Hywel Rhodri Morgan, known mononymously as Rhodri, was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009.
108 Facts About Rhodri Morgan
2.
Rhodri Morgan was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West from 1987 to 2001.
3.
Rhodri Morgan remains the longest-serving First Minister of Wales, having served in the position for 9 years and 304 days.
4.
Rhodri Morgan was Chancellor of Swansea University from 2011 until his death in 2017.
5.
Hywel Rhodri Morgan was born at Mrs Gill's Nursing Home in Roath, Cardiff on 29 September 1936.
6.
Rhodri Morgan's mother was one of the first women to study at University College, Swansea, where she read Welsh.
7.
Rhodri Morgan became a schoolteacher in Rhymney before settling in Radyr after her retirement.
8.
Rhodri Morgan's father read Welsh at University College, Swansea before reading Old Irish at University College Dublin.
9.
Rhodri Morgan became a Welsh language lecturer at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and a Welsh language professor at University College, Swansea, where he served as the vice-principal.
10.
Rhodri Morgan met Huana at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1926 and they married in 1935.
11.
Rhodri Morgan would grow up to become a history professor at Swansea University.
12.
Rhodri Morgan was related to the academic Garel Rhys, who was his second cousin.
13.
Rhodri Morgan was raised with his brother Prys in the village of Radyr in outer Cardiff.
14.
Rhodri Morgan was born in the first month of World War II, and the conflict had a great presence in his life during his early childhood.
15.
Rhodri Morgan retained vivid memories of air raid sirens and prisoners of war into adulthood.
16.
Rhodri Morgan had a lifelong love for gardening which began when he watched his father grow vegetables for the wartime dig for victory campaign.
17.
Rhodri Morgan had a mostly positive childhood, however he was often ill as an infant, and he almost died from pneumonia in 1942.
18.
In 2005, Rhodri Morgan remarked that the school was "like the League of Nations" because of the refugees and evacuees in Radyr.
19.
Rhodri Morgan showed signs of intelligence at school, and he would be tracked two academic years ahead of his peers, sharing classes with his older brother Prys.
20.
Rhodri Morgan finished primary school in 1950 and passed his eleven-plus examination.
21.
Rhodri Morgan finished his secondary education there in 1957 after winning a place at St John's College, Oxford on an open exhibition for the study of modern languages.
22.
At Oxford, Rhodri Morgan studied modern languages for two academic terms before becoming disinterested in the subject and changing his subject to philosophy, politics and economics.
23.
Rhodri Morgan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with second class honours in PPE.
24.
Rhodri Morgan graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with a Master of Arts degree in government in 1963, before coming back to the United Kingdom in that year's summer.
25.
Rhodri Morgan had convinced his mother to take him to a local political meeting.
26.
Rhodri Morgan later recalled thinking: "I'm going to nail those bastards".
27.
Rhodri Morgan was an active member of the Oxford University Labour Club and is said to have discouraged other students at Oxford from joining Plaid Cymru.
28.
Rhodri Morgan joined the Labour Party in December 1963, where he became a member of the constituency Labour Party for Cardiff South East.
29.
Rhodri Morgan returned to the United Kingdom in the summer of 1963, where he took up his first job as a tutor organiser for the Workers' Educational Association, which was then a training ground for future Labour Party MPs.
30.
Rhodri Morgan was responsible for organising the association's tutors in South Wales.
31.
Rhodri Morgan pursued a relationship with Edwards and after three years of campaigning together they married on 22 April 1967.
32.
In 1966, Rhodri Morgan was considered for selection as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Cardiff North, though this ultimately fell through.
33.
At the time, Rhodri Morgan did not have a strong interest in a parliamentary career, and whilst Kinnock and other former WEA workers quickly became MPs, he instead wanted to spend time with his family.
34.
Rhodri Morgan left the WEA in 1965, taking up jobs as a research officer for Cardiff City Council, the Welsh Office and the Department of the Environment in that order, remaining in this field of work until 1971.
35.
At the Welsh Office, Rhodri Morgan authored documents to expand the M4 motorway through parts of South Wales.
36.
Rhodri Morgan contributed to the creation of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Wales, as well as the relocation of the Royal Mint and a part of the Inland Revenue to Wales.
37.
In 1972, Rhodri Morgan became a civil servant at the Department of Trade and Industry where he worked for Christopher Chataway as an economic adviser.
38.
In 1974, Rhodri Morgan became the industrial development officer for South Glamorgan County Council, which he said was his "dream job".
39.
From 1980 to 1987 Rhodri Morgan worked at the European Commission's Office for Wales as the head of its press and information bureau.
40.
Rhodri Morgan's work had permitted him to keep living in Cardiff while staying politically active as a neutral civil servant.
41.
In 1985, Rhodri Morgan decided to stand for parliament after his wife was elected as a councillor for South Glamorgan County Council.
42.
James Callaghan had announced his plans to retire from his seat, Cardiff South and Penarth, at the next general election, and Rhodri Morgan intended to take over from Callaghan as Labour's candidate for the seat.
43.
Rhodri Morgan was encouraged to seek selection in the seat of Cardiff West instead.
44.
Rhodri Morgan was successfully nominated for selection as Labour's candidate in Cardiff West, beating contenders such as Ivor Richard, the United Kingdom's former ambassador to the United Nations, where he would stand in the 1987 general election.
45.
Rhodri Morgan won the seat with a majority of 4,045 votes.
46.
Rhodri Morgan increased his majority to 9,291 in the 1992 general election and 15,628 in the 1997 general election.
47.
Rhodri Morgan was sponsored by the Transport and General Workers' Union and shared an office at Transport House with Alun Michael, the Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, following their election to parliament in 1987.
48.
Rhodri Morgan was joined in parliament by his wife Julie following the 1997 general election, when she was elected as the Labour MP for Cardiff North.
49.
Rhodri Morgan made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 8 July 1987, during a debate on a Finance Bill.
50.
Rhodri Morgan established a reputation for being a "maverick" and a witty and outspoken "loose-cannon".
51.
In line with the majority of backbench MPs from Wales, Rhodri Morgan aligned himself with the soft left of the Labour Party.
52.
Rhodri Morgan was associated with the "Riverside Mafia", a group of soft left Labour councillors in South Glamorgan County Council which included Mark Drakeford, Jane Hutt, Sue Essex and Morgan's wife Julie.
53.
Rhodri Morgan was concerned about the differing opinions from geologists on the barrage's possible effects.
54.
Rhodri Morgan was a naturalist who found the bay's mudflats to be of value, and he believed that damming it could cause a permanent increase in drainage, damp and rot.
55.
Rhodri Morgan believed that the barrage could flood Cardiff West, with the constituency having had a history of damaging floods as recent as 1979.
56.
Rhodri Morgan became the spokesman for a group of Labour councillors in Cardiff City Council and South Glamorgan County Council who opposed the project, and in parliament he led a five year campaign against the bill which would allow for its construction.
57.
In 1993, Rhodri Morgan warned John Redwood, the Welsh secretary, that a Labour government might stop the construction of the barrage before its completion.
58.
Rhodri Morgan became a junior shadow minister for energy, where he was given responsibility for Labour's response to the government's electricity privatisation policy.
59.
When taking the role, Rhodri Morgan said he intended to scrutinise the government's plans for electricity privatisation as he found "no virtues in converting a public monopoly into a private sector monopoly" and wanted to find "a better deal for consumers".
60.
Rhodri Morgan spoke beyond his brief, asking why Wales received less investment than Cornwall and Devon and exploring a now disproven conspiracy theory that the Spandau prisoner believed to be Nazi German deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess was an imposter.
61.
Rhodri Morgan then worked under Frank Dobson, the shadow energy secretary from 1989 to 1992.
62.
In contrast, the New Statesman said Rhodri Morgan "antagonised [Blair] at every step".
63.
Rhodri Morgan himself believed that he was "highly regarded" by Blair.
64.
Rhodri Morgan supported Blair's attempt to get elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 1992 and voted for Blair during his campaign for the Labour leadership in 1994, which he won.
65.
Rhodri Morgan remained in this post after Tony Blair became Labour leader in 1994.
66.
At first, Rhodri Morgan worked under Ann Clwyd, the shadow secretary of state for Wales from July 1992 to November 1992.
67.
Rhodri Morgan then worked under Ron Davies, the shadow welsh secretary from November 1992, serving as his deputy.
68.
Rhodri Morgan was given responsibility for Labour's health policy in Wales.
69.
In 1994, Rhodri Morgan claimed that government plans would result in there being more people sitting on quangos than local councillors in the country.
70.
The idea of establishing a devolved Welsh Assembly had been supported by Rhodri Morgan, who was one of its leading proponents.
71.
Rhodri Morgan was involved in talks with the upper ranks of the Labour Party on devolution, becoming an important figure in drawing up its devolution policy for Wales.
72.
Rhodri Morgan was a member of the Campaign for the Welsh Assembly and supported Wales Labour Action, a pressure group within the Labour Party that called for the establishment of a Welsh Assembly.
73.
In Cardiff, Rhodri Morgan faced hostility from the local political establishment in the Labour Party.
74.
Rhodri Morgan had a difficult relationship with some of Tony Blair's inner circle, including his close confidant Alun Michael and his closest adviser Peter Mandelson.
75.
Rhodri Morgan had been aspiring to become a government minister since at least 1994, and when Labour returned to government he was expected to be given a role in the Welsh Office as a junior minister.
76.
Rhodri Morgan returned to the backbenches where he was elected chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee as a consolation prize.
77.
Rhodri Morgan was considering standing for election to the assembly if the referendum passed.
78.
Rhodri Morgan decided to put his name forward as Labour's candidate for the assembly seat of Cardiff West, which had the same name and boundaries as his seat in the House of Commons.
79.
Rhodri Morgan was identified as a likely contender to become the first leader of the assembly, known as the First Secretary of Wales.
80.
Rhodri Morgan then called for a leadership election to determine who the party's candidate for first secretary would be.
81.
However, Rhodri Morgan continued to insist on a leadership election, stating that he had already announced his intention to become first secretary before Davies did.
82.
Rhodri Morgan presented himself as the "new beginning, anti-establishment" candidate and as the "unity" candidate.
83.
Rhodri Morgan presented himself as the "democratic" candidate, as he had campaigned for the election to be held under the one member, one vote electoral system.
84.
Support for Rhodri Morgan came from the smaller trade unions, the constituency membership and the party grassroots.
85.
Blair appointed Michael, a Blairite, to prevent Rhodri Morgan from taking the leadership.
86.
Rhodri Morgan declined Michael's offer and insisted on another leadership election.
87.
Blair met with Rhodri Morgan and tried to convince him not to stand, but Rhodri Morgan rejected this appeal and continued his leadership campaign.
88.
Rhodri Morgan presented himself as the choice of the Welsh people.
89.
Rhodri Morgan was described as the left-wing "Old Labour" candidate while Michael was described as the centrist "New Labour" candidate.
90.
Rhodri Morgan lost to the then Secretary of State for Wales, Ron Davies.
91.
Rhodri Morgan, who had served as Minister for Economic Development under Michael, became Labour's new nominee for First Secretary, and was elected in February 2000, later becoming First Minister on 16 October 2000 when the position was retitled.
92.
Rhodri Morgan was appointed to the Privy Council in July 2000.
93.
Rhodri Morgan stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2001 General Election.
94.
Rhodri Morgan's leadership was characterised by a willingness to distance himself from a number of aspects of UK Labour Party policy, particularly in relation to plans to introduce choice and competition into public services, which he has argued do not fit Welsh attitudes and values, and would not work effectively in a smaller and more rural country.
95.
On 1 May 2003, Labour under Rhodri Morgan's leadership was re-elected in the Assembly elections.
96.
Rhodri Morgan managed to win enough seats to form a Labour-only administration and named his cabinet on 9 May In that election, Labour easily took back all of the former strongholds they lost to Plaid Cymru at the height of Alun Michael's unpopularity in 1999.
97.
Rhodri Morgan became the first modern political leader of Wales to lead an Assembly with powers to pass primary legislation.
98.
In July 2005, Rhodri Morgan announced his intention to lead the Welsh Labour party into the 2007 general election, but retire as leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister sometime in 2009, when he would be 70.
99.
Rhodri Morgan remained a backbench AM until April 2011, when the third Assembly was dissolved before the general election on 5 May 2011.
100.
Rhodri Morgan had eight grandchildren and a Labrador named William Tell.
101.
Rhodri Morgan's elder brother Prys Morgan was a history professor at Swansea University and his second cousin Garel Rhys was an academic.
102.
Rhodri Morgan was a long-time friend of Neil Kinnock, leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.
103.
Rhodri Morgan was a long-time friend of the former AM Sue Essex.
104.
In July 2007, Rhodri Morgan was admitted to hospital where he underwent heart surgery.
105.
Rhodri Morgan collapsed on the evening of 17 May 2017 while cycling on Road, Wenvoe, near his home.
106.
Rhodri Morgan was awarded several honorary degrees for his service to the United Kingdom, including the following.
107.
Rhodri Morgan was appointed Chancellor of Swansea University in 2011, a post he held until his death.
108.
Rhodri Morgan had close links with the university as both his parents had graduated from it in the 1920s and his father and brother taught there.