The U.K. has its first Black government leader as Vaughan Gething is elected first minister of Wales
Wales has become the first part of the U.K. to get a Black leader, following the election of Vaughan Gething as first minister
By AP News
Published - Mar 20, 2024, 08:31 PM ET
Last Updated - Mar 20, 2024, 08:31 PM EDT
LONDON (AP) — Vaughan Gething was elected first minister of Wales on Wednesday, becoming the first Black leader of a government in the U.K.
Gething was elected government leader by members of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff, four days after winning the contest to be leader of Wales' governing Labour Party. He secured 27 of 51 votes in the legislature, the Senedd, where Labour is the biggest party.
Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, said Wales is now “the first nation anywhere in Europe to be led by a Black person.”
“It is a matter of pride for a modern Wales but also a daunting responsibility for me — and one that I do not take lightly," he told lawmakers.
