National Assembly for Wales

Roles and Responsibilities

The Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer

The Presiding Officer is elected by all Assembly Members. Once elected, the Presiding Officer serves the Assembly impartially. The Deputy Presiding Officer is elected in the same way.

The Presiding Officer’s main role is to chair Plenary, maintaining order and protecting the rights of Assembly Members. The Presiding Officer is responsible for ensuring that business is handled on the basis of equality and impartiality. The Presiding Officer is responsible for Standing Orders and is the final authority on their interpretation. The Deputy Presiding Officer chairs Plenary in the absence of the Presiding Officer.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM was elected Presiding Officer, and Rosemary Butler AM Deputy Presiding Officer during the first plenary meeting of the Third Assembly on 9 May 2007.

Welsh Ministers

The term ‘Welsh Ministers’ refers to the First Minister and each Assembly Member appointed as a Welsh Minister by the First Minister.

The First Minister

The First Minister is nominated by the Assembly and then appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister subsequently appoints the Welsh Ministers and the Deputy Welsh Ministers, and is accountable for:

  • Exercise of functions by the Assembly Cabinet.
  • Policy development and coordination of policy.
  • The relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and Wales Abroad.
  • Welsh Assembly Government Staffing/Civil Service

Carwyn Jones AM was nominated as First Minister by the National Assembly for Wales on 9 December 2009, and subsequently appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. Ieuan Wyn Jones AM was appointed Deputy First Minister by Her Majesty the Queen on 11 July 2007.

The Welsh Ministers

Each Welsh Minister is appointed by the First Minister, and subsequently act on behalf of the Crown. Each Welsh Minister leads on a different areas of responsibility, and together with the First Minister form the Cabinet. The current Welsh Ministers are:

Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport
Plaid Cymru

Edwina Hart AM, Minister for Health and Social Services
Labour

John Griffiths AM, Counsel General and Leader of theLegislative Programme
Labour

Carl Sargeant AM, Minister forSocial Justice and Local Government
Labour

Jane Davidson AM, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing
Labour

Jane Hutt AM, Business and Budget Minister
Labour

Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning
Labour

Elin Jones AM, Minister for Rural Affairs
Plaid Cymru

Alun Ffred Jones AM, Minister for Culture and Heritage
Plaid Cymru

Further information about the First Minister, Welsh Ministers and the Cabinet can be found on the Welsh Assembly Government's website.

Assembly Commissioners

Further details about the Assembly Commissioners can be found in the Assembly Commission section of the website.