Minister for the Economy and Transport

The Minister for the Economy and Transport was a member of the Cabinet

Politics of Wales

Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom....

in the Welsh Assembly Government

Welsh Assembly Government

The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

. The Minister had responsibility for the Department for the Economy and Transport, which combined two devolved functions of the Welsh Government: Business and Economy, and Transport. The Department was created in June 2007, as successor to the Department for Enterprise Innovation and Networks, following the National Assembly for Wales elections in May 2007.

Deputy First Minister

First Minister for Wales

The First Minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration, which was established in 1999. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the...

Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...

AM was appointed to the post in July 2007, succeeding Dr Brian Gibbons AM

Brian Gibbons

Dr Brian Gibbons, AM, FRCGP was the Labour Party Assembly Member for Aberavon from May 1999 to May 2010, when he stood down...

, who had been Minister since the previous month, and held the position until 13 May 2011. The department was abolished, and replaced by the department of Business, Enterprise, Technology & Science.

Responsibilities

Following the "yes" vote in the Welsh referendum of 1997, certain Westminster government

Government of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...

executive

Executive Power

Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

and legislative

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

powers were devolved to the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

by the Government of Wales Act 1998

Government of Wales Act 1998

This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998...

. This included the power to determine how their budgets are spent and administered. These powers were increased by the Government of Wales Act 2006

Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...

. Among those powers are Business and Economy, and Transport, for which the Minister for the Economy and Transport had responsibility within the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Department's funding was allocated by the Welsh Assembly Government, following agreement of its annual budget.

The Department for Economy and Transport's stated objectives were to:

create jobs across Wales
stimulate enterprise and growth
enhance skills for jobs

The Minster was also responsible for the government's support for dotcym

Proposed top-level domain

The Domain Name System of the Internet consists of a set of top-level domains which constitute the root domain of the hierarchical name space and database. In the growth of the Internet, it became desirable to expand the set of initially six generic top-level domains in 1984. As a result new...

, the top-level internet domain campaign for a .cym suffix for Wales, which was part of the One Wales
One Wales
One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...

coalition agreement.

Business and economy

The Minister was responsible for supporting businesses in Wales, including growth and development, inward investment, provision of premises, commercial and industrial environmental improvements, and exports.

Policy for the allocation of European Union Structural Funds

Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds

The Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund are financial tools set up to implement the Cohesion policy also referred to as the Regional policy of the European Union. They aim to reduce regional disparities in terms of income, wealth and opportunities...

in Wales, and its administration, was in the remit of the Minister.

Transport

The Minster was responsible for transport policy in specific areas. The Minister's main priorities were: development of an integrated transport system in Wales; construction, improvement and maintenance of trunk roads and motorways in Wales; Wales and Borders

Wales and Borders

Wales and Borders is the name of a franchise of train services covering Wales, the Welsh Marches and bordering counties of England.-History:The franchise was initially formed from part of the former Wales and West franchise and the Cardiff Railway Company , together with the lines from Shrewsbury...

passenger rail services; road safety strategies including speed limits, pedestrian crossings and on-street parking. The Minister also oversaw the provision of other public transport services, such as buses.

The Department

Following the National Assembly for Wales elections on 3 May 2007, the Welsh Assembly Government restructured its departments. The former Department for Enterprise Innovation and Networks was absorbed into the new Department for the Economy and Transport on 1 June 2007. Dr Brian Gibbons

Brian Gibbons

Dr Brian Gibbons, AM, FRCGP was the Labour Party Assembly Member for Aberavon from May 1999 to May 2010, when he stood down...

was appointed to the post of Minister for the Economy and Transport on its creation.

A coalition government was formed by the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

and Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

on 7 July 2007. The resulting reshuffle of the Cabinet was announced on 19 July 2007, which saw Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones

AM (Member of the National Assembly for Wales