Eluned Morgan

Template:Short descriptionTemplate:This article is about Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox officeholder Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely, Template:Post-nominals (born 16 February 1967) is a Welsh politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Morgan is the first woman and the first member of the House of Lords to serve as First Minister.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> Before becoming First Minister, she served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2024.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Morgan has been a member of the House of Lords since 2011, a member of the Senedd (MS) since 2016 and was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1994 to 2009. She is currently on leave of absence from the House of Lords.<ref name=":2" />

A Welsh speaker,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Morgan served as Minister for the Welsh Language from 2017 to 2021 as well as Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2020 to 2021.

As leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister, Morgan has revived Welsh Labour's clear red water strategy used by some of her predecessors, shifting Welsh Labour back to the political left and distancing it from the centrist UK Labour leadership of Keir Starmer, criticising some of the policies implemented by Starmer's government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life and education

Morgan was born and brought up in Ely, Cardiff, the daughter of Bob Morgan and Elaine Morgan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, as well as, through a scholarship, the independent United World College of the Atlantic, and later gained a degree in European Studies from the University of Hull.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Morgan is married to Rhys Jenkins, who is a GP and also a non-stipendiary priest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Morgan's family hails from St David's in Pembrokeshire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She has been described as a "committed Christian".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional career and voluntary positions

Morgan formerly worked as a researcher for S4C, Agenda TV and the BBC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 new SWALEC Smart Energy Centre in Treforest. She was appointed Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.

Morgan is a Fellow of Trinity College Carmarthen<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is an Honorary-Distinguished Professor and Fellow of Cardiff University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She served on the board of the International Baccalaureate Organisation for three years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed She was the Chair of the Cardiff Business Partnership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was a member of the External Advisory Board to the Wales Governance Centre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She served on the Council of Atlantic College. She was Chair of Live 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2" />

Political career

Welsh Labour and Yes for Wales

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 the Yes for Wales Cross-party group, which campaigned for the Assembly to be established.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

European Parliament

File:Meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg - Eluned Morgan 02 (cropped).jpg

Morgan as an MEP at a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1995

In 1990, Morgan worked as a stagiaire in the European Parliament for the Socialist Group.

In 1994, Morgan was elected as a Member of the European Parliament representing Mid and West Wales. At the time she was the youngest MEP when she took up her seat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She continued as an MEP representing the Wales constituency, being elected at both the 1999 and 2004 elections, before standing down at the 2009 elections.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Morgan served as the budget control spokesperson for the 180 strong Socialist Group. She was also the Labour Party's European spokesperson on Energy, Industry and Science.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.

House of Lords

On 19 November 2010 it was announced that Morgan had been granted a life peerage and would sit on the Labour benches of the House of Lords,<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Verify source</ref> and was gazetted on 27 January 2011 as Baroness Morgan of Ely, in the City of Cardiff.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref>

Morgan is currently on a leave of absence from the House of Lords, and has been since 2017.<ref name=":2" /> In 2018, Morgan stated that if she were to become First Minister, she would renounce her peerage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.'<ref name=":5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Senedd and Welsh Government

File:Cynhadledd i'r Wasg Press Conference - 04.11.20.webm

A video of Morgan taking the daily COVID-19 press conference in November 2020

In 2015 Morgan was selected as a candidate for the 2016 Welsh election on the Mid and West Wales regional list.<ref>Martin Shipton (11 December 2015) "Former MEP Baroness Eluned Morgan on course to become an Assembly Member", Wales Online. Retrieved 2016-05-07.</ref> On 5 May 2016 she was elected from the regional list as an Assembly Member in the Senedd.

In November 2017 she was appointed Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She contested the 2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, but was not successful, coming third. She was then appointed by First Minister Mark Drakeford as Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language in December 2018 before being moved to Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and the Welsh Language in October 2020.

Morgan was re-elected at the 2021 Senedd election,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a week later was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2023, the Welsh Conservatives submitted a motion of no confidence in her, following mounting criticism of Morgan's handling of the Betsi Cadwaladr crisis. The motion was defeated, with 26 votes in favor and 29 against.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Morgan endorsed Vaughan Gething in the February–March 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She retained her role as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in the Gething government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leader of Welsh Labour

In July 2024, Morgan announced that she would be standing in the July 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election on a unity ticket with Huw Irranca-Davies, who would serve as her deputy First Minister if she was elected leader.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

First Minister of Wales (2024–present)

File:Tuesday 6 August 2024 - First Minister Eluned Morgan (2).jpg

Morgan being sworn in as First Minister on 6 August 2024

First Minister Eluned Morgan meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Cardiff

Morgan meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Cardiff

On 6 August 2024, Morgan was officially sworn in as the First Minister of Wales, following her nomination by the Senedd, which was recalled from its summer recess for this purpose. As the leader of the largest party in the Senedd,<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref> Morgan secured the position with 28 votes, marking the beginning of her tenure as Wales' first female First Minister.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Upon entering government as the First Minister, one of the first issues to face Morgan was the prospect of the 2024 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Shortly after taking office, Morgan met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Cardiff during his visit to Wales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The meeting focused on "resetting the relationship" between the UK and Welsh governments. Key topics included NHS funding, energy independence, and the future of Tata 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 2 October 2024, she was sworn into the Privy Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2026 election

In the 2026 Senedd election, she will be a candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She will be the lead candidate on the party list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website