Ron Davies (Welsh politician)

The Right Honourable Ron Davies
Davies in 1998
Leader of Welsh Labour
In office 19 September 1998 – 29 October 1998
UK party leader	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Alun Michael
Secretary of State for Wales
In office 2 May 1997 – 27 October 1998
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	William Hague
Succeeded by	Alun Michael
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
In office 5 November 1992 – 2 May 1997
Leader	John Smith Margaret Beckett Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ann Clwyd
Succeeded by	William Hague
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Caerphilly
In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Jeffrey Cuthbert
Member of Parliament for Caerphilly
In office 9 June 1983 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by	Ednyfed Hudson Davies
Succeeded by	Wayne David
Personal details
Born	(1946-08-06) 6 August 1946 (age 78) Machen, Monmouthshire, Wales
Political party	Labour (until 2004) Forward Wales (2004–2009) Independent (2009–2010) Plaid Cymru (2010–present)
Spouse	Christina Rees ​ (div. 1999)​ Lynn Hughes ​ (m. 2002)​
Alma mater	University of Portsmouth Cardiff University
Signature

Ronald Davies (born 6 August 1946) is a retired Welsh politician, former Secretary of State for Wales, former Member of Parliament and former member of the Welsh Assembly. He describes himself as a politician belonging to the "traditional left" who had "spent his life looking for a socialist progressive party". He was a member of the Labour Party (until 2004), and then of Forward Wales (2004–2009); he was subsequently an independent candidate and eventually joined Plaid Cymru in 2010.^[1]

He is credited with being the "architect of devolution" in Wales and led the campaign to create the National Assembly for Wales. He became the first Cabinet Minister to resign from Tony Blair's Cabinet, in 1998, following what became known as a "moment of madness" when he was mugged at knifepoint after agreeing to go for a meal with a man he had met at the well-known gay meeting place of Clapham Common.