Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MS First Minister of Wales

Mark was born and brought up in west Wales before moving to Cardiff more than 30 years ago. Since then he has lived in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff. A former probation officer, youth justice worker and Barnardos project leader in Ely and Caerau, he has been a professor of Social Policy and Applied Social Sciences at Cardiff University. Mark has also taught previously at Swansea University.

In the 1980s and 1990s Mark was a Labour Councillor on South Glamorgan County Council, specialising in education issues, including Welsh medium education. Between 2000 and 2010 he worked as the Cabinet’s health and social policy adviser at the Welsh Government, and was latterly head of the First Minister’s political office. He has a 40 year knowledge of the Cardiff West constituency.

Mark became the Assembly Member for Cardiff West in May 2011. He was Chair of the Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee from July 2011 - March 2013 and of the All-Wales Programme Monitoring Committee for European funds from July 2011 – March 2013. He was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services in March 2013. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in May 2016. Mark was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 3 November 2017. On 12 December 2018 Mark was appointed First Minister of Wales and became a member of the Privy Council on 13 February 2019. Mark was appointed First Minister on 13 May 2021.

• Exercise of functions by the Welsh Government
• Policy development and the co-ordination of policy
• Delivery of the Programme for Government
• Inter-Governmental Relations including JMC
• International Relations
• The Legislative Programme 
• The Ministerial Code
• Open Government and information management, including data protection
• Oversight of the Welsh Government’s relationship with Audit Wales
• Civil Contingencies 
• National security including counter-terrorism and cyber security
• Arms-Length Bodies
• Public Appointments
• Wales in Europe
• Welsh Government International Offices
• Developing links with the Welsh Diaspora
• Strategic Communications
• Promotion of sustainable development (as defined by the Well-being of Future Generations Act) and the Sustainable Development Goals.