{{short description|British politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use British English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Dawn Bowden | honorific_suffix = | image = Official photograph of Dawn Bowden MS Minister for Children and Social Care (portrait) (cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Official portrait, 2024 | office = [[Minister for Children and Social Care]]{{efn|name=Social Role|As Minister for Social Care from March to September 2024}} | first_minister = [[Vaughan Gething]]<br>[[Eluned Morgan]] | predecessor = [[Huw Irranca-Davies]] | successor = [[Delyth Jewell]] | term_start = 21 March 2024 | term_end = 12 May 2026 | office1 = [[Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism]] | first_minister1 = [[Mark Drakeford]] | term_start1 = 13 May 2021 | term_end1 = 20 March 2024 | successor1 = ''Office vacant'' | predecessor1 = [[Dafydd Elis-Thomas|The Lord Elis-Thomas]] | office2 = [[Welsh Government|Welsh Government Chief Whip]] | first_minister2 = [[Mark Drakeford]] | term_start2 = 13 May 2021 | term_end2 = 2 May 2023 | predecessor2 = [[Jane Hutt]] | successor2 = [[Jane Hutt]] | office3 = [[Member of the Senedd]] <br /> for [[Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Senedd constituency)|Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney]] | term_start3 = 6 May 2016 | term_end3 = 7 April 2026 | majority3 = 9,311 (44%) | predecessor3 = [[Huw Lewis]] | successor3 = <!--Personal--> | birth_name = Dawn Alison Louise Bowden | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|2|14|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Bristol]], England | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | citizenship = | party = [[Welsh Labour]] | spouse = Martin Eaglestone | partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married--> | relations = | children = Two | parents = | education = [[St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School]] <br /> [[City of Bristol College|Soundwell Technical College]] | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | denomination = | awards = }} '''Dawn Alison Louise Bowden''' (born 14 February 1960) is a [[Welsh Labour|Welsh Labour Party]] politician and [[trade unionist]] serving as [[Minister for Children and Social Care]]{{efn|name=Social Role}} since 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=First Minister Vaughan Gething announces new Welsh Government Cabinet {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/first-minister-vaughan-gething-announces-new-welsh-government-cabinet |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> She previously served as [[Welsh Government|Chief Whip of the Welsh Government]] from 2021 to 2023 and [[Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism|Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport]] (later also Tourism) from 2021 to 2024. Bowden was the final [[Member of the Senedd]] (MS) for [[Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Senedd constituency)|Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney]] from 2016 to 2026 before it was split between the new constituencies of [[Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr|Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr]] and [[Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni|Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni]].<ref name="BBC - Merthyr">{{cite web|title=Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/wales-constituencies/W09000044|website=Wales Election 2016|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=11 May 2016|date=6 May 2016}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Bowden was born on 14 February 1960 in [[Bristol]], England.<ref name="WW 2017">'BOWDEN, Dawn', ''[[Who's Who 2017]]'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U287492 accessed 30 Sept 2017]</ref> She was educated at [[St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School]], a [[Voluntary aided school|state-funded]] [[Catholic school]] in Bristol. Then, from 1976 to 1978, she undertook a [[secretarial]] course at [[City of Bristol College|Soundwell Technical College]].<ref name="bio - LinkedIn" />
==Career== ===Early career=== Bowden began her working life as a [[secretary]]. She worked for the [[National Health Service]] between 1979 and 1982, and for [[Bristol City Council]] from 1982 to 1983.<ref name="bio - LinkedIn" />
From April 2012 until her election to the [[Welsh Assembly]] in May 2016, Bowden was the head of health for UNISON Cymru/Wales (the Welsh division of the national [[trade union]] [[UNISON]]).<ref name="bio - LinkedIn">{{cite web|title=Dawn Bowden |url=https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dawn-bowden-2a46327a |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160512123619/https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dawn-bowden-2a46327a |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 May 2016 |website=LinkedIn |accessdate=11 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=UNISON slams Cardiff and the Vale Health Board for redundancy decision|url=https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2013/06/unison-slams-cardiff-and-the-vale-health-board/|website=unison.org.uk|publisher=UNISON|accessdate=11 May 2016|date=27 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="WO - candidate" />
===Political career=== In February 2016, it was announced that Bowden had been selected from an [[all-women shortlist]] to be the [[Welsh Labour]] candidate for the [[Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Senedd constituency)|Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney]] constituency seat in the next [[Welsh Assembly]] election.<ref name="WO - candidate">{{cite web|last1=Houghton|first1=Tom|title=Labour selects Dawn Bowden as Assembly candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/labour-selects-dawn-bowden-assembly-10959485|website=Wales Online|accessdate=11 May 2016|date=27 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC - candidate">{{cite web|title=Labour picks Dawn Bowden as Merthyr and Rhymney AM candidate|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-35678023|website=BBC News|accessdate=11 May 2016|date=27 February 2016}}</ref> The all-women shortlist was controversial; it drew criticism from a number of male councillors, including the leader of [[Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Labour election row over all-women shortlist in Merthyr|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-35463906|website=BBC News|accessdate=11 May 2016|date=1 February 2016}}</ref> On [[2016 National Assembly for Wales election|5 May 2016]], she was elected a [[Member of the Welsh Assembly]] with 9,763 votes (47.2% of votes cast).<ref name="BBC - Merthyr" />
Bowden has sat as a [[Labour Co-operative]] member since re-election in [[2021 Senedd election|2021]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://party.coop/wp-content/blogs.dir/5/files/2022/06/Annual-Report-2021-FINAL.pdf |title=Annual Review 2021 |publisher=[[Co-operative Party]] |access-date=16 July 2024}}</ref> She was re-elected with a majority of 9,311 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Election results for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, 6 May 2021 |url=https://business.senedd.wales/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=323 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=business.senedd.wales |language=en-gb}}</ref> After the election, she was appointed as Chief Whip for the Welsh Government and [[Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism]] by First Minister [[Mark Drakeford]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-13 |title=Written Statement: Cabinet appointments to the new Welsh Government (13 May 2021) {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-cabinet-appointments-new-welsh-government |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dawn Bowden MS: Minister for Social Care {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/dawn-bowden-ms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716234400/https://www.gov.wales/dawn-bowden-ms |archive-date=2024-07-16 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> She was moved from the role of Chief Whip to being a Ministerial liaison for the [[2021 Welsh Labour–Plaid Cymru agreement|co-operation agreement]], in May 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-02 |title=Written Statement: Ministerial Responsibilities (2 May 2023) {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-ministerial-responsibilities-3 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> After [[Vaughan Gething]] was elected First Minister in May 2024, she was appointed as [[Minister for Social Care]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=First Minister Vaughan Gething announces new Welsh Government Cabinet {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/first-minister-vaughan-gething-announces-new-welsh-government-cabinet |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> First Minister [[Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely|Eluned Morgan]] retained her in this role when she appointed her cabinet in August 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-07 |title=Written Statement: Cabinet Appointments (7 August 2024) {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-cabinet-appointments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809012344/https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-cabinet-appointments |archive-date=2024-08-09 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> but renamed it to ''Minister for Children and Social Care'' in Morgan's September 2024 reshuffle.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-11 |title=Welsh government reshuffle: Miles back as minister after ousting Gething |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9lm4vr0meo |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In January 2025 Bowden announced she would be standing down at the [[2026 Senedd election]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Catriona Aitken|title=Minister to quit ahead of Wales' 2026 election|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gzzjp18ydo |work=BBC News |accessdate=9 May 2026 |date=7 January 2025}}</ref>
==Personal life== Bowden has two children. Sam and Jack.<ref name="bio - Assembly">{{cite web|title=Dawn Bowden AM|url=http://www.assembly.wales/en/memhome/Pages/MemberProfile.aspx?mid=4988|website=assembly.wales|publisher=National Assembly for Wales|accessdate=30 August 2016|archive-date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915074004/http://www.assembly.wales/en/memhome/Pages/MemberProfile.aspx?mid=4988|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, she married Martin;<ref name="bio - Assembly" /> he works as a policy officer for [[Welsh Labour]].<ref name="ROI">{{cite web|title=Register of interests: Dawn Bowden AM|url=http://senedd.assembly.wales/mgDeclarationSubmission.aspx?UID=4988&HID=1215&FID=0&HPID=1007714531|website=senedd.assembly.wales|publisher=National Assembly for Wale|accessdate=30 August 2016|date=10 June 2016}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{Welsh Cabinet}} {{Welsh MSs 2016–2021|state=collapsed}} {{Welsh MSs 2021–2026|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Dawn}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Welsh Labour members of the Senedd]] [[Category:Labour Co-operative members of the Senedd]] [[Category:Female members of the Senedd]] [[Category:Wales MSs 2016–2021]] [[Category:Wales MSs 2021–2026]] [[Category:British women trade unionists]] [[Category:Trade unionists from Bristol]]