Wales is about to appoint its first black leader, after Vaughan Gething was declared the winner of the Welsh Labour leadership election on Saturday.
Gething will succeed 69-year-old Mark Drakeford, who announced his retirement in December.
The 50-year-old stated that he will have “the honour of becoming the first black leader in any European country” when he becomes Welsh first minister next week.
“Today marks a turning point in our country’s history. “A history that we will write together,” he told Labour Party members in Cardiff.
Labour leads the devolved administration in Cardiff, and Gething is set to be sworn in on Wednesday.
“His appointment as Wales’ first minister, the first black leader in the UK, will be a historic moment that speaks to the progress and values of modern-day Wales,” UK Labour leader Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Gething was born in Zambia to a white Welsh father and a black Zambian mother.
When he takes office, three of the United Kingdom’s four governments will be led by people of color.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is of Indian heritage, and the parents of Scotland’s pro-independence first minister, Humza Yousaf, emigrated from Pakistan.
Drakeford’s departure will signal the latest political shift in the UK.
Yousaf took office last year, and Michelle O’Neill made history last month as Northern Ireland’s first Irish nationalist leader.
According to opinion polls, Starmer is expected to succeed Sunak, a Conservative, as UK prime minister following this year’s election.
Drakeford has served as first minister since December 2018, during which time four UK prime ministers have come and gone.
His tenure was characterized by the effects of the Conservative government’s austerity measures in London, followed by Brexit and the Covid epidemic.
Drakeford’s frequent broadcast appearances during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as his careful approach to easing restrictions, increased his popularity with the Welsh public.
However, his popularity plummeted as he refused to back down on his decision to impose reduced speed restrictions in congested regions.
In 1998, Tony Blair’s Labour administration transferred a number of functions from London to new legislatures in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, including healthcare, transportation, and social policy.
The UK government establishes policies for England while maintaining control over national matters such as foreign policy and defence.