The History of Wales

On 4th May 1959 Aneurin Bevan was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party. Bevan was one of the most charismatic ministers of the post-war Labour government and was instrumental in establishing the National Health Service.

Bevan was born in Tredegar on 15th November 1897 and at the age of 13 he followed his father by working as a coal miner. He soon became a socialist and trades union activist; during the 1926 General Strike he emerged as a leader of the South Wales miners. In 1929 he became MP for Ebbw Vale and after Labour's post-war election victory in 1945 was appointed Minister for Health. He was at the forefront of the establishment of the National Health Service.

In 1951 Bevan was appointed Minister of Labour, but resigned shortly afterwards in protest at the government's introduction of prescription charges for dental work and spectacles. He was leader of a left-wing group in the Labour Party known as 'Bevanites', standing unsuccessfully for the party leadership in 1955. In 1959, Bevan was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party, even though it was known that he was suffering from cancer. Bevan died the following year on 6th July.