Griffiths, James (1890–1975)

Welsh miners' leader and politician. A strong believer in a measure of devolution for Wales, he argued for a separate Welsh Office, and became the first secretary of state for Wales 1964–66. Born in Bettws, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, he became a leading official in the miners' union in South Wales, and was elected Labour member of Parliament for Llanelli 1936–70. He was deputy leader of the Labour Party 1955–58.

In the Labour governments of 1945 to 1951, he was minister of National Insurance and secretary of state for the colonies. He saw himself as a moderating influence in Labour Party politics during the tensions of the Gaitskell–Bevan disputes in the 1950s. His autobiography Pages from Memory was published in 1969.