Gething began his career as a lawyer before becoming more involved in political and union work (Reuters)

A British politician, born in 1974, who held several positions in the British Welsh provincial government, but came to the forefront of political attention after being elected leader of the Labor Party in Wales in 2024, becoming the first black political leader in Europe.

Vaughan Gething insists on recalling his belonging to two contradictory geographical areas that contain a long history of conflict. He says that he is “a Welsh citizen from Zambia,” to summarize a personal biography shaped by two different identities that coexisted.

Birth and upbringing

Vaughan Gething was born in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, in 1974 to a British father who worked as a veterinarian in South Wales, before he decided to move to Zambia, where he met his mother, who worked as a farmer on one of the chicken farms there.

But Gething's family chose to return to the United Kingdom two years after settling in Zambia, after Gething's father obtained a new job in Britain.

But suddenly, upon their arrival in Dorset, where Gething spent his childhood, the father's job offer was withdrawn, subjecting the family to discriminatory and exclusionary treatment for the first time, which will contribute to forming a fundamental feature in Vaughan Gething's memory.

The desire to protest against his treatment and discrimination against him just because he was a black child led him to align himself with minority rights defenders, which pushed him to the forefront of public affairs with the aim of changing the reality that shaped his childhood.

Vaughan Gething was only 17 years old when he joined the Labor Party (Britain in Arabic account on the X platform)

Study and training

When Gething reached university, he chose to return to Wales to complete his university studies in the Law Department, and there he became involved in student and political activity.

He was only 17 years old when he joined the Labor Party, influenced by the articles of African leader Nelson Mandela regarding equality, the victory for black rights, and ending the subordination of African countries to European colonialism.

With this background, he contributed to the Labor Party's electoral campaign during the 1992 elections, and was elected president of the Student Union at Aberystwyth University, and later he was elected the first black president of the Student Union in Wales.

Gething says that during that university stage, despite his openness to all student factions, he remembers that he was not welcome on several occasions because of his political beliefs and opinions, and because of the sharp divisions between the various political trends at the time.

Professional experience

After completing his university studies, Gething began working as a lawyer before becoming more involved in political and trade union work. Despite his failure to win a seat in the National Assembly (Parliament) of Wales after running for the position in 1999, he was later elected as a member of the Cardiff Municipal Council in 2004.

He was later elected to the National Assembly of Wales in 2011, and with his entry into Parliament in Wales, his political star began to shine, and in 2013 he joined the government formation in this British province as the first black man to hold a ministerial position.

During the next ten years, Gething held several ministerial portfolios, the most prominent of which was the Ministry of Health, which he held between 2016 and 2021, and was thus entrusted with the task of managing the unprecedented crisis during the Corona pandemic.

He assumed the position of Minister of the Economy in 2021, which he held until his election as Leader of the Labor Party in Wales, a step that paved the way for him to assume the position of Prime Minister.

Vaughan Gething believes that there is a very important historical significance in a black European politician holding a position of this importance (Reuters)

In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Gething said that he wants to be judged based on his competence and abilities, not based on “the color of his skin.”

He stressed his desire to win the position of Prime Minister because he is the best candidate, and because he has accumulated political experience over the years, whether in trade unions, or during his work as a lawyer and minister in the government, and also as a politician with a vision for the future.

Gething believes that there is a very important historical significance in a black European politician holding a position of this importance.

In September 2023, Gething represented Wales on the 60th anniversary of the racist bombing that targeted a church in Birmingham, which led to the killing of 4 black girls, and he affirmed his rejection of any racist attack against minorities in Britain.

On March 16, 2024, Gething was elected Chairman of the Labor Party in Wales - which has been in power for 25 years in Cardiff - and then became Prime Minister of the semi-independent Welsh Government.

“Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history... not only because I have the honor of becoming the first black leader in any European country, but also because the new generation has changed dramatically,” Gething said in a speech after the result was announced.

Powers of the Prime Minister

Once the British King approves the appointment of the Prime Minister in Wales, the latter works to compose his government formation, which is supposed to be approved by the King, who often avoids entering into any constitutional crisis and does not object to any of the names put before him for approval.

Like Scotland and Northern Ireland, the government in Wales enjoys semi-independence from the central government in London.

The Prime Minister is responsible for setting general policies related to various government sectors, with the exception of defense and foreign affairs policies. He also manages Wales’ relationship with the other British provinces, including the relationship with the central government in London, and is periodically subject to accountability from the National Assembly regarding the policies pursued by his government.

Source: websites