The First Minister of Wales (Welsh: Prif Weinidog Cymru) 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 rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and Wales abroad; and staffing.

The official office of the First Minister is in Tŷ Hywel, previously known as Crickhowell House, and the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. An office is also kept at the Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff.

When initially set up under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the post was known as First Secretary for Wales (in Welsh Prif Ysgrifennydd Cymru), as Wales was given a less powerful assembly and executive than Northern Ireland and Scotland. This was also attributed to the fact that the Welsh term for First Minister, Prif Weinidog, also translates as Prime Minister, so a different title was chosen to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Wales ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.

During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

A First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.

In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers. It is used in such formulae as "first ministers' meetings".

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Inuit self-governing region of Nunatsiavut provides for a First Minister responsible to the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

The head of government of Norway was called First Minister (Norwegian: førstestatsråd) between 1814 and 1873, while it was in personal union with Sweden. In 1893, 12 years prior to the dissolution of the union, it was changed to Prime Minister (statsminister).

In the United Kingdom, the term First Minister was once used interchangeably with Prime Minister, as in Winston Churchill's famous line: "I did not become His Majesty's First Minister so that I might oversee the liquidation of the British Empire!"

Nowadays, the term is used to describe the leaders of the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. See

Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician and the First Minister of Wales. The third official to lead the Welsh Government, Jones has been Assembly Member for Bridgend since 1999. In the coalition government of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru, he was appointed Counsel General for Wales and Leader of the House on 19 July 2007. Along with a number of other Assembly Members, he is a fluent Welsh speaker, and is also a member of Amnesty International and the Fabian Society. He was elected to succeed Rhodri Morgan as the new Leader of Welsh Labour on 1 December 2009. On 9 December he was nominated as First Minister and unanimously elected by the National Assembly. He was sworn into office the following day.

Born in Swansea, he was raised in Bridgend in a fluent Welsh speaking family. He was a pupil at Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, and then studied at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he joined the Labour Party during the Miners' Strike.

Jones trained as a barrister at the Inns of Court School of Law, London, and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1989.

Howell Jones (5 April 1882 - 1 December 1908) was a Welsh rugby union forward who played for the rugby club Neath and county rugby for Glamorgan. He gained just a single cap for the Wales national team in 1904. Jones came from a sporting family, and his son, Howie Jones, also represented Wales in the rugby union.

Jones first played rugby for his local school before joining Glynneath. Like many successful players from the area, once Jones had been noticed as a rugby talent, he progressed to Neath RFC, the most notable club in the region. In the 1903-04 season, Neath made Jones the captain of the Neath senior XV. As captain of Neath, Jones was selected for his one and only international appearance, playing for Wales in the country's final game of the 1904 Home Nations Championship. Wales had already played England and Scotland, registering a draw and a win, meaning a win over Ireland would give Wales the possibility of winning the Championship. The Welsh selectors had brought in new capped players throughout the campaign and the final game was no exception. Jones was one of three players who were representing Wales for the first time during the Irish game and the tenth of the tournament. All three new caps were in the forward positions, and Jones was joined by Newport's Charlie Pritchard and Sid Bevan from Swansea. The game ended controversially, with the match referee blames for allowing Ireland a try from an illegal forward pass, and then denying Welsh wing Dick Jones a winning try. Wales finished the 1904 Championship in second and Jones was never selected to play for Wales again.