Less than two months into his term of office, allegations were raised that he had perjured himself at a COVID-19 inquiry by falsely denying that he had deleted text messages from his phone.

In response, Plaid Cymru withdrew from its co-operation agreement with Labour and supported a non-confidence motion introduced by the Welsh Conservatives, which passed by two votes.

Eluned Morgan was elected unopposed as his successor and he formally resigned as First Minister in August 2024, making him the shortest-serving holder of the office.

[8] Humphrey Vaughan ap David Gething[9] was born on 15 March 1974 in Lusaka, Zambia,[10][11][12] where his father, a white Welsh veterinarian from Ogmore-by-Sea in Glamorgan, met his mother, who is a black Zambian and was working as a chicken farmer.

[14][15] Speaking of the incident, Gething said: "They said, 'Come back with your family and we'll sign everything up', but he walked in with my mother, and a trail of brown boys, and the job offer got withdrawn".

[13][18][19] Having completed his training as a solicitor with the trade union firm Thompsons in Cardiff in 2001, Gething chose to specialise in employment law.

[22] He served as a councillor from 2004 to 2008, representing Butetown electoral ward on Cardiff Council, having been elected with a majority of two votes over candidate Betty Campbell.

[30][31] In August 2017, Gething walked away in the middle of an interview on ITV Wales, when questioned by journalist James Crichton-Smith over his decision not to hold a public inquiry into Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, following allegations that an employee had sexually assaulted vulnerable patients.

[32] Gething, alongside Eluned Morgan and Mark Drakeford, was one of the three contenders in the 2018 election for the leadership of Welsh Labour, but was defeated by the latter candidate.

[37] Gething justified his decision in a BBC Radio Wales interview, saying "The medical advice about the risk to people going to the rugby didn't change.

[38] On 22 April 2020, Gething was caught swearing about fellow Labour MS Jenny Rathbone during a virtual session of the Senedd on Zoom.

After Rathbone had asked the Minister a few questions about the Welsh Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he failed to mute his microphone as he told an unknown person, "What the fuck is the matter with her?".

[42] In December 2023, Gething became one of two candidates in the Welsh Labour leadership election to replace Drakeford as party leader and Wales' First Minister.

[43] On 16 January, Gething and the other candidate, Jeremy Miles, took part in a hustings event to get the nomination from the trade union Unite.

[54] He was sworn in as a member of the privy council on 10 April 2024 at Buckingham Palace,[55] entitling him to the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life.

[57] A few days later, he removed Hannah Blythyn from her role as Minister for Social Partnership, alleging that she was the leak of the text messages.

[8] In the period between 16 July and 5 August he exercised the functions of the Counsel General for Wales, according to a Welsh Government press release, alongside the role of First Minister.