| Post: | Cabinet Secretary for Education |
| Body: | Wales |
| Insigniacaption: | Insignia of the Welsh Government |
| Incumbent: | Lynne Neagle MS |
| Department: | Welsh Government |
| Style: | Welsh Minister |
| Status: | Cabinet Minister |
| Abbreviation: | Education Secretary |
| Reports To: | the Senedd and the First Minister of Wales |
| Seat: | Cardiff |
| Nominator: | First Minister of Wales |
| Appointer: | The Crown |
| Termlength: | Five years |
| Termlength Qualified: | Subject to elections to the Senedd which take place every five years |
| Formation: | 12 May 1999 |
| First: | Rosemary Butler AM |
| Salary: | £105,701 per annum[1] |
The Cabinet Secretary for Education (Welsh: Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg) is a Cabinet minister in the Welsh Government who leads the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (Welsh: Yr Adran Addysg a Sgiliau). The current officeholder is Lynne Neagle, who has served in the role since 2024.
The Department is responsible for education, training and children's services in Wales under powers devolved from the Department for Children, Schools and Families of the UK government under Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.[2]
| Name | Picture | Party | Entered office | Left office | Government | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary Butler AM | Labour | 12 May 1999 | 16 October 2000 | Secretary for Education Tom Middlehurst served as Secretary for Education and Training (Post-16) for the same period. | |||
| Interim Morgan | |||||||
| Jane Davidson AM | 16 October 2000 [3] | 6 June 2007 | 1st Morgan | Minister for education and lifelong learning. | |||
| 2nd Morgan | |||||||
| Carwyn Jones AM | 6 June 2007 [4] | 19 July 2007 | 3rd Morgan | Minister for Education, Culture and the Welsh Language. | |||
| Jane Hutt AM | 19 July 2007[5] | 10 December 2009 | 4th Morgan | Minister for Education, Children, Lifelong Learning & Skills | |||
| Leighton Andrews AM | 10 December 2009 | 25 June 2013 | 1st Jones | Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning (2009-2011)Minister for Education and Skills (2011-2013) (including Welsh Language) | |||
| 2nd Jones | |||||||
| Huw Lewis AM | 26 June 2013 | 19 May 2016 | Minister for Education and Skills | ||||
| Kirsty Williams MS | Liberal Democrat | 19 May 2016 | 13 May 2021 | 3rd Jones | Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. Titled changed to Minister for Education in December 2018[6] | ||
| 1st Drakeford | |||||||
| Jeremy Miles MS | Labour | 13 May 2021 | 20 March 2024 | 2nd Drakeford | Minister for Education and Welsh Language | ||
| Lynne Neagle MS | Labour | 21 March 2024 | Incumbent | 1st Gething | Cabinet Secretary for Education | ||
| Interim E. Morgan | |||||||