Edwina Hart,
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(born 26 April 1957) is a
Welsh Labour
Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922 ...
[Assembly Member details – Edwina Hart AM]
National Assembly for Wales. Retrieved 26 March 2016. politician who represented the constituency of
Gower
Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...
from the establishment of the
National Assembly for Wales (Senedd) in 1999 until 2016. Hart served in the
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
as a cabinet minister for the full 17 years she was an AM including as
Minister for Health and Social Services
The Minister for Health and Social Services () is a cabinet position in the Welsh Government, currently held by Eluned Morgan MS.
The minister is responsible for the running of the National Health Service in Wales, all aspects of public heal ...
from 2007 to 2011 and as
Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science from 2011 to 2016.
She was the runner up to Carwyn Jones in the
2009 Welsh Labour leadership election.
Background
Hart was born and raised in
Gowerton
Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the ...
,
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, where she attended
Gowerton Girls' Grammar School. She especially enjoyed English and Music and became a member of the
National Youth Orchestra of Wales
The National Youth Orchestra of Wales (NYOW, cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru) is the national youth orchestra of Wales, based in Cardiff. Founded in 1945, it is the longest-standing national youth orchestra in the world.
Organisat ...
. Today Edwina lives in Gowerton with her family; she has one daughter.
Professional career
Hart has worked in banking, where she became active in the trade union movement. As a result of this work she was elected as the first female president of the
Banking, Insurance and Finance Union
The Banking, Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU) was a British trade union.
The union was founded in 1946 as the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), when the Bank Officers' Guild and the Scottish Bankers' Association merged. In 1979, it ...
, serving from 1992 to 1994. She also served as chair of the
Wales TUC
The Wales TUC ( cy, TUC Cymru) is the co-ordinating body of trade unions in Wales. With 48 affiliated unions as of 2021, the Wales TUC represents nearly 400,000 workers.
Activities
The Wales TUC is an integral part of the Trades Union Congress ...
(as did her husband, Bob Hart, in another year). Hart later received an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
for Trade Union services. In 1998 Edwina also served as a member of the Broadcasting Council for Wales and sat on the board of the
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...
. She also sat on the Employment Appeals Tribunal, was a member of the South West Wales Economic Forum and a director of
Chwarae Teg. Edwina is a member of T&GWU and Community as well as a life member of Amicus.
Political career
Hart was elected to the First Assembly with 35.4% of the vote in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
for the constituency of
Gower
Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...
. She became the Assembly's first Finance Secretary. In 2000, this was changed to include responsibility for local government and she became Minister for Finance and Local Government.
She was re-elected to the Second Assembly in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, increasing her majority to 5688 (+8.2%) with 43.60% of the vote. After the election she took on the newly created Social Justice portfolio and became the Assembly's first ever Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration Minister, whose responsibilities include community safety, youth justice, police relations, fire service, alcohol and drug abuse, social economy, anti-poverty, housing, social housing, the voluntary sector, issues relating to asylum and immigration, liaison for armed forces in Wales, veterans, regeneration of communities, and development.
In 2004, in her role as Minister for Social Justice, Hart commissioned an independent report on charity
All Wales Ethnic Minority Association's projects. The report stated no new projects should be funded until AWEMA demonstrated improved project and performance management, and that as a result AWEMA should be graded "high risk" by as a publicly funded institute.
She was once again re-elected to the Third Assembly in May
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
with a reduced majority of 1192 (34.2% of the vote) and was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services (31 May 2007). She retained this position when the coalition government of
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
and
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
was announced on 19 July.
In October 2009, Hart announced that she would stand for leadership of the Labour party in Wales after
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and t ...
's retirement, on a commitment to carry on the "
Clear Red Water" of Rhodri Morgan. Whilst she secured backing from a number of Unions and prominent figures such as Finance Minister
Andrew Davies, Hart finished second in the Leadership contest. She retained her position as Minister for Health in the cabinet appointed by First Minister
Carwyn Jones
Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...
.
In September 2010, Hart was accused by
Welsh Liberal Democrats
The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decembe ...
of withholding a consultants' report that criticised the leadership of the NHS by the
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
.
The Media
Hart was nominated the best-dressed Welsh politician of the year. According to
Peter Black AM, Hart beat some other competition to take this prize including Welsh Secretary
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...
. Hart also controversially ruled out a review of NHS spending in Wales on 12 November 2009, declining Liberal Democrat
Kirsty Williams
Victoria Kirstyn Williams (born 19 March 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of ...
request to review how £1 billion has been spent on NHS services, following evidence to the Welsh Assembly's Finance Committee that claimed £1 billion was 'wasted' in the Welsh NHS each year.
Row over 'no' to NHS cash probe
''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 12 November 2009. Moved and formatted 8 April 2016
References
External links
Edwina Hart MBE AM Website
Welsh Labour Party Website
Website for the Welsh Government
Welsh Government Ministerial Page
National Assembly for Wales Website
Edwina Hart Common Purpose Link?
Offices held
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Edwina
1957 births
Living people
Welsh Labour members of the Senedd
Wales AMs 1999–2003
Wales AMs 2003–2007
Wales AMs 2007–2011
Wales AMs 2011–2016
Politics of Swansea
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Welsh socialists
Female members of the Senedd
Welsh trade unionists
People educated at Gowerton Grammar School
British women bankers
Ministers for Finance of Wales
Female finance ministers
20th-century British women politicians
Women trade unionists
Women members of the Welsh Assembly Government