LONDON (AP) – Vaughan Gething won the Welsh Labour Party leadership contest on Saturday, and is set to become the first Black leader of Wales’ semi-autonomous government.
Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, will be the first Black leader of a government in the United Kingdom (UK) – and, according to him, of any European country.
“Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A history we write together, not just because I have the honour of becoming the first Black leader in any European country but because the generational dial has jumped too,” Gething said in his victory speech.
Gething, who is currently Welsh economy minister, narrowly beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles in a race to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford who announced late last year he would step down once a replacement was chosen.
Gething won 51.7 per cent of the votes cast by members of the party and affiliated trade unions, and Miles 48.3 per cent.
Once Gething is in the post, three of the UK’s four governments will have nonwhite leaders.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has Indian heritage, while Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf was born to a Pakistani family in Britain.
Gething was the front-runner to win the contest, though his campaign was rattled by the revelation that he’d accepted GBP200,000 (USD255,000) in donations from a recycling company that was found guilty of environmental offences and breaching health and safety regulations.
Gething said that the donations were properly declared under electoral rules.
Other party leaders offered congratulations to Gething, along with a dose of scepticism.
