John Griffiths (born 19 December 1956) 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 and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candida ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and the former Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development in the

Senedd 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 Gov ...

. Griffiths has represented the constituency of Newport East since the Senedd (then as the National Assembly for Wales) was established in 1999.

Education

Griffiths studied law as a mature student at the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

Professional career

Before his election to the Senedd, he was a practising

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

(criminal law, personal injury and general civil litigation).

Political career

He is a former councillor on Gwent County Council and Newport CBC. He is a member of Labour's National Policy Forum, the Co-operative Party, Workers' Educational Association and Full Employment Forum. He is a committed republican, and a member of the ISTC trade union. Griffiths has been a

member of the Senedd A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

for Newport East since 1999. His political interests include economic development, social inclusion, education and Europe. In the Senedd he was appointed Deputy Minister for Health and Social Care (Older People) from May 2003 until May 2007. In the Third Assembly was appointed Deputy Minister for Education, Culture and the Welsh Language (31 May 2007) and retained that position when the coalition government of

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 ...

and Labour was announced on 19 July. John supported Carwyn Jones in the Welsh Labour leadership contest in 2009, and went on to support Mark Drakeford in 2018. He was appointed Counsel General and Leader of the Legislative Programme in the Welsh Assembly in December 2009, a job previously done by First Minister Carwyn Jones.

External links

*
John Griffiths AM Website

National Assembly for Wales Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, John 1956 births Living people People from Newport, Wales Councillors in Wales Alumni of the University of Wales Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2016–2021 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Labour Co-operative members of the Senedd Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Politics of Newport, Wales Welsh republicans