Wales' election of its first Black leader means no White man runs a U.K. government for the first time ever

Vaughan Gething was elected as the new first minister of Wales on Wednesday, becoming the first Black leader of a government in the U.K. Gething was elected to lead the government by members of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff, four days after winning the contest to be leader of Wales' governing Labour Party. He secured 27 of 51 votes in the legislature, the Senedd, where Labour is the biggest party.

Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, said Wales is now "the first nation anywhere in Europe to be led by a Black person."

"It is a matter of pride for a modern Wales, but also a daunting responsibility for me — and one that I do not take lightly," he told lawmakers.