James Griffiths

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James Griffiths (born September 19, 1890 in Betws , Carmarthenshire , † August 7, 1975 in Teddington , London ) was a Welsh union official and politician of the Labor Party .

biography

Griffiths, a senior miner in the Miner's Union in South Wales , began his political career in 1936 when he was first elected to the House of Commons as a Labor candidate . There he represented the interests of the Llanelli constituency until 1970 .

During the Labor government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951, he was first Minister of National Insurance before he became Secretary of State for the Colonies . As such, he met in May 1951 with the leader of the Kenyan African Union, Jomo Kenyatta , who demanded that he hold a constitutional conference on the situation in Kenya and ultimately its independence before May 1953.

When there was tension within the Labor Party in 1955 due to the differing views of the two candidates for the party chairmanship to succeed Attlees, Aneurin Bevan and Hugh Gaitskell , Griffiths exerted a moderate influence. Griffiths was not only a strong proponent of regionalization, but also one of the main promoters of a separate Ministry for Wales (Welsh Office).

After the Labor Party's election victory on October 16, 1964, Prime Minister Harold Wilson appointed him the first State Secretary for Wales in the cabinet, to which he was a member until 1966.

swell

personal data
SURNAME Griffiths, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Labor Party politician, Member of the House of Commons, Minister
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Betws , Carmarthenshire
DATE OF DEATH 7th August 1975
Place of death Teddington