The handover in power comes as Wales faces a challenging time, with farmers protesting, NHS waiting lists hitting record highs and an economy recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Vaughan Gething has won the Welsh Labour leadership election, paving the way for him to become Wales' first black First Minister following a contest decided by Labour party members and affiliated organisations this month.
The father of one grew up in Dorset and was educated at the Welsh universities of Aberystwyth and Cardiff. He previously served as Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, Deputy Minister for Health and Minister for Health and Social Services through the pandemic. In a historic result, the economy minister and former solicitor, who was born in Zambia, will become the country's fifth leader since the National Assembly for Wales was formed in 1999
He thanked Mr Drakeford for his role in making Wales feel 'safer' at the 'hardest of times' during the pandemic, and said he hoped he would remain 'firm friends' with Mr Miles 'once the dust has settled'. After his father lost his job in Abergavenny, the family moved to Dorset in England, and he later studied law at Aberystwyth University.
He referenced Mr Miles' past comments that as a gay man he used to 'wonder if there was a place in the world for someone like me' while growing up in a working-class family in a mining community. Mr Gething will face immediate challenges in Wales' health system, strained by record waiting and response times.
Atlantic Recycling was also fined £300,000 for one of its worker's deaths in February after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work rules. Vaughan Gething has arrived to see whether he has been successful in winning the Welsh Labour leadership contest. pic.twitter.com/Cwf94WvQjz Mr Gething has also spoken candidly about his rise through politics as a person of colour, starting his career as the first Black person at the Welsh National Union of Students .
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Drakeford accepted there would be issues for his successor to deal with. 'The Labour Party is ambitious, it is radical, it is reforming, it will grasp the really challenging issues.''He will provide the next generation of leadership for the party and I look forward to campaigning with him to deliver the UK Labour government Wales so desperately needs.'
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