Jim Griffiths
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The Right Honourable Jim Griffiths CH |
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| Secretary of State for Wales | |
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In office 18 October 1964 – 5 April 1966 |
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| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | Cledwyn Hughes |
| Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
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In office 2 February 1956 – 4 May 1959 |
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| Leader | Hugh Gaitskell |
| Preceded by | Herbert Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Aneurin Bevan |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
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In office 28 February 1950 – 26 October 1951 |
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| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Arthur Creech Jones |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Lyttelton |
| Minister of National Insurance | |
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In office 27 July 1945 – 28 February 1950 |
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| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Leslie Hore-Belisha |
| Succeeded by | Edith Summerskill |
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Member of Parliament for Llanelli |
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In office 5 April 1936 – 18 June 1970 |
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| Preceded by | John Henry Williams |
| Succeeded by | Denzil Davies |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 September 1890 Betws, Carmarthenshire |
| Died |
7 August 1975 (aged 84) Teddington, Greater London |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Winifred Rutley |
James Griffiths CH PC (19 September 1890 – 7 August 1975) was a Welsh Labour politician, trade union leader and the first ever Secretary of State for Wales.
He was born in the strongly Welsh-speaking village of Betws, near Ammanford in Carmarthenshire. The youngest of ten children his father was the local blacksmith. His brother (David Rees Griffiths, 1882–1953) was a notable Welsh poet who took the bardic name of 'Amanwy' after his native valley. Educated at Betws Board School, he left at the age of 13 to work at Ammanford No. 1 colliery (Gwaith Isa'r Betws), where he eventually became Lodge Secretary. Griffiths was a pacifist and while campaigning against the Great War met Winifred Rutley, whom he married in 1918.
He continued his education by attending night school and became an active socialist. He helped establish a branch of the Independent Labour Party in Ammanford in 1908 and soon became its secretary. He went on to occupy the powerful post of secretary of the newly formed Ammanford Trades Council between 1916–1919. At age 29, he left the colliery on a miner's scholarship to the Central Labour College, London, On returning home he worked as Llanelly Labour Party agent, between 1922–1925, before becoming an agent for the Anthracite Miners' Association, 1925–1936, and President of the powerful Miners' Federation of South Wales – The Fed – in the Anthracite district of West Wales between 1934–1936. In 1936, he was elected Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for the safe seat of Llanelli. Three years later he continued his rise through the Labour movement by getting elected to Labour's National Executive Committee in 1939.
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