Biography:
Dr Brian Gibbons was brought up in Keadue,
County
Roscommon in the West of Ireland. He was educated at
Keadue National School, Summerhill College in Sligo before graduating
in medicine from the National
University of Ireland (Galway) in 1974.
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He came to Yorkshire in 1976 to undertake vocational training
in general practice in Calderdale.
In 1980 he became a general practitioner in Blaengwynfi,
working in partnership with Dr. Julian Tudor Hart, Glyncorrwg
to form the Upper Afan Practice. He was elected a Fellow of
the Royal
College of General Practitioners in 1995.
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The Upper Afan Practice developed a national and international
reputation for practice innovation and research over two decades.
It undertook pioneering work on the prevention of heart disease,
developing community based general practice and promoting patient
involvement.
Since commencing work in the NHS, Dr Gibbons has been a member
of the Medical Practitioners Union Amicus
and has served as a National Council member for almost two decades.
He is also a member of the British Medical Association. He has served
on the West Glamorgan Morgannwg Local Medical Committees from 1980
and became Committee Secretary in 1994. For most of the 1990s he
also represented the Medical Practitioners Union on the Welsh and
UK General
Practice Committee of the BMA.
Dr Gibbons has been a member of the Labour
Party since 1980 and has been involved in many community
actions to promote the regeneration of his local area. He has been
a school governor at Cymer Afan Comprehensive school for over 15
years.
Dr Gibbons was elected as to the National
Assembly for Wales in May 1999 as the Welsh Labour candidate.
In May 2007 Dr Gibbons was re-elected as Assembly Member for Aberavon
for a third term. Since 1999 he has served on the National Assembly's
Health and Social Services Committee, the Audit Committee and the
Economic Development Committee. He was appointed as Deputy Minister
for Health and Social Services in October 2000. Following the 2003
election Dr Gibbons transferred portfolios and became Deputy Minister
for Economic Development and Transport, with special responsibility
for transport.
In January 2005 Dr Gibbons was elevated to the Cabinet of the Welsh
Assembly Government becoming Minister for Health and Social Services.
In July 2007 following the creation of Wales new coalition government
Dr Gibbons was appointed Assembly Government Minister for Local
Government and Social Justice. This was after spending a short spell
as Minister for Economic Development and Transport in the period
following the May 2007 election and before the onset of Wales' new
coalition government.
On his appointment Dr Gibbons said; "I am looking forward
to taking on this new role. Local Government is a major player in
the delivery of public services and improving the quality of life
for people in Wales, while the Social Justice brief is a unique
opportunity to tackle the unacceptable levels social disadvantage
that scars our 21st century society".
He is married with two grown children and continues to live in
Blaengwynfi in the Upper Afan Valley.
"Dr Gibbons is not responsible for the contents or reliability
of the external websites linked to from this site, and does not
necessarily endorse any views expressed within them".
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