Peter Black is a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Liberal Democrat politician, and
Member of the Welsh AssemblyThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
for the South Wales West Region.
Background
He was educated at
Wirral Grammar School for BoysWirral Grammar School for Boys, founded in 1931, is situated on Cross Lane, Bebington, on the Wirral Peninsula in England.-Admissions:It is a foundation school, located within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and requires all potential pupils to take, and pass, the eleven plus exam exam prior to...
and the
Swansea UniversitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, graduating in English and History. Before entering politics full-time, he previously worked as a research assistant for
West GlamorganWest Glamorgan is a preserved county and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan.West Glamorgan was created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 from the county borough of Swansea, the municipal boroughs of Neath and Port Talbot,...
Social Services and for the Land Registry for Wales. Black is married and enjoys films,
theatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.
Political career
A Councillor for the
Cwmbwrla wardCwmbwrla is the name of an electoral ward, a community and a suburb in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The community does not have a community council....
on City and County of Swansea council, he was leader of the Liberal Democrat Group 1984–99. He is a past Chair of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and of the party's Finance and Administration Committee.
Black fought
Swansea EastSwansea East is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...
at the Assembly elections in 1999 and 2003, but entered the Assembly as the lead candidate on the Welsh Liberal Democrat regional list for South Wales West. He was the lead candidate again in 2007. A former Deputy Minister in the 2000–03 Labour / Welsh Liberal Democrat coalition administration, he chaired the Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills Committee in the second Assembly and now sits on the Health Wellbeing and Local Government Committee as the Welsh Liberal Democrat Health, Local Government and Housing Spokesperson. He is a member of the Assembly Commission with responsibility for ICT and promoting the Assembly.
After
Charles KennedyCharles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
's resignation in 2006, Black supported
Simon HughesSimon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
in the ensuing
leadership contestIn the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election, Sir Menzies Campbell was elected to succeed Charles Kennedy as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom....
. He subsequently backed
Nick CleggNicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
in the most recent leadership contest.
External links
Offices held