Mark Drakeford appointed new Welsh health secretary after Eluned Morgan becomes first minister
Mr Drakeford, who was first minister until March this year, will hold the role on an interim basis.
Wednesday 7 August 2024 14:35, UK
Mark Drakeford, the former first minister of Wales, has been appointed as the new Welsh health secretary.
It comes as Eluned Morgan announces changes to the Welsh government's cabinet.
Baroness Morgan was elected first minister of Wales on Tuesday when the Senedd was recalled from its summer break.
She is the first female first minister since the creation of the Welsh government in 1999.
The election of Baroness Morgan as first minister came following the resignation of after four ministers quit his government calling for him to go.
He had faced difficult questions about a controversial £200k donation and the sacking of a government minister.
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The new first minister previously served as health secretary since 2021.
She is the third former minister in charge of health to become first minister, after her immediate predecessors Mr Gething and Mark Drakeford.
Mr Drakeford previously held the role from 2013 to 2016 and will return to the role on an interim basis.
As well as a surprise return for Mr Drakeford, Baroness Morgan confirmed Huw Irranca-Davies would retain his rural affairs brief in addition to the resurrected role of deputy first minister.
Elisabeth Jones, former chief legal adviser to the Senedd, has also been appointed Counsel General on an interim basis.
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Last month, hospital waiting times in Wales hit a new record high.
Speaking to Sky News after she was confirmed as the new first minister, Baroness Morgan admitted the government had "more to do" to get waiting times down in Wales.
"Over the summer, I'll be undertaking a listening exercise to really work out what [the public's] priorities are," she said.
"I'd be very surprised if getting the longest waiting lists down is not one of those priorities. But we will leave no stone unturned when it comes to making sure we focus on that."
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Baroness Morgan also said health boards would face a "much sharper sense of accountability" in future weeks and months.
The Welsh Conservatives, the largest opposition group in the Senedd, said the new government would be "judged on their results" after "months of chaos".
Plaid Cymru said the appointments meant "no change" and that Wales deserved better than "a government of stagnation and indecision".
The new first minister is expected to make further changes to her ministerial team when the Senedd returns from recess in September.