New Welsh leader 'honoured' as Europe's first black national leader

Vaughan Gething won the Welsh Labor leadership contest on Saturday, and is set to become the first black leader of the semi-autonomous Welsh government.

Gething, who is currently Welsh Economy Minister, narrowly beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles in the race to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford. Drakeford announced late last year that he would step down once a replacement was chosen.

Gething (50 years old) received 51.7% of the votes cast by members of the party and its affiliated trade unions, while Miles received 48.3%.

Once his appointment is confirmed next week by the Welsh Parliament, where Labor is the largest party, Gething will become the fifth first minister since the creation of the Welsh national legislature in 1999.

Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, will be the first black leader of a government in the UK – and, by some definitions, any European country.

“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 only because I have the honor of becoming the first black leader of any European country – but because the connection between generations has also jumped.”

Once Gething is in office, three of the four UK governments will have non-white leaders. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is of Indian descent, while Scottish Prime Minister Hamza Yousaf was born to a Pakistani family in Britain.

Northern Ireland is led by Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little Pengelly, meaning that for the first time there are no white male heads of government in the UK.

Wales, with a population of about 3 million, is one of four countries that make up the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The British government in London is responsible for defence, foreign affairs and other UK-wide issues, while departments in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast control areas such as education and health.

Gething was Wales' Health Minister during the Covid-19 pandemic and, as Economy Minister, had to deal with the fallout from Tata Steel's plan to close both blast furnaces at its Port Talbot plant, cutting 2,800 jobs at one of Wales' largest employers.

He will lead a government often at odds with Sunak's conservative administration in London. Wales has also seen a wave of protests by farmers, similar to those that rocked France and other European countries.

Getting was the favorite to win the competition, although his campaign was shaken after it was revealed that he had accepted 200,000 pounds ($255,000) in donations from a recycling company that was found guilty of environmental crimes and violating health and safety regulations.

Gething said the donations were properly declared under electoral rules.