{{Short description|Welsh politician (born 1960)}} {{for-multi|the Labour peer|Leslie Griffiths|the American journalist|Leslie Griffith}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}} {{Use British English|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Lesley Griffiths | honorific_suffix = | image = Official portrait of Lesley Griffiths (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Official portrait, 2024 | office1 = [[Trefnydd of the Senedd]] | deputy1 = | first_minister1 = [[Mark Drakeford]] | term_start1 = 13 May 2021 | term_end1 = 21 March 2024 | predecessor1 = [[Rebecca Evans (politician)|Rebecca Evans]] | successor1 = [[Jane Hutt]] | office3 = [[Minister for Rural Affairs (Wales)|Minister for Rural Affairs]]{{efn|Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs from May 2016 to November 2017; Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs from November 2017 to December 2018; Minister for Environment, Energy, and Rural Affairs from December 2018 to May 2021; Minister for Rural Affairs from May 2021 to March 2024}} | term_start3 = 19 May 2016 | term_end3 = 21 March 2024 | first_minister3 = [[Carwyn Jones]]<br />[[Mark Drakeford]] | predecessor3 = [[Carl Sargeant]] | successor3 = [[Huw Irranca-Davies]] | office4 = [[Welsh Government|Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty]] | first_minister4 = [[Carwyn Jones]] | term_start4 = 11 September 2014<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-29156951|title=Leighton Andrews rejoins cabinet in reshuffle|work=BBC News |date=11 September 2014}}</ref> | term_end4 = 19 May 2016 | predecessor4 = [[Jeffrey Cuthbert]] | successor4 = [[Carl Sargeant]] | office5 = [[Welsh Government|Minister for Local Government and Government Business]] | first_minister5 = [[Carwyn Jones]] | term_start5 = 14 March 2013<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-21789790|title=Welsh government reshuffle: Mark Drakeford new health minister|work=BBC News |date=14 March 2013}}</ref> | term_end5 = 11 September 2014 | predecessor5 = [[Carl Sargeant]] | successor5 = [[Leighton Andrews]] (Public Services)<br />[[Jane Hutt]] (Government Business) | office6 = [[Minister for Health and Social Services]] | term_start6 = 11 May 2011 | term_end6 = 14 March 2013 | first_minister6 = [[Carwyn Jones]] | predecessor6 = [[Edwina Hart]] | successor6 = [[Mark Drakeford]] | office7 = [[Member of the Senedd]] <br /> for [[Wrexham (Senedd constituency)|Wrexham]] | majority7 = 1,350 (6.0%) | term_start7 = 3 May 2007 | term_end7 = 7 April 2026 | predecessor7 = [[John Marek (politician)|John Marek]] | successor7 = ''Seat abolished'' | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1960}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | birth_name = | party = [[Welsh Labour]] | other_party = | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = Political Advisor | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = [https://www.lesleygriffiths.co.uk/en/home// Lesley Griffiths] | footnotes = | office = [[Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice]] | first_minister = [[Vaughan Gething]] | term_start = 21 March 2024 | term_end = 16 July 2024 | predecessor = [[Jane Hutt]] | successor = [[Jane Hutt]] | office2 = [[Minister for North Wales]] | successor2 = [[Ken Skates]] | predecessor2 = [[Ken Skates]] | term_start2 = 13 May 2021 | term_end2 = 20 March 2024 | first_minister2 = [[Mark Drakeford]] }} '''Susan Lesley Griffiths''' (born 1960) is a [[Welsh Labour]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://senedd.wales/en/memhome/Pages/MemberProfile.aspx?mid=154|title=Member Profile|website=Welsh Parliament}}</ref> politician who was [[Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice]] from March to July 2024.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Mosalski |first=Ruth |date=2024-03-21 |title=Vaughan Gething confirms new-look Welsh Government cabinet |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-vaughan-gething-confirms-28859505 |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Wales Online |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cleyl8ln66et|title=Four members of Welsh government quit, calling for First Minister Vaughan Gething to resign|website=BBC News}}</ref> She previously served as [[Trefnydd of the Senedd]] and [[Minister for North Wales]] from 2021 to 2024, and [[Minister for Rural Affairs (Wales)|Minister for Rural Affairs]] from 2016 to 2024. She worked as a secretary to [[John Marek (politician)|John Marek]] and the constituency assistant to [[Ian Lucas]], successive [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] for [[Wrexham (UK Parliament constituency)|Wrexham]], and was elected to the [[Senedd]] from the [[Wrexham (Senedd constituency)|Wrexham]] constituency in 2007. She has held a number of cabinet positions in the [[Welsh Government]]. In December 2009 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills.<ref name=":1"/>
In 2011, she was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/firstminister/2011/cabinet/?lang%3Den |title=Welsh Government | "New Team Delivers for Wales" |accessdate=2011-05-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522112834/http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/firstminister/2011/cabinet/?lang=en |archivedate=22 May 2011 }}</ref> She was then appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business in March 2013.<ref name=":1" /> In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabinetm/lesleygriffiths?lang%3Den |title=Welsh Government | Lesley Griffiths AM |accessdate=2013-04-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822202552/http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabinetm/lesleygriffiths?lang=en |archivedate=22 August 2012 }}</ref> Following the [[2016 National Assembly for Wales election|2016 election]], she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following her own re-election.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetm/lesley-griffiths?lang=en |title=Lesley Griffiths MS: Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs |publisher=Gov.Wales |date= |accessdate=2021-05-11}}</ref> She retained her post in a Welsh Government Cabinet reshuffle in November 2017, but with a revised portfolio of Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs<ref>{{cite web |url= http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetstatements/2017/ministerialchanges/?lang=en |title= Welsh Government {{!}} Written Statement – Ministerial changes |website= gov.wales |language= EN |access-date= 2017-11-13}}</ref> with [[Hannah Blythyn]] becoming her Deputy Minister for the Environment.
Griffiths stood down from the Senedd at the [[2026 Senedd election]].<ref>{{cite news |first1=James|last1=Moules|first2=Daniel|last2=Green|title=Who are the Labour Senedd members who are standing down at next election? |url=https://labourlist.org/2025/10/senedd-election-2026-labour-ms-standing-down/ |work=LabourList |date=20 October 2025}}</ref>
==2003 campaign== Griffiths was a secretary to [[John Marek]], who represented [[Wrexham (Senedd constituency)|Wrexham]] as a Labour member of the Welsh Assembly. However, in 2003 Marek was de-selected by the local party and Griffiths was selected in his place. There followed a Labour Party inquiry, in which Marek was first contacted by telephone half an hour before the result was announced, and his de-selection was upheld. Marek then decided to fight to retain his seat as an [[Independent (politician)|Independent]],<ref name="Marek Independent">Martin Shipton, "Marek likely to stand as independent", ''Western Mail'', 12 March 2003.</ref> and Griffiths struggled during the campaign; an early poll showed Marek beating her by 40% to 29%.<ref name="2003 poll">Kirsty Buchanan, "Marek beating Labour", ''Western Mail'', 11 April 2003.</ref> In the event, on polling day Marek beat Griffiths by 973 votes.
==Subsequent elections== Having been a supporter of [[Wrexham A.F.C.|Wrexham Football Club]], Griffiths was elected to the board of the Wrexham Supporters Trust. In December 2005 she was selected again as Labour candidate for the Wrexham constituency for the 2007 Assembly elections. She benefited from high-profile support as the party saw an opportunity to recapture the seat; John Marek appealed to the large [[Polish people|Polish]] immigrant population by translating his election material into [[Polish language|Polish]].<ref name="Marek Polish">Allegra Stratton, "'Glosuj na mnie!'", ''New Statesman'', 30 April 2007.</ref> However, Griffiths increased her numerical vote while Marek's vote fell, and she won the seat by 1,250.
In [[2011 National Assembly for Wales election|2011]], Griffiths faced Marek for a third time, though by now Marek had joined the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]]. Both of them saw increases in their votes compared to 2007, but Griffiths held the seat with an increased majority of 3,337.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC News – Election 2011|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/26703.stm|website=BBC News|accessdate=16 February 2016}}</ref> Griffiths was re-selected to defend her seat at the [[2016 National Assembly for Wales election|2016 election]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Starting Gun Fired For Wrexham's National Assembly For Wales Election 2016|url=http://www.wrexham.com/news/starting-gun-fired-for-wrexhams-national-assembly-for-wales-election-2016-97116.html|website=wrexham.com|accessdate=16 February 2016}}</ref> and retained it with a reduced majority of 1,325 over the Conservative candidate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/wales-constituencies/W09000008|title=Wrexham – Welsh Assembly constituency – Election 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-11-13|language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Ministerial responsibility==
Griffiths was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills in December 2009.<ref name="WAG 1">{{cite web|title=Welsh Assembly Government:Lesley Griffiths AM|url=http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/deputyministers/lesleygriffiths?lang=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214124841/http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/deputyministers/lesleygriffiths?lang=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 December 2010|accessdate=16 May 2010|publisher=[[Welsh Assembly Government]]|year=2010|work=Welsh Assembly Government website}}</ref> After the 2011 election, she was promoted to the Minister for Health and Social Services, a post she held until March 2013 when she was appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business. In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.<ref name=":0" /> She was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following re-election in May 2016,<ref name=":1" /> before being appointed Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs in November 2017. She became Minister for Environment, Energy, and Rural Affairs in the [[First Drakeford government]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=First Minister announces new cabinet {{!}} GOV.WALES |url=https://www.gov.wales/first-minister-announces-new-cabinet |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> in December 2018 and then [[Minister for Rural Affairs (Wales)|Minister for Rural Affairs]] and [[Minister for North Wales|North Wales]], and [[Trefnydd of the Senedd|Trefnydd]] in May 2021.<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=2024-03-24 |website=www.gov.wales |language=en}}</ref> In March 2024, Griffiths was appointed [[Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice]] in the [[Gething government]].<ref name=":2" />
In October 2018 Griffiths used her ministerial office to overturn the decision of a [[Planning Inspectorate|planning inspector]] to refuse a proposed [[wind farm]] near [[Llandrindod Wells]]. In November the [[Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales]] announced that it was challenging this in the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]].<ref>Josie Le Vay, [https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/17267000.llandrindod-wells-cprw-launch-high-court-bid-to-challenge-lesley-griffiths-ams-hendy-wind-farm-decision/ Llandrindod Wells: CPRW launch High Court bid to challenge Lesley Griffiths AM's Hendy Wind Farm decision] in Powys County Times dated 30 November 2018, accessed 1 December 2018</ref>
In July 2024, Griffiths resigned from the Welsh Cabinet, alongside three other cabinet members, from [[First Minister of Wales|First Minister]] [[Vaughan Gething]]'s [[Gething government|government]], prompting Gething's [[2024 Welsh government crisis|subsequent resignation as First Minister]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grierson |first=Jamie |date=2024-07-16 |title=Vaughan Gething's leadership in peril as four Welsh ministers resign |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/16/vaughan-gething-leadership-in-peril-as-four-welsh-ministers-resign |access-date=2024-07-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mercer |first1=Rosie |last2=Deans |first2=David |date=16 July 2024 |title=Who is Vaughan Gething, the outgoing first minister of Wales? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw0y7x157nlo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716104317/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw0y7x157nlo |archive-date=16 July 2024 |accessdate=16 July 2024 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
==External links== *[http://www.lesleygriffiths.org/ Personal website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719075340/http://www.lesleygriffiths.org/ |date=19 July 2016 }}
==Offices held== {{s-start}} {{s-par|wal}} {{s-bef|before=[[John Marek (politician)|John Marek]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Member of the Senedd]] for [[Wrexham (Senedd constituency)|Wrexham]]|years=[[2007 National Assembly for Wales election|2007]]–2026}} {{s-aft|after=Constituency abolished}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[John Griffiths (Welsh politician)|John Griffiths]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Welsh Assembly Government|Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills]]|years=2009–2011}} {{s-aft|after= [[Jeff Cuthbert]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Edwina Hart]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Welsh Assembly Government|Minister for Health and Social Services]]|years=2011–2013}} {{s-aft|after= [[Mark Drakeford]]}} {{s-new| post}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Welsh Assembly Government|Minister for Communities]]|years=2013–2016}} {{s-aft|after=[[Carl Sargeant]]}} {{s-new| post}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Rural Affairs (Wales)|Minister for Rural Affairs]]|years=2016–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-before|before=[[Ken Skates]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for North Wales]]|years=2021–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{Drakeford Cabinet}} {{Welsh MSs 2021–2026|state=collapsed}} {{Welsh MSs 2016–2021|state=collapsed}} {{Welsh AMs 2011–2016|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Lesley}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Welsh Labour members of the Senedd]] [[Category:Wales AMs 2007–2011]] [[Category:Wales AMs 2011–2016]] [[Category:Wales MSs 2016–2021]] [[Category:Wales MSs 2021–2026]] [[Category:Female members of the Senedd]]