‘He enjoyed every minute of his life’

JULIE Morgan – the widow of former First Minister Rhodri Morgan – has told Assembly Members how he had a wonderful life and enjoyed every minute of it.

Mr Morgan died last week while cycling in the lanes near his home outside Cardiff.

In a special Assembly plenary session at the Senedd yesterday, AMs paid tribute to the popular statesman, who served as First Minister from 2000 until 2009.

Speaking after AMs from all parties praised her husband as a great man whose leadership secured Welsh devolution after a difficult birth, Mrs Morgan, Labour AM for Cardiff North, told how the tributes had been immensely comforting at a very difficult time.

She said: “There’s one thing I want to say about Rhodri. He never looked back. He made his decisions and he never regretted them. So when he left here as First Minister ... he never said ‘I wish I’d done this’ or ‘I wish I’d done that.’ He just looked forward, at what he still wanted to do. The eight years that he had after being First Minister were so full and so fulfilled.”

Earlier, First Minister Carwyn Jones led tributes by saying how he regarded his predecessor as a political father figure. He said: “Hywel Rhodri Morgan was named after two kings, and he served this place with distinction as First Minister for nearly 10 years.

“He was somebody who commanded such respect, but of course he was somebody who was down to earth. What I am now as a politician, I owe to him. He was the person who gave me my opportunity in July 2000 to become Agriculture and Rural Development Secretary, as the title was then.

“These days, when we have cabinet reshuffles, they take place on a prearranged schedule, they are planned beforehand. He rang me at 10.30pm on a Saturday night to tell me that I’d been promoted to the cabinet, and would I join him on the way to the Royal Welsh two days later. There was no notice given – that was the way Rhodri was, ringing at that time on a Saturday night.”

Mr Jones said Rhodri was very much a family man, who delighted in his grandchildren. After his retirement from active politics he pursued interests he hadn’t previously had time for, like learning the piano and overcoming his technophobia about email.

Mr Jones said: “I used to tease him that pretty soon he’d be dominating Facebook.”

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: “Above all, he was a decent, upright, honourable individual. He always engaged, he always discussed things, and you always felt you had that sense of camaraderie with him. I feel deeply privileged to have been able to serve one term with him in this institution.”

Describing Rhodri as a patriot, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: “He was well known and popular with working people, and with people outside of his own party. He was a politician that people could relate to. He had a dry and memorable sense of humour.”

She added: “Rhodri proved that Wales could unite and that devolution could see multiple parties exercise political power, and that we could all work together jointly.”

It has also been revealed that Mr Morgan’s funeral will be held at 11am next Wednesday at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

The ceremony will not be religious and will be conducted by humanist celebrant and former AM Lorraine Barrett. The public are invited to attend. A full order of service will be announced in the coming days.