Mick Antoniw | |
|---|---|
| Мік Антонів | |
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Counsel General for Wales | |
| In office 13 May 2021 – 16 July 2024 | |
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford Vaughan Gething |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Miles |
| In office 27 June 2016 – 14 November 2017 | |
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones |
| Preceded by | Theodore Huckle |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Miles |
| Minister for the Constitution | |
| In office 13 May 2021 – 20 March 2024 | |
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Evans |
| Member of the Senedd forPontypridd | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Jane Davidson |
| Majority | 5,328 (19.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-09-01)1 September 1954 (age 70) Ukrainian SSR,Soviet Union (nowUkraine) |
| Political party | Welsh Labour |
| Alma mater | Cardiff Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Website | Welsh Labour |
Mick Antoniw (Ukrainian:Мік Антонів; born 1 September 1954) is aWelshLabour andCo-operative politician, who wasCounsel General for Wales from 2021 to 2024,[1][2] having previously served in the position from 2016 to 2017. He previously served asMinister for the Constitution from 2021 to 2024. He has been theMember of the Senedd (MS) forPontypridd since 2011.
Antoniw comes from a Ukrainian family, with a Danish mother[3] and came to the UK as a result of his father seeking refugee status in the UK followingWorld War II.[4]
Antoniw came to Wales to study law at theCardiff Law School in 1973.[5] He was President of theNational Union of Students Wales from 1977 to 1979.[5]
He was a practisingsolicitor before his election to theSenedd, specialising in personal injury. Antoniw was a partner inThompsons Solicitors, the specialist trade union solicitors, with whom he began his training in 1980.[6] He is a trustee of theWelsh Refugee Council.[5][6]
Antoniw fostered dozens of children in the 15 years prior to his election, saying "When you are fostering, it brings immense quality. It is very challenging – and can be dependent on the nature of the fostering, whether the child is disabled or older children where there are difficulties. But my experience in the mixture of fostering that we did, was that it does add value to your life. Seeing children developing and beginning to blossom to some extent during the fostering process is very rewarding."[7]
Antoniw was a leading member of the Wales Anti-apartheid Movement (WAAM) during the 1980s.[8] In1981, he was elected as aLabour councilor to theSouth Glamorgan County Council for the Court ward, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. He was re-elected in1985 but did not seek re-election in1989.
Atthe 2011 Welsh Assembly election, Antoniw increased the Labour vote with a swing of 18.8%. His 11,864 votes amounted to over 50% of the poll; his majority over the second-placedWelsh Liberal Democrats candidate, Mike Powell, was 7,694.[9] At the2016 Welsh Assembly election Antoniw's vote fell to 9,986 and his majority was reduced.[10]
He was appointed asCounsel General for Wales in June 2016. However, he departed from this role in November 2017 as part of a Government reshuffle, being replaced byJeremy Miles.[11]
Antoniw is a fluent Ukrainian speaker and has used his knowledge of the language when meeting with Ukrainian officials including deputy prime ministerVolodymyr Groysman at international summits, such as the European Union Committee of the Regions. He has stated that he is a supporter of Ukrainian accession to the European Union, a supporter of the country joining NATO, and does not support Ukrainian federalism.[4] Antoniw visited Ukraine just prior to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine alongsidePlaid Cymru leaderAdam Price in order to "show solidarity with workers and minorities" as they met workers, LGBTQ+ people, ethnic minorities and human rights defenders.[12]
A self-described socialist, Antoniw endorsedJeremy Corbyn's2015 campaign forthe leadership of the Labour Party,Mark Drakeford's2018 Welsh Labour leadership bid, andKeir Starmer'scandidacy in the 2020 Labour leadership election. In January 2019 Drakeford appointed Antoniw as Welsh representative onthe party's National Executive Committee:[13] however, Antoniw and Drakeford subsequently successfully campaigned for the position to be democratically elected by the Welsh Labour membership. Antoniw ran in the first election for the post in 2020,[14] receiving endorsements from several trade unions includingUnison, as well asMomentum,[15] theLabour Representation Committee[13] and theCampaign for Labour Party Democracy:[16] however, he was defeated by formerFirst Minister of WalesCarwyn Jones, who won 5,195 votes to Antoniw's 4,933.[17]
In July 2024, Antoniw resigned from the Welsh Government, alongside three othercabinet members, fromFirst MinisterVaughan Gething'sgovernment, prompting Gething'ssubsequent resignation as First Minister.[18][19]
Ukraine:
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Media related toMick Antoniw at Wikimedia Commons| Senedd | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Senedd forPontypridd 2011–present | Incumbent |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Counsel General for Wales 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Counsel General for Wales 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |
| New title | Minister for the Constitution 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |