Wales Office

The Wales Office is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999.

History

In the past it has been called "Wales' voice in Westminster and Westminster's voice in Wales". However, it is significantly less powerful since the Government of Wales Act 2006: it is primarily responsible for carrying out the few functions remaining with the Secretary of State for Wales that have not been transferred already to the National Assembly for Wales; and for securing funds for Wales as part of the annual budgetary settlement.

The Secretary of State for Wales has overall responsibility for the office but it is located administratively within the Ministry of Justice (until 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs).

Ministers

The Wales Office ministers are as follows:

Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales does not have its own Law Officers of the Crown; it is part of the England and Wales legal jurisdiction. The Attorney General for England and Wales therefore advises the United Kingdom Government on its law. His deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales.

.wales

.wales is one of two country code top level domains for Wales (the other being .cymru) which were put forth by Nominet UK in 2012. Final approval for both top level domains for Wales was granted by ICANN in June 2014.

A phased launch of the new domains was scheduled, with trademark holders being eligible to apply initially. General availability was expected by the spring of 2015. Early adopters of the domains include the Welsh government and male voice choir Only Men Aloud!.

References

External links

Wales

Wales (ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/; Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəm.rɨ]) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east, the Irish Sea to its north and west, and the Bristol Channel to its south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

Wales, Wisconsin

Wales is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, first settled by Welsh immigrants. The population was 2,549 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Wales is located at 43°0′14″N 88°22′39″W / 43.00389°N 88.37750°W / 43.00389; -88.37750 (43.003882, -88.377558).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.29 square miles (8.52 km²), of which, 3.28 square miles (8.50 km²) of it is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,549 people, 949 households, and 792 families residing in the village. The population density was 777.1 inhabitants per square mile (300.0/km²). There were 987 housing units at an average density of 300.9 per square mile (116.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.9% White, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.