Welsh Government

Welsh Government
Welsh Government
Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru
Overview
Established	12 May 1999; 25 years ago
Polity	Wales
Leader	First Minister
Appointed by	Monarch
Main organ	Welsh Government
Responsible to	Welsh Parliament
Annual budget	£18.4 billion (2019/20)
Headquarters	Crown Buildings; Cardiff
Website	https://www.gov.wales

The Welsh Government (Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru) is the executive of the devolved government in Wales.

The Welsh Government is required to explain its actions to the Welsh Parliament, which is the body that creates laws in Wales.

The current First Minister is Mark Drakeford. He was appointed by the Queen on 12 May 2011, who also appointed 10 ministers and deputy ministers. The Counsel General is Theodore Huckle QC.

History

The Welsh Government and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; founded as the National Assembly for Wales) were created as separate organisations by the Government of Wales Act 2006.

In the Act, the Government is called the Welsh Assembly Government, but to avoid confusion between National Assembly and the Government, it was renamed the Welsh Government in May 2011,^[1] just like the Scottish Government did in 2007.

Structure

The Welsh Government is made up of several people:

The First Minister
- Usually the leader of the biggest political party in the Welsh Parliament
Up to 12 ministers and deputy ministers, who are chosen by the First Minister
The Counsel General, who is chosen by the First Minister and then approved by the Welsh Parliament.