Andrew David Davies (born 5 May 1952) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

Labour politician, who represented the constituency of Swansea West in the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. Davies was born in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

to Welsh parents; his mother is from

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the ...

and his father from Holywell,

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. Davies attended

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from Nursery to Sixth Form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premi ...

and

Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...

, where he trained as a teacher.

Professional career

He worked for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

and a public affairs company. Davies is also a qualified counsellor and has lectured in further, higher and continuing education.

Political career

Former Chair of Swansea West Labour Party and member of the Welsh Labour Executive Committee, he was a regional party official from 1984 to 1991. Davies was one of the architects of devolution as main organiser of the Labour Party Yes Campaign in 1997. He has served as a member of the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

for the first ten years of devolution serving under both

Alun Michael Alun Edward Michael (born 22 August 1943) is a Welsh Labour politician serving as South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner since 2012. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1998 to 1999 and then as the first First Secretary of Wal ...

and

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 ...

. From May 1999 to February 2002, he served as Business Manager with a place on the Business Committee. During the period of Labour minority government (May 1999-October 2000), he also served as chief whip of the Labour group, but Standing Orders of the Labour Group prohibited him holding this post during a coalition period. In February 2002, promotion followed the "tweak" by

to his Cabinet when, with

Mike German Michael James German, Baron German, OBE (born 8 May 1945) is a British politician, serving currently as a member of the House of Lords and formerly as a member of the National Assembly for Wales for the South Wales East region. He was leader ...

AM still outside Government, Andrew Davies was promoted to Minister for Economic Development. It is arguably the second most senior position in Cabinet and was seen as a reward for loyalty and for managing Assembly business. In the May 2003 reshuffle he also gained responsibility for transport policy. He helped the Assembly's policy of extending broadband connectivity throughout Wales to progress. From 2000 he has also had personal responsibility for co-ordination of information technology in public institutions, and has sought to advance Wales's IT abilities on a European level. In May 2007 Davies became Minister for Social Justice and Public Service delivery in the Labour led minority government. In the coalition government of 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 ...

, Davies was appointed Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery on 19 July. He left the cabinet following the Welsh Labour leadership election in 2009 and stood down as an Assembly Member at the 2011 election. He later became Chairman of Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board in South Wales from 2013 until 2019.

References

External links

Bio at the Welsh Assembly Government

The Department for Enterprise, Innovation, and Networks

Assembly Handbook
(pdf) {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Andrew 1952 births Living people People from Hereford People educated at Hereford Cathedral School Alumni of Swansea University Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Politicians from Swansea Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Ministers for Finance of Wales Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English people of Welsh descent