Rhodri Morgan: "clear red water" between Wales and Westminster

Since then this sport-loving, garrulous son of a professor of Welsh has had his eyes set on winning the overall majority that Labour was denied in the first Assembly election.

In the meantime, he has had to deal with the difficulties of minority government, and upset elements in his party by entering a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

He has also sought to distance the Welsh Assembly Government from Labour at Westminster by talking of "clear red water" between the two.

Grassroots

By the time he won the top job, Mr Morgan had already lost two contests for the leadership of the Wales Labour party.

First he was beaten by Ron Davies, the Welsh Secretary who delivered devolution. But Mr Davies's "moment of madness" on Clapham Common cost him two jobs - one in Tony Blair's cabinet and the other as Welsh Labour leader.

The Rhodri Morgan factfile Born: 1939, Cardiff Educated: Oxford, Havard Career; civil servant, head of EU office, MP Family: married to MP Julie, three children

Then came a more controversial struggle against Alun Michael, who had replaced Ron Davies in the cabinet. Mr Michael won narrowly amid accusations of a rigged voting system, but Mr Morgan's popularity was illustrated by his 2-1 majority among grassroots party members.

Mr Michael duly became Welsh leader and subsequently Assembly First Secretary. But divisions within the party were partly blamed for depriving Labour of a majority of Assembly Members.

Mr Morgan became economic development secretary in Alun Michael's cabinet, and got on with his job after appealing for party unity.

When Mr Michael resigned within nine months of the first assembly election, there was only one candidate to replace him: Rhodri Morgan.

'One-legged ducks'

He quickly showed his independence from Westminster by changing his own title and those of his cabinet from secretary to minister.

Rhodri Morgan was left out of Tony Blair's government

He had never made a secret of the fact that he wanted the job. When asked on the BBC's Newsnight if he wanted to lead Labour in Wales after Ron Davies' resignation, he famously replied: "Do one-legged ducks swim in circles?"

He has been a civil servant and industrial development officer for South Glamorgan County Council, and was head of the European Commission office in Wales between 1980 and 1987.

Mr Morgan became MP for Cardiff West in 1987, and held several shadow roles, including Welsh affairs. He established a reputation as a media-friendly scourge of Conservative governments and their use of non-elected quangos to help run Wales.

But he was bitterly disappointed to be left out of Tony Blair's ministerial team.

He and his wife Julie have three children. Mrs Morgan became MP for Cardiff North in 1997.