Rhun ap Iorwerth becomes new first minister of Wales

Wales has a new first minister - Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru.

He was confirmed for the top job after winning a vote in the Senedd, also called the Welsh Parliament.

Rhun ap Iorwerth will now be sworn in as first minister by a High Court judge, and the Senedd's presiding officer, or llywydd, will write to the King recommending that he is officially appointed.

It's the first time that the head of the Welsh government is from a political party other than Labour.

Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "I'm eager to repay the trust that the people of Wales have placed in us, and achieve the change that people have stated so clearly that they wish to see."

Members of the Senedd (MS) put forward three nominees for the position of first minister - Rhun ap Iorwerth from Plaid Cymru, Dan Thomas from Reform UK, and Darren Millar from the Welsh Conservatives.

Plaid Cymru are the party that got the most votes in the elections in Wales on 7 May, and they are now the largest party in the Senedd.

In the vote for first minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth won with 44 votes, where he was supported by Plaid Cyrmu as well as members from the Wales Green Party.

Dan Thomas picked up 34 votes, Darren Millar had seven and there were nine abstentions - which means nine MSs chose not to vote.

Rhun ap Iorwerth is the leader of Plaid Cymru.

He was born in Tonteg in south east Wales but grew up on Anglesey, after moving there with his family when he was five years old.

Before becoming a politician, he worked as a BBC Wales journalist for nearly 20 years.

His career in politics started when he was first elected to the Senedd back in 2013, when he won a seat for Plaid Cymru in the constituency - or area - of Ynys Môn, or Anglesey.

Rhun ap Iorwerth became the leader of the party 10 years later in 2023.

Even though Plaid Cymru have the most seats in the Senedd, they don't have what's called a majority - in effect, to be confident that they have enough people to vote in their favour.

This means that Plaid Cymru will need to work with other parties to help win votes in the Senedd for their policies, or plans.

Among other things, Plaid Cymru want to see more powers transferred - or devolved - from the UK government in Westminster to Wales, as well as a path for Wales to be independent from the UK.

Reform UK's Dan Thomas congratulated Rhun ap Iorwerth for his win, adding that Reform will be a "robust opposition... a voice of the left-behind communities that have voted for us".

Ken Skates from Welsh Labour said that he was "deeply saddened" at his party's loss, saying that the "immense responsibility" of government "now rests on different shoulders".

Representing the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar told Rhun ap Iorwerth that his election success was "formidable", but that "you have a monumental task before you".