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The first term of the Assembly was not without its troubles. Before its establishment, Ron Davies, its main architect, resigned from the leadership of the Labour Party in Wales. Its location in Cardiff caused some frustration, especially in Swansea. The election of Alun Michael as First Secretary was perceived by many as being an exercise in control by the Labour Party in London and was widely resented. He resigned in February 2000 when Rhodri Morgan's third attempt to be leader of the Labour Party in Wales was successful. Rhodri Morgan adopted the title First Minister, which in Welsh translates as Prif Weinidog, or Prime Minister.

A major figure in the early history of the Assembly was y llywydd (the 'speaker'), Dafydd Elis Thomas, who in particular sought to lay down the boundaries between the role of the Assembly and that of the Welsh Assembly Government - mischievously given the acronym WAG. In October 2000, the Labour administration formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, an arrangement which lasted until 2003, when the second Assembly election was held.

In 2003, 30 men and 30 women were elected to the Assembly, making it the first such body in the history of the world to consist of equal numbers of men and women. Rhodri Morgan's Labour cabinet was also unprecedented, consisting as it did of a majority of women. In 2004, the Richard Commission's Report called for the Assembly to acquire legislative powers, a process which the commissioners believed could be completed by 2011, if the change were endorsed by a referendum.

In the election of 2007, the number of Labour members declined from 30 to 26, giving rise to the notion that the 34 opposition members should establish a 'rainbow' coalition under the leadership of Plaid Cymru, which had won 15 seats compared with the Conservatives' 12 and the Liberal Democrats' 6. (Blaenau Gwent was represented by an Independent.) That notion failed to gain sufficient support, and the surprising outcome was a coalition between Labour and Plaid Cymru.

Although the Assembly was responsible for some popular policies, particularly regarding prescription charges, school tests and university fees, it was in 2009 hardly the main subject of concern to the bulk of the inhabitants of Wales. Far more important were issues relating to the economy (particularly following the financial crisis which began in the summer of 2008), to employment, to the international situation and to environmental issues.

These were issues common to Britain as a whole. However, Wales did have its own specific issues, especially the desire to ensure the development of an awareness of a shared national future and the fact that, in terms of income, the Welsh were lagging seriously behind the rest of inhabitants of the United Kingdom. Thus, serious challenges face the National Assembly for Wales; in the coming years, it will be fascinating to see whether the Assembly and the Assembly government succeed in rising to those challenges.