Vaughan Gething, a Zambia-born biracial man who identifies as black, has been selected as the new First Minister of Wales, meaning every national leader in Great Britain is now an ethnic minority.
Gething, of the left-wing Labour party, will lead the Welsh government — roughly equivalent to a U.S. state government — following a narrow victory in internal party elections.
Humza Yousaf, of the left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP), became First Minister of Scotland in 2023. Rishi Sunak, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has been the de facto First Minister of England, which lacks a devolved government of its own, since he assumed office in 2022. Like Gething, their respective parties installed them in high office between national elections.
Across the wider British Isles, First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill is the only remaining white national leader. However, she is unusual in that she is the first Irish nationalist politician to hold the office, hailing from the IRA-linked Sinn Féin party.
The Republic of Ireland is led by Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar, who is the biracial son of an Indian immigrant, as well as the country’s first homosexual head of government.
Meanwhile, here's Mr Yousaf "foaming at the mouth" at the fact senior posts in a mostly white country are mostly held by white people: pic.twitter.com/07d2GrvgnC
— Jack Montgomery (@JackBMontgomery) October 27, 2023
