Mark Drakeford

Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician serving as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018.

Mark Drakeford was born on 19 September 1954 in Carmarthenshire, West Wales where he was brought up.

He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, then an all-boys grammar school in Carmarthen.

He studied Latin at the University of Kent, and graduated from the University of Exeter.

After university, he trained both as a teacher and as a social worker.

Drakeford has always been interested in politics, which he says was part of the fabric of life in 1960s Carmarthenshire.

He has also stated that he was 'always Labour', believing that a person's ties to the economy are the great determining factor in their life chances.

In addition to his membership of the Labour Party, he is a member of Unite the Union and UNISON, and a solidarity member of LGBT+ Labour.

He is a staunch opponent of Britain's Trident nuclear programme and has called for its decommissioning.

Drakeford is considered to be part of the left wing of the Labour Party, and is supported by some members of Welsh Labour Grassroots and Momentum.

He moved to Cardiff in 1979 and subsequently worked as a probation officer and a youth justice worker, including as a Barnardo's project leader in the Ely and Caerau communities.

From 1985 to 1993, Drakeford represented the Pontcanna ward on South Glamorgan County Council, with fellow future Welsh Assembly members Jane Hutt and Jane Davidson as his ward colleagues.

He served as Chair of the Education Committee and took a particular interest in Welsh-medium education.

He was a lecturer at the University College of Swansea from 1991 to 1995 and at Cardiff University from 1995 to 1999.

From 1991 to 1995, Drakeford was a lecturer in applied social studies at the University College of Swansea (now Swansea University).

Having been part of the successful Yes for Wales campaign in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, he was selected as the Labour candidate for Cardiff Central at the first Welsh Assembly election, as part of Labour's ‘twinned seats’ policy.

The seat was won by the Liberal Democrats' Jenny Randerson.

He then moved to the University of Wales, Cardiff, renamed as Cardiff University in 1999, as a lecturer in its School of Social and Administrative Studies.

He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1999 and appointed as Professor of Social Policy and Applied Social Sciences in 2003.

Following Rhodri Morgan’s appointment as First Minister in 2000, Drakeford became the Welsh Government’s special advisor on health and social policy, and later served as the head of Morgan’s political office.

He had been close with Morgan for a number of years, having been Morgan's election agent when he was elected to the UK Parliament.

In his role as a special advisor, Drakeford was one of the principal architects of the 'Clear Red Water' philosophy, which made a distinction between Labour Party policy under Morgan in Wales and under Tony Blair in Westminster.

He was a Professor of Social Policy and Applied Social Sciences at Cardiff University from 2003 to 2013.

Drakeford was first elected as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff West in 2011 and is considered to be on the Soft left of Labour.

Drakeford was born in Carmarthen in West Wales.

He studied Latin at the University of Kent and the University of Exeter.

Drakeford was elected at the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election for Cardiff West.

Drakeford succeeded Morgan as the Assembly Member for Cardiff West when the latter retired at the 2011 election.

Soon after, he became Chair of the Assembly's Health and Social Care Committee and of the All-Wales Programme Monitoring Committee for European Funds.

In 2013, First Minister Carwyn Jones appointed Drakeford to the Welsh Government as Minister for Health and Social Services.

Drakeford continued in his academic posts until his appointment as a Welsh Government minister in 2013.

He has published books and journal articles on various aspects of social policy.

In 2013, he was invited by First Minister Carwyn Jones to join the Government, replacing Lesley Griffiths as Minister for Health and Social Services.

He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minister for Health and Social Services from 2013 to 2016.

He served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and as Minister for Brexit from 2017 to 2018.

In 2018, he was elected to succeed Jones as Welsh Labour Leader and First Minister.

He led the Welsh Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2021 Senedd election, Drakeford led Welsh Labour to win 30 seats, a working majority, and was reappointed as First Minister.

He intends to resign in March 2024 as Welsh Labour Leader and First Minister, pending a party election of his successor.

His views were described as soft left in 2018, in line with the views of former Labour leader Michael Foot.