Editing Secretary of State for Wales (section)

==Creation==
In the first half of the 20th century, a number of politicians had supported the creation of the post of Secretary of State for Wales as a step towards [[home rule]] for Wales.  A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 under the [[Home Secretary|home secretary]] and was upgraded to [[minister of state]] level in 1954.

The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] proposed the creation of a [[Welsh Office]] run by a Secretary of State for Wales in their manifesto for the [[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959 general election]]. When they came to power in 1964 this was soon put into effect.

The post of Secretary of State for Wales came into existence on 17 October 1964; the first incumbent was [[Jim Griffiths]], MP for [[Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency)|Llanelli]]. The position entailed responsibility for Wales, and expenditure on certain public services was delegated from [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Westminster]]. In April 1965 administration of Welsh affairs, which had previously been divided between a number of [[departments of the British Government|government department]]s, was united in a newly created [[Welsh Office]] with the secretary of state for Wales at its head, and the Welsh secretary became responsible for education and training, health, trade and industry, environment, transport and agriculture within Wales.