Alun Michael

The Right Honourable
Alun Michael
JP
Official portrait, 2020
South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner
In office
22 November 2012 – 8 May 2024
DeputySophie Howe
Emma Wools
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byEmma Wools
Minister of State for Industry and the Regions
In office
10 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJacqui Smith
Succeeded byIan McCartney
Minister of State for Rural Affairs
In office
11 June 2001 – 10 May 2005
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byNick Raynsford
Succeeded byJim Knight
First Secretary of Wales
In office
12 May 1999 – 9 February 2000
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRhodri Morgan
Leader of Welsh Labour
In office
29 October 1998 – 9 February 2000
UK party leaderTony Blair
Preceded byRon Davies
Succeeded byRhodri Morgan
Secretary of State for Wales
In office
27 October 1998 – 28 July 1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byRon Davies
Succeeded byPaul Murphy
Minister of State for Home Affairs
In office
6 May 1997 – 27 October 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byDavid Maclean
Succeeded byPaul Boateng
Member of the Welsh Assembly
for Mid and West Wales
In office
6 May 1999 – 1 May 2000[1]
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byDelyth Evans
Member of Parliament
for Cardiff South and Penarth
In office
11 June 1987 – 22 October 2012
Preceded byJames Callaghan
Succeeded byStephen Doughty
Personal details
Born (1943-08-22) 22 August 1943 (age 81)
Bryngwran, Anglesey, Wales
Political partyWelsh Labour (Labour and Co-operative)
SpouseMary Sophia Crawley
Children5
Parent(s)Betty Michael
Leslie Michael
Alma materKeele University
CabinetMichael government
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Alun Michael's voice
Michael on the core values of the internet
Recorded 17 November 2009

Alun Edward Michael JP (born 22 August 1943) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative[2][3] retired politician. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1998 to 1999 and then as the first First Secretary of Wales (later known as First Minister) and Leader of Welsh Labour from 1999 to 2000. He went on to serve as South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 to 2024.[4]

Born on the island of Anglesey, Michael attended Colwyn Bay Grammar School and graduated from the University of Keele in 1966 with a degree in Philosophy and English. He worked as a reporter for the South Wales Echo until 1971 and then as a youth and community worker until 1987. He became a Justice of the Peace in 1972 and served on the Cardiff City Council from 1973 to 1989. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1987, succeeding former Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan for the constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth.

In opposition, he was a Shadow Home Affairs Minister and then when Labour came to power in 1997 he served as a Minister of State for Home Affairs until 1998. In October of that year, Ron Davies resigned as Secretary of State for Wales following a personal controversy and Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed Michael to succeed him. In May 1999, following the first elections to the National Assembly for Wales, Michael defeated Rhodri Morgan to become the Leader of Welsh Labour and thus the First Secretary of Wales. The position was later renamed First Minister of Wales under the tenure of his successor.

Michael resigned as Leader of Welsh Labour and First Secretary nine months later to avoid a vote of no confidence. He resigned from the Welsh Assembly shortly after and served in various junior ministerial positions in the Labour government at Westminster. He resigned from the House of Commons in October 2012 to stand for the newly created position of Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales, to which he was elected in November 2012 and again in 2016 and 2021.[5][6] In June 2023 it was announced he would not contest the 2024 elections; he will be succeeded by his deputy Emma Wools with effect from 8 May 2024, after her win the previous week.[7]

  1. ^ "BBC News | WALES | Michael to leave Assembly". news.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "About the Party: Meet the team". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ^ "What People have to say about Alun". Alun Michael. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC20349894 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Press Releases – Three Hundreds of Chiltern". Rnn.cabinetoffice.gov.uk. 22 October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC18458866 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).