BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-WELSH " VAUGHAN GETHING " IS A WELSH LABOUR CO-OPERATIVE POLITICIAN, WHO HAS REPRESENTED THE CONSTITUENCY OF CARDIFF SOUTH AND PENARTHSINCE THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WALES : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                                               BLACK                SOCIAL              HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Vaughan Gething AM (born 1974) is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician, who has represented the constituency of Cardiff South and Penarthsince the National Assembly for Wales election of 2011.^[1]

Early life

Gething was born in Zambia in 1974, where his father (whom Gething describes as "a white Welsh economic migrant") was working as a vet.^[2] His mother is a black Zambian.^[2] When he was two he moved to Dorset, England with his family, which includes three bothers and a sister.^[2] He studied at Aberystwyth University and at the Cardiff Law School, University of Wales.^[2][3] Gething became president of Aberystwyth University Guild of Students and the first black president of the National Union of Students Wales.^[2][4]

Professional career

Having completed his training as a solicitor in Cardiff in 2001, with the trade union solicitors Thompsons, Gething chose to specialise in employment law. He became a partner in Thompsons in 2007.^[3]

In 2008, at the age of 34, Gething became the youngest President of Wales TUC, also becoming the first black person in the role.^[5]

Political career

Gething joined the Labour Party when he was 17, to campaign in the 1992 UK general election.^[2] He was a councillor from 2004 to 2008, representingButetown electoral ward on Cardiff Council, having been elected with a majority of two votes.^[3][6] Gething was selected as the Welsh Labour candidate for the Cardiff South and Penarth constituency at the National Assembly for Wales. Lorraine Barrett, who had represented Cardiff South and Penarth since the Assembly's creation in 1999, had announced her intention to stand down at the 2011 election. At the National Assembly for Wales electionon 5 May 2011, Gething increased the Labour vote with a swing of 12.5%. At 13,814, his share of the vote was over 50%, giving him a majority of 6,259 over the Welsh Conservative Party candidate, Ben Gray, placed second.^[1][7]

Personal life

Gething and his wife Michelle live in Butetown, Cardiff, where he has lived since 1999.^[6] He is a member of the GMB trade union.^[5]