Ron Davies | |
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![]() Davies in 1998 | |
Leader of Welsh Labour | |
In office 19 September 1998 – 29 October 1998 | |
UK party leader | Tony Blair |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Alun Michael |
Secretary of State for Wales | |
In office 2 May 1997 – 27 October 1998 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
Preceded by | William Hague |
Succeeded by | Alun Michael |
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | |
In office 5 November 1992 – 2 May 1997 | |
Leader | John Smith Margaret Beckett Tony Blair |
Preceded by | Ann Clwyd |
Succeeded by | William Hague |
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Caerphilly | |
In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Jeffrey Cuthbert |
Member of Parliament for Caerphilly | |
In office 9 June 1983 – 14 May 2001 | |
Preceded by | Ednyfed Hudson Davies |
Succeeded by | Wayne David |
Personal details | |
Born | Machen, Monmouthshire, Wales | 6 August 1946
Political party | Labour (until 2004) Forward Wales (2004–2009) Independent (2009–2010) Plaid Cymru (2010–present) |
Spouse |
Lynn Hughes (m. 2002) |
Alma mater | University of Portsmouth Cardiff University |
Signature | ![]() |
Ronald Davies (born 6 August 1946) is a retired Welsh politician, former Secretary of State for Wales, former Member of Parliament and former member of the Welsh Assembly. He describes himself as a politician belonging to the "traditional left" who had "spent his life looking for a socialist progressive party". He was a member of the Labour Party (until 2004), and then of Forward Wales (2004–2009); he was subsequently an independent candidate and eventually joined Plaid Cymru in 2010.[1]
He is credited with being the "architect of devolution" in Wales and led the campaign to create the National Assembly for Wales. He became the first Cabinet Minister to resign from Tony Blair's Cabinet, in 1998, following what became known as a "moment of madness" when he was mugged at knifepoint after agreeing to go for a meal with a man he had met at the well-known gay meeting place of Clapham Common.