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Timeline

A lot has happened since devolution back in 1999.

2011

4 March: A referendum on further powers for Wales is held.  The result was a 63.5% vote in favour.

5 May: Fourth Assembly elections. Labour, with 30 seats, forms a minority government.

12 May: The Queen approves the appointment of Carwyn Jones as First Minister of Wales.  The First Minister announces that the Welsh Assembly Government will now be known as the Welsh Government.

13 May: First Minister Carwyn Jones announces his new Cabinet.

7 June: The Queen officially opens the fourth National Assembly for Wales.

12 July: Prime Minister David Cameron addresses the National Assembly for Wales for the first time.

26 July: The first full meeting of the Welsh Government Cabinet is held in North Wales.

27 September: First Minister launches the Programme for Government – our 5-year plan of action which measures outcomes and focuses on delivery for the people of Wales.

2010

6 July: Final report of the Holtham Commission is published.

23 October: Welsh Assembly Government staff move into the new office in Llandudno.

2009

7 July: The Holtham Commission publishes its first report on funding devolved government in Wales, recommending changes to the way in which the Welsh Assembly Government is funded by the Treasury under the Barnett formula.

18 November: Sir Emyr Jones Parry presents the All Wales Convention's report on the future governance of Wales to First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones.

07 December: Rhodri Morgan steps down as First Minister.

10 December: The Queen approves the appointment of Carwyn Jones as First Minister of Wales and he appoints his Cabinet.

2008

8 April: The 'One Wales Delivery Plan' is launched, identifying 228 specific delivery commitments from the One Wales document.

9 July: The NHS Redress Measure, which gives NHS patients fairer and more equal access to compensation when things go wrong, is approved by the Queen. It is the First Assembly Measure to be given Royal Approval, becoming the first Welsh Law made under the new powers in GOWA 2006.

7 October: The Holtham Commission starts work on evaluating how the Welsh Assembly Government is funded.

2007

3 May: Third Assembly elections. Labour wins by a minority of 26 seats.

25 May: The appointment by the Queen of Rhodri Morgan as First Minister, on the nomination of Assembly Members, triggers the legal separation of the Welsh Assembly Government from the National Assembly for Wales under GOWA 2006

5 June: The Queen officially opens the Third National Assembly for Wales.

12 June: The First Legislative Competence Order (LCO) relating to Education and Training (Additional Learning Needs) is published.

27 June: A Coalition partnership between Labour and Plaid Cymru is announced. Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, leader of Plaid Cymru, becomes Deputy First Minister for Wales. The Coalition government sign 'One Wales: A progressive Agenda for the Government of Wales', which sets out the Assembly Government's programme of work for the next four years.

23 October:  Sir Emyr Jones-Parry, a former British Ambassador to the United Nations, chairs the All Wales Convention to prepare for a referendum on giving full law-making powers to the National Assembly.

2006

1 March: The Senedd, the new home of the National Assembly for Wales, is officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen.

25 July: The Government of Wales Act 2006 (GOWA 2006) is passed. The Act gives the Assembly the powers to, amongst others, pass Welsh Laws, known as Assembly Measures.

2005

17 May: Legislation to reform the National Assembly for Wales is announced in the Queen's speech.

15 June: The UK Government publishes its White Paper, Better Governance for Wales, setting out proposals to take forward Welsh devolution.

2004

31 March: Publication of the Richard Commission report.  Its recommendations include, among others, increasing the Assembly's law-making powers.

14 July: The First Minister announces the intention to merge the Wales Tourist Board, Welsh Development Agency, ACCAC and ELWa with the Welsh Assembly Government.

2003

1 May: Second Assembly elections. Labour wins the election with 30 seats.

8 May: First Minister Rhodri Morgan announces the new Cabinet.

5 June: The Queen officially opens the Second National Assembly for Wales.

2002

13 June: The Queen addresses the Assembly on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee.

31 July: The Richard Commission. The First Minister appoints an Independent Commission, chaired by Labour peer Lord Richard of Ammanford, to review the powers of the Assembly and the electoral system in Wales.

2001

1 March: A 'turf' cutting ceremony is held on the site of what will become the new National Assembly for Wales, the Senedd, in Cardiff Bay.

30 October: The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Tony Blair MP, addresses the National Assembly for Wales for the first time.

27 November: The First Minister announces in Plenary that the term Welsh Assembly Government will in future be used to describe the Welsh Cabinet. The term National Assembly for Wales will be used to describe the body of 60 AMs.

2000

24 January:  The National Assembly for Wales launches its first delivery plan, 'A Better Wales', a 10-year plan with targets for improving life for everyone in Wales.

9 February: Alun Michael resigns as First Secretary.  The Cabinet elects the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM MP as acting First Secretary.

15 February: Rhodri Morgan is officially elected as First Secretary.

5 October: A Coalition partnership between Labour and the Liberal Democrats is announced. Mike German AM, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, becomes part of the Welsh Cabinet under the Coalition Agreement.

16 October: The Cabinet adopts the term 'Minister' in place of 'Secretary'.

17 October: Rhodri Morgan and Michael German sign the Partnership Agreement 'Putting Wales First: A Partnership for the People of Wales'.

1999

6 May: First Assembly elections. Labour wins the election.

12 May: First plenary. The Rt Hon Alun Michael AM MP is elected as First Secretary for Wales.

26 May: Opening ceremony of the National Assembly for Wales attended by HM the Queen.

1 July: The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 comes into effect, transferring the powers of the Secretary of State for Wales to the National Assembly for Wales.

1998

31 July: The Government of Wales Act 1998 (GOWA 1998) is passed, allowing for the creation of the first National Assembly for Wales.

1997

18 September: Referendum on devolution for Wales. 50.3% of the Welsh public vote 'I agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly'.