Julie James

Julie James is Minister for Skills and Science to the Welsh Government. Born in Swansea, she spent much of her youth living around the world and spent her early career in London before moving back to Swansea. Before her election as Assembly Member for Swansea West, Julie was a leading environmental and constitutional lawyer. Previously, she was Assistant Chief Executive at Swansea Council and spent most of her legal career in local government. She worked as a policy lawyer with the London Borough of Camden (London) before returning to Swansea to work for West Glamorgan County Council and then the City and County of Swansea. Since her election to the Welsh National Assembly, she has sat on the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, Enterprise and Business Committee and Environment and Sustainability Committee. She published the ‘Influencing the Modernisation of EU Procurement Policy’ Report as Chair of the Enterprise and Business Committee’s Procurement Task and Finish Group and sat as Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee’s Common Fisheries Policy Task and Finished Group. Her first ministerial appointment was Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology

in 2014 and was appointed Minister for Skills in May.