Image source, Getty Images
- author, Rosie Mercer
- role, BBC News
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Vaughan Gething has announced he is stepping down as First Minister of Wales after 118 days in office.
Mr Gething made history in March when he became the first black person to be elected leader of the Welsh Labour Party.
But during his short tenure as Wales chief executive, Mr Gething dismiss a minister And a series of Regarding donations He accepted the offer while running for leader.
Mr Gething responded in a statement, announcing that he had taken the “difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and consequently as First Minister”.
“I had hoped that this summer would be a period of reflection, rebuilding and renewal under my leadership,” Gething continued.
“We now realize that’s not possible.”
Gething’s full name is Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething and he was born in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia in South Africa, in 1974.
Mr Gething’s father was a vet from Ogmore-by-Sea, Bridgend, who moved there for work and met Mr Gething’s mother, a poultry farmer.
Two years later they moved to the UK and Mr Gething’s father was offered a job near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire.
However, the offer was rescinded after he arrived with a black family, who moved across the border to England, and young Vaughan spent his childhood in Dorset.
Image source, Vaughan Gething
Mr Gething returned to Wales as a student to study at Aberystwyth University and lived in student accommodation in Pantycelyn, where Welsh is predominantly spoken.
“He knew more people than anybody,” said Eifion Williams, who was president of the University Labour Club at the time.
Mr Williams recalled “a lot of good conversation and banter” between Labor and Plaid Cymru supporters in the hall.
But Mr Gething has said in the past that his political beliefs made working there “unpleasant”.
“I was surprised to see how nasty the divisions were between some Plaid Cymru supporters and the Labor party, how angry they were,” he said in a 2018 interview.
“There were some parts that were really personally unpleasant.”
From lawyer to politician
It was during his stay at Aberystwyth Hospital that Mr Gething was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a disease of the external kidneys.
He had to repeat the first year of his law studies.
He said recently that it was only with the new drugs being tested that he was “able to look to the future with optimism again.”
Mr Gething was elected president of Aberystwyth’s Students’ Union and subsequently president of the National Union of Students in Wales.
He later worked as a lawyer and then moved into politics.
Image source, Getty Images
He was first elected in 2011 to represent Cardiff South and Penarth in what was then called the National Assembly for Wales, elected at the same time as his party colleague Ken Skates.
“I realized he had a strong desire to do something, to serve,” Scates said, recalling their first meeting.
It was as Wales’ health secretary that Gething made his biggest impression, as the Covid-19 pandemic brought unprecedented spotlight on the Welsh government and raised his profile as a politician.
“No other politician has stood up like Mark has. [Drakeford] And Vaughn,” Scates said.
“I was in awe of their ability to withstand criticism, attacks and unjust personal attacks and remain focused on protecting people’s lives and livelihoods.”
Minister sacked over donations scandal
But the campaign itself was marred by controversy over his acceptance of a £200,000 donation from a company owned by a man convicted of environmental crimes.
Gething maintained he followed campaign finance rules.
In May, Mr Gething sacked a cabinet member, Hannah Bryson, after messages about the Covid-19 pandemic were leaked to the website Nation.Cymru.
The leaked messages showed Mr Gething claiming to delete all communication from an iMessage group for Welsh Ministers.
However, Brisin denied that she was the source of the leak, and Nation Kamri later said she was not the source.
Mr Gething later said it was “possibly only members’ mobile phones” that had been leaked.
He did not publicly provide any evidence to support his claims, but said he would “prefer not to discuss the details publicly.”
Image source, Getty Images
In late May, Plaid Cymru ended its cooperation agreement with Labor in the Senate after Plaid Cymru leader Loong ap Iorwelt said he was “deeply concerned” about donations that Mr Gething had received during his leadership campaign.
Mr Gething was defeated in a Senate vote of no confidence in June after two Labour MPs were absent sick, but he insisted he had no plans to resign.
On Tuesday, four Welsh government ministers resigned simultaneously and called for Mr Gething to step down.
He responded with a statement confirming his resignation.
“It was the honor of my life to have this job, even if just for a few months,” he said.
“We will now discuss the schedule for the election of a new leader for our party.”
