:Vaughan Gething

Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething{{Cite news |date=16 March 2024 |title=Who is Vaughan Gething, Wales' next first minister? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68336716 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319164300/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68336716 |archive-date=19 March 2024 |access-date=20 March 2024 |work=BBC News}} was born on 15 March 1974 in Lusaka, Zambia,{{Cite news |last=Mercer |first=Rosie |last2=Deans |first2=David |date=16 July 2024 |title=The Welsh first minister who lasted 118 days |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw0y7x157nlo |access-date=17 July 2024 |work=BBC News |quote=Mr Gething, whose full name is Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething, was born in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, in southern Africa in 1974.}}{{Cite news |last=Gregory |first=Andy |date=16 March 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething to become Wales’s first minister and country's first Black leader |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/wales-first-minister-vaughan-gething-drakeford-labour-b2513686.html |access-date=17 July 2024 |work=The Independent |quote=Mr Gething was chosen by Welsh Labour members to be their party leader in a result announced in Cardiff on Saturday, the day after his 50th birthday.}} where his father, a white Welsh veterinarian from Ogmore-by-Sea in Glamorgan, met his mother, who is a black Zambian and was working as a chicken farmer.{{cite news |last=Owen |first=Paul |date=3 August 2009 |title=Black Welshman aims to take the fight to the BNP |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/aug/03/vaughan-gething-labour |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907030831/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/aug/03/vaughan-gething-labour |archive-date=7 September 2013 |access-date=12 May 2011 |work=The Guardian}} Gething describes his father as "a white Welsh economic migrant". When he was two years old, he moved to Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales, with his family, which also included three brothers and a sister.{{Cite web |last=Harri |first=Guto |date=31 October 2018 |title=Vaughan Gething wants to be Welsh Labour's Sadiq Khan |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/vaughan-gething-health-minister |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807215310/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/vaughan-gething-health-minister |archive-date=7 August 2020 |access-date=14 July 2020 |website=British GQ |language=en-GB}} In Monmouthshire, his family experienced racism when an employer withdrew a job offer to Gething's father upon seeing the rest of his family.{{Cite web |last1=Mosalski |first1=Ruth |date=6 Nov 2018 |title=The Vaughan Gething interview: The racism I faced growing up, my family and why I'd be the best First Minister |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/vaughan-gething-interview-racism-faced-15375483 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317065037/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/vaughan-gething-interview-racism-faced-15375483 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |access-date=17 March 2024 |website=Wales Online}} Speaking of the incident, Gething said: "They said, 'Come back with your family and we'll sign everything up', but he walked in with my mother, and a trail of brown boys, and the job offer got withdrawn". His father eventually found work in Dorset, England, where Gething was brought up.

Gething studied at Beaminster Comprehensive and Sixth Form in Dorset, followed by Aberystwyth University, where he graduated with a degree in Law in 1999;{{cite web |date=6 June 2011 |title=Alumni at the Senedd |url=https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2011/06/title-99398-en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926025602/https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2011/06/title-99398-en.html |archive-date=26 September 2020 |access-date=14 May 2020 |publisher=Aberystwyth University}} he then attended the University of Cardiff Law School, University of Wales.{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Vaughan Gething Assembly selection 2011 |url=http://vaughangething.com/images/VaughanGethingAssemblySelection2011.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901035710/http://vaughangething.com/images/VaughanGethingAssemblySelection2011.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2011 |access-date=13 May 2011 |publisher=Welsh Labour}} During his academic career, Gething became President of Aberystwyth University Guild of Students, as well as the first black president of the National Union of Students Wales.{{Cite web |title=About Vaughan |url=https://www.vaughangething.wales/en/about-vaughan/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920053820/https://www.vaughangething.wales/en/about-vaughan/ |archive-date=20 September 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=Vaughan Gething MS |language=en-GB}}{{cite news |last=Crecsi |first=Elena |date=15 March 2013 |title=From student unions to the Senedd and Westminster, how do today's youth become tomorrow's AMs and MPs? |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2013/03/15/from-student-unions-to-the-senedd-and-westminster-how-do-today-s-youth-become-tomorrow-s-ams-and-mps-91466-32992122/ |access-date=15 March 2013 |work=Wales Online}}

Having completed his training as a solicitor with the trade union firm Thompsons in Cardiff in 2001, Gething chose to specialise in employment law. He became a partner in Thompsons in 2007.

In 2008, at the age of 34, Gething became the youngest President of Wales TUC, also becoming the first black person to serve in the role.{{cite news |date=23 May 2008 |title=Morgan urges Labour to hold firm |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7416857.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317070747/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7416857.stm |archive-date=17 March 2024 |access-date=12 May 2011 |work=BBC News}}{{Cite web |last=Gething |first=Vaughan |date=28 October 2018 |title=Vaughan Gething: In Black History Month, I'm proud to be supported by BAME Labour |url=https://labourlist.org/2018/10/vaughan-gething-in-black-history-month-im-proud-to-be-supported-by-bame-labour/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031192437/https://labourlist.org/2018/10/vaughan-gething-in-black-history-month-im-proud-to-be-supported-by-bame-labour/ |archive-date=31 October 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=LabourList |language=en-GB}}

File:Cynhadledd_i'r_Wasg_Press_Conference_-_04.01.21.webm

Gething joined the Labour Party when he was 17, to campaign in the 1992 UK general election. He contested Mid and West Wales for Labour in the inaugural elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, but was not elected.{{cite web |title=Mid and West Wales |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote_99/wales_99/html/region/2.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302142021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote_99/wales_99/html/region/2.stm |archive-date=2 March 2023 |access-date=2 March 2023 |website=BBC News}}

He served as a councillor from 2004 to 2008, representing Butetown electoral ward on Cardiff Council, having been elected with a majority of two votes over candidate Betty Campbell.{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Vaughan Gething-about |url=http://vaughangething.co.uk/about.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630183655/http://www.vaughangething.co.uk/about.html |archive-date=30 June 2011 |access-date=12 May 2011 |publisher=Vaughan Gething}} Following the election, Campbell sent a complaint letter to Cardiff Council alleging that Gething had infringed election rules by handing out leaflets to voters as they entered polling stations and telling them how to vote.{{Cite web |date=24 June 2004 |title='He broke the rules' |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/he-broke-the-rules-2434564 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212221846/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/he-broke-the-rules-2434564 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=WalesOnline}} Campbell initially intended to have the vote re-examined in the High Court, but abandoned this because of the estimated cost of £12,000.{{Cite web |date=14 October 2004 |title=Police confirm probe over dirty tricks claim |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/world-news/police-confirm-probe-over-dirty-2418923 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213000619/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/world-news/police-confirm-probe-over-dirty-2418923 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=WalesOnline}}

In the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Gething was selected as the Welsh Labour candidate for the Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in the Senedd, after Lorraine Barrett, who had represented Cardiff South and Penarth since the Senedd's creation in 1999, had stood down from her role. On 5 May 2011, Gething increased the Labour vote with a swing of 12.5%. At 13,814, his share of the vote was over 50%, giving him a majority of 6,259 over the Welsh Conservative Party candidate, Ben Gray, placed second.{{cite web |date=6 May 2011 |title=Wales elections > Cardiff South and Penarth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/26674.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509043140/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/26674.stm |archive-date=9 May 2011 |access-date=12 May 2011 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |last=Blake |first=Aled |date=6 May 2011 |title=Assembly election: Meet the incoming AMs |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/need-to-read/2011/05/06/assembly-election-meet-the-incoming-ams-91466-28649615/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014065406/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/need-to-read/2011/05/06/assembly-election-meet-the-incoming-ams-91466-28649615/ |archive-date=14 October 2012 |access-date=12 May 2011 |work=WalesOnline website |publisher=Media Wales Ltd}} At the following 2016 election, Gething was re-elected.{{Cite news |title=Cardiff South and Penarth - Welsh Assembly constituency - Election 2016 - BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/wales-constituencies/W09000043 |access-date=2024-05-17 |language=en-GB}}

Following the 2016 election, First Minister Carwyn Jones promoted Gething to the Welsh Cabinet, nominating him as Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport.{{Cite web |title=Welsh Government {{!}} Vaughan Gething AM |url=http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetm/vaughan-gething/?skip=1&lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113223610/http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetm/vaughan-gething/?skip=1&lang=en |archive-date=13 November 2017 |access-date=13 November 2017 |website=gov.wales |language=EN}}

Gething did not support Jeremy Corbyn in either the 2015 or 2016 Labour Party leadership election against challenger Owen Smith; however, he stated in a 2017 BBC Radio Wales interview that he would still like to see Corbyn as prime minister, saying quote, "I want a Labour prime minister – and that means Jeremy Corbyn being prime minister. [...] I don't think it matters whether I'm a fan or not – it matters whether I think he can do the job in running the country".{{Cite news |date=19 May 2017 |title=General election: 'Doesn't matter if I'm a Corbyn fan' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-39974807.amp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006015934/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-39974807.amp |archive-date=6 October 2021 |access-date=6 October 2021 |work=BBC News}}{{Cite news |date=13 July 2016 |title=Owen Smith to challenge Corbyn for Labour leadership |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/owen-smith-to-challenge-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716060459/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/owen-smith-to-challenge-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership |archive-date=16 July 2016 |access-date=6 October 2021 |work=The Guardian}}

In August 2017, Gething walked away in the middle of an interview on ITV Wales, when questioned by journalist James Crichton-Smith over his decision not to hold a public inquiry into Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, following allegations that an employee had sexually assaulted vulnerable patients.{{Cite web |date=24 August 2017 |title=Health Secretary walks away from questions over calls for inquiry into health board's actions |url=https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2017-08-24/health-secretary-walks-away-from-questions-over-calls-for-inquiry-into-health-boards-actions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212223118/https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2017-08-24/health-secretary-walks-away-from-questions-over-calls-for-inquiry-into-health-boards-actions |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=ITV}}

Gething, alongside Eluned Morgan and Mark Drakeford, was one of the three contenders in the 2018 election for the leadership of Welsh Labour, but was defeated by the latter candidate. Drakeford subsequently re-appointed Gething in the Welsh Cabinet, by nominating him as Health Minister, with the position renamed as Minister for Health and Social Services.{{Cite news |date=2018-12-13 |title=Wales' new first minister Mark Drakeford appoints his team |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-46545625 |access-date=2024-05-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In January 2020, he criticised Corbyn and his failure to tackle antisemitism in the Labour Party.{{cite news |date=23 January 2020 |title='Labour's general election campaign was staggeringly inept, the next leader must do something about it' |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/labours-general-election-campaign-staggeringly-17616702 |work=WalesOnline}} He endorsed Corbyn's successor Keir Starmer.

On 13 May 2021, Gething was appointed as new Minister for the Economy, replacing Ken Skates.{{Cite news |date=2021-05-12 |title=Wales election: New health and education ministers in reshuffle |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-57070300 |access-date=2024-05-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

Gething served as the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

On 12 March 2020, despite a steady surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wales and other sporting events getting cancelled, Gething resisted calls to postpone a rugby union match between Wales and Scotland at the Principality Stadium, which was due to be sold-out with 74,000 spectators.{{Cite web |date=12 March 2020 |title=Wales v Scotland Six Nations match ON despite rise in coronavirus cases, Welsh health minister says |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wales-scotland-coronavirus-cardiff-match-17913270 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212235718/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wales-scotland-coronavirus-cardiff-match-17913270 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=WalesOnline}} On the following day, the Welsh Rugby Union officially cancelled the match.{{cite web |date=15 March 2020 |title=Welsh health minister who said Wales v Scotland was ON speaks for first time |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-health-minister-who-said-17926936 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213004153/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-health-minister-who-said-17926936 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |access-date=22 February 2024}} Gething justified his decision in a BBC Radio Wales interview, saying "The medical advice about the risk to people going to the rugby didn't change. What did change was the fact that the rest of sporting world decided that, regardless of that advice, they wanted to put off events".{{cite web |date=12 March 2021 |title=Wales match was hours from becoming super spreader amid chaos behind scenes |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/one-year-on-untold-story-20057646 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213004148/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/one-year-on-untold-story-20057646 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |access-date=22 February 2024}}

On 22 April 2020, Gething was caught swearing about fellow Labour MS Jenny Rathbone during a virtual session of the Senedd on Zoom. After Rathbone had asked the Minister a few questions about the Welsh Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he failed to mute his microphone as he told an unknown person, "What the fuck is the matter with her?".{{Cite news |date=22 April 2020 |title=Coronavirus: Welsh health minister caught swearing about Labour AM |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-52385006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422184543/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-52385006 |archive-date=22 April 2020 |access-date=22 April 2020 |work=BBC News}}{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |last2=Hern |first2=Alex |date=2020-04-22 |title=Welsh minister's mic mistake broadcasts sweary rant to assembly |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/22/welsh-ministers-mic-mistake-broadcasts-sweary-rant-to-assembly |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317204313/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/22/welsh-ministers-mic-mistake-broadcasts-sweary-rant-to-assembly |archive-date=17 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB}} Some undisclosed Labour MSs contacted by BBC Wales said they were also "very angry" over Gething's actions.

In May of the same year, Gething was reportedly photographed by a Sun reporter eating chips with his young son in a local park, prompting criticism by those who suggested he was breaking the COVID-19 restrictions he had imposed himself. Gething denied the accusations, and the Welsh Government stated nothing he had done contravened such regulations.{{Cite news |date=12 May 2020 |title=Welsh health minister insists he has not broken lockdown ruled |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/12/welsh-health-minister-insists-not-broken-lockdown-rules-vaughan-gething |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003342/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/12/welsh-health-minister-insists-not-broken-lockdown-rules-vaughan-gething |archive-date=26 February 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=The Guardian}}

Gething was questioned at the COVID-19 Inquiry in July 2023, due to his former role as Wales' Minister for Health during the COVID-19 pandemic; in his deposition, he admitted that he had never read a report on Exercise Cygnus, a simulation exercise to estimate the impact of a hypothetical influenza pandemic on the UK population.{{Cite web |date=4 July 2023 |title=Vaughan Gething admits he never read major report into how ready UK was for pandemic before Covid |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/vaughan-gething-admits-never-read-27255588 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212234942/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/vaughan-gething-admits-never-read-27255588 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=Wales Online}}

{{main|February–March 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election}}

File:First_Minister_Vaughan_Gething_and_Mark_Drakeford_MS.jpg in 2024]]

In December 2023, Gething became one of two candidates in the Welsh Labour leadership election to replace Drakeford as party leader and Wales' First Minister.{{cite news |date=18 December 2023 |title=Jeremy Miles officially joins race to succeed Mark Drakeford as Labour leader in Wales |url=https://news.sky.com/story/jeremy-miles-joins-race-to-succeed-mark-drakeford-as-labour-leader-in-wales-13030866 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226204749/https://news.sky.com/story/jeremy-miles-joins-race-to-succeed-mark-drakeford-as-labour-leader-in-wales-13030866 |archive-date=26 December 2023 |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=Sky News}}

On 16 January, Gething and the other candidate, Jeremy Miles, took part in a hustings event to get the nomination from the trade union Unite. Miles' team were then informed of a rule requiring that only people who had been "lay officials" could be nominated. Gething therefore received the nomination.{{Cite web |date=27 January 2024 |title=Welsh Labour leadership: Jeremy Miles criticises Unite rule |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68109598 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210054700/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68109598 |archive-date=10 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=BBC News}} Miles claimed he was unfairly blocked from the union nomination.{{Cite web |date=26 January 2024 |title=Welsh Labour leadership contender claims he was unfairly blocked from union nomination |url=https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-01-26/leadership-contender-claims-he-was-unfairly-blocked-from-union-nomination |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212230428/https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-01-26/leadership-contender-claims-he-was-unfairly-blocked-from-union-nomination |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=ITV}} An unnamed Unite official was quoted by BBC News as saying that the nomination of Gething was a "shocking mess".{{Cite web |date=29 January 2024 |title=Welsh Labour leadership nomination a shocking mess – Unite official |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68130655 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212230424/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68130655 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=BBC News}} Journalist Martin Shipton later uncovered that Gething had only joined Unite a few months beforehand.{{Cite web |date=29 January 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething only joined 'stitch-up' union months ago |url=https://nation.cymru/news/vaughan-gething-only-joined-stitch-up-union-months-ago-inboxsearch-for-all-messages-with-label-inbox/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212230424/https://nation.cymru/news/vaughan-gething-only-joined-stitch-up-union-months-ago-inboxsearch-for-all-messages-with-label-inbox/ |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=Nation.cymru}}

On 16 March, Gething emerged victorious with 51.7% of the vote, thus becoming the leader of Welsh Labour.{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Adrian |last2=Deans |first2=David |date=16 March 2024 |title=Welsh Labour leadership: Vaughan Gething to be Wales' next first minister |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68500807 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315232856/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68500807 |archive-date=15 March 2024 |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb}}{{cite web |last=Morris |first=Steven |date=16 March 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething to become Welsh first minister after Labour leadership win |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/16/vaughan-gething-to-become-welsh-first-minister-after-labour-leadership-win |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316101929/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/16/vaughan-gething-to-become-welsh-first-minister-after-labour-leadership-win |archive-date=16 March 2024 |access-date=16 March 2024 |work=The Guardian}}

{{Further|Gething government|2024 Welsh government crisis}}

File:Vaughan_Gething_swearing_in_as_First_Minister_of_Wales.jpg as first minister on 20 March 2024]]

Gething was officially nominated as First Minister by the Senedd on 20 March 2024,{{Cite web |date=20 March 2024 |title=Plenary 20/03/2024 |url=https://record.senedd.wales/Plenary/13746 |access-date=23 March 2023 |website=Welsh Parliament |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Cassidy |first=Maria |last2=Shuttleworth |first2=Peter |date=20 March 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething appointed Wales' first minister |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-wales-68612704 |access-date=20 March 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb}} and presented his cabinet the following day.{{Cite news |last=Mosalski |first=Ruth |date=21 March 2024 |title=Live updates as Vaughan Gething confirms his cabinet appointments in first full day in Wales' top job |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-vaughan-gething-confirms-28859505 |access-date=21 March 2024 |work=WalesOnline}}{{Cite news |last=Browne |first=Adrian |date=21 March 2024 |title=New First Minister Vaughan Gething announces cabinet |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-68554903 |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} In the process, he became the first black First Minister of Wales, as well as the first black leader of any European country. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 28 March 2024 as part of the 2024 Special Honours.{{cite web |date=28 March 2024 |title=Privy Council appointment: March 2024 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6605a221f9ab410011eea558/Announcement_Docs_Honours_and_Appts_28th.pdf |access-date=28 March 2024 |website=GOV.UK}} He was sworn in as a member of the privy council on 10 April 2024 at Buckingham Palace,{{cite web |url=https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-10-List-of-Business.pdf |title=Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council Held by the King at Buckingham Palace on 10th April 2024 |last=Tilbrook |first=Richard |date=10 April 2024 |website=The Privy Council Office |access-date=17 July 2024 }} entitling him to the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life.

{{further|2024 Welsh government crisis}}

File:Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_meets_Wales_Vaughan_Gething_(53843623368).jpg, July 2024]]

During the inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic response, Gething stated that he had not deliberately deleted any messages from his phone.{{Cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Mark |date=2024-05-07 |title=Vaughan Gething misled UK Covid Inquiry by not admitting he deleted messages |url=https://nation.cymru/news/vaughan-gething-misled-uk-covid-inquiry-by-not-admitting-he-deleted-messages/ |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}} On 7 May, Nation.Cymru obtained text messages from Gething in a Welsh Government group chat, in which he said "I'm deleting the messages in this group. They can be captured in an FOI [Freedom of Information request] and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made." Gething denied allegations of perjury put to him by Rhun ap Iorwerth in First Minister's Questions the same day, describing the allegations as 'obnoxious'.{{Cite web |last=Mosalski |first=Ruth |date=2024-05-07 |title=Vaughan Gething denies 'obnoxious' claim he committed perjury at Covid inquiry |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/vaughan-gething-denies-obnoxious-claim-29125885 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Wales Online |language=en}} A few days later, he removed Hannah Blythyn from her role as Minister for Social Partnership, alleging that she was the leak of the text messages.{{Cite web |last=Mosalski |first=Ruth |date=2024-05-16 |title=Vaughan Gething sacks member of cabinet over leak |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/vaughan-gething-sacks-member-cabinet-29181297 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Wales Online |language=en}} She denied this.{{Cite web |title=I am deeply shocked and saddened by what has happened today. I am clear and have been clear that I did not, nor have I ever leaked anything. Integrity is all in politics and I retain mine. 1/2 🧵 |url=https://twitter.com/hannahblythyn/status/1791064957745873131 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}} Blythyn was replaced by Sarah Murphy on 17 May.{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Emily |date=2024-05-17 |title=Sarah Murphy replaces sacked junior minister Hannah Blythyn |url=https://nation.cymru/news/sarah-murphy-replaces-sacked-junior-minister-hannah-blythyn/ |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}}

On 17 May, Plaid Cymru withdrew from the co-operation agreement with Welsh Labour.{{Cite web |last=Hayward |first=Will |date=2024-05-17 |title=Plaid Cymru pulls out of deal to support Labour in the Senedd |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/plaid-labour-co-operation-agreement-29192222 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Wales Online |language=en}} On 5 June, after just 78 days as First Minister, Gething faced a non-binding vote of no-confidence in him as First Minister, tabled by the Welsh Conservatives, in which he lost by a margin of 29 votes to 27.{{Cite web |title=Vaughan Gething: Welsh first minister to face no-confidence vote |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-wales-69091623 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb}} Gething at first refused to resign{{Cite web |title=Vaughan Gething won't quit after losing vote of no confidence |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1vvqq1pp12o |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}} but did so on 16 July, an hour after ministers Mick Antoniw, Julie James, Lesley Griffiths and Jeremy Miles stepped down from their posts.{{cite web |last=Grierson |first=Jamie |date=16 July 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething resigns as first minister of Wales |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/16/vaughan-gething-resigns-first-minister-wales |access-date=16 July 2024 |website=The Guardian}}{{cite web |last=Aitken |first=Catriona |title=Wales' FM Gething denies wrongdoing as he resigns |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51ydeeeeyro |accessdate=16 July 2024 |publisher=BBC News |quote=15 March 2024: Vaughan Gething celebrates his 50th birthday}}{{Cite news |last=Grierson |first=Jamie |date=2024-07-16 |title=Vaughan Gething’s leadership in peril as four Welsh ministers resign |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/16/vaughan-gething-leadership-in-peril-as-four-welsh-ministers-resign |access-date=2024-07-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} His resignation took formal effect on 5 August, and he was succeeded by Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely, who had won the Welsh Labour leadership election the previous month. In the period between 16 July and 5 August he exercised the functions of the Counsel General for Wales, according to a Welsh Government press release, alongside the role of First Minister.{{Cite news |last=McKeon |first=Christopher |date=2024-07-17 |title=Vaughan Gething reshuffles Welsh Labour top team after resignations |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/first-minister-vaughan-gething-welsh-labour-chief-whip-senedd-b2581591.html |access-date=2024-09-06 |work=The Independent}}

Gething and his wife Michelle live in Penarth, where he has lived since 2011.{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Vaughan Gething-about |url=http://vaughangething.co.uk/about.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630183655/http://www.vaughangething.co.uk/about.html |archive-date=30 June 2011 |access-date=12 May 2011 |publisher=Vaughan Gething}} They have one son.{{Cite news |last=Crampton |first=Robert |date=13 April 2024 |title=Vaughan Gething: You look at my name, you don't think I'm black |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/vaughan-gething-first-minister-wales-interview-mrmbl0bfr |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=The Times}}

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Category:1974 births

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