Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, PC (né Thomas; born 18 October 1946), is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021.
The Lord Elis-Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 November 2017 – 13 May 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones Mark Drakeford | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ken Skates | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Dawn Bowden | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 May 1999 – 11 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Alun Michael Rhodri Morgan Carwyn Jones | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Presiding Officer | Jane Davidson John Marek Rosemary Butler | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rosemary Butler | ||||||||||||||||||
| Assembly Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (1999–2007) | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 May 1999 – 29 April 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mabon ap Gwynfor | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Dafydd Elis Thomas 18 October 1946 Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Independent (2016–present) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Plaid Cymru (1970–2016) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Elen Williams Mair Parry Jones (present) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Born in Carmarthen, Wales, he was raised in Ceredigion and the Conwy Valley. He represented Merioneth and later Meirionnydd Nant Conwy as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1992, and was Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales from the office's inception in 1999 to 2011. Elis-Thomas has been a member of the House of Lords since 1992 and a privy counsellor since 2004. In 2016, he left Plaid Cymru to support Carwyn Jones's government in the Senedd, sitting as an independent. He joined the Welsh government in November 2017 and was Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism until May 2021. Elis-Thomas applied to rejoin Plaid Cymru in August 2023,[1] but withdrew his application later in the year.[2]
Personal
editDafydd Elis Thomas was born on 18 October 1946 at Priory Hospital, Carmarthen, and brought up in the Llandysul area of Ceredigion, and in Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley.[3][4] In 1970, he married Elen Williams and had three sons. They later divorced. From the mid-1980s until 1992 his partner was Marjorie Thompson, the chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). In 1993, he married Mair Parry-Jones. He lives in Llandaff, Cardiff (when working at the Senedd) and Betws-y-Coed (in the Aberconwy constituency, but prior to boundary changes in his constituency). [citation needed]
Professional career
editHe was the chairman of the Welsh Language Board between 1994 and 1999, and is a former member of the Arts Council of Wales, Governor of the British Film Institute and Chairman of Screen Wales between 1992 and 1999.[5][6] He was also a director and vice-chairman of Cynefin Environmental Ltd. between 1992 and 1999. A former university lecturer, he has also been the president of Bangor University since 2000, as well as currently being a member of the governing body of the Church in Wales.
Political career
editUK Parliament
editHaving come third at Conwy in the 1970 general election, Thomas served as MP for Merioneth between 1974 and 1983, initially as the Baby of the House, and subsequently as MP for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy from 1983 to 1992.[3][4] On entering the House of Commons in 1974, he became one of the first MPs to be allowed to take the oath of allegiance in Welsh as well as in English.[7]
He was created a life peer on 18 September 1992 as Baron Elis-Thomas, of Nant Conwy in the County of Gwynedd, with a change of his surname from Thomas to Elis-Thomas.[8] He sat as a crossbench peer because at that time he had taken on the non-political role of chair of the Welsh Language Board;[9] in 2012, he took the Plaid Cymru whip in the Lords until leaving the party in 2016.
Senedd
editElis-Thomas was elected to the newly established National Assembly for Wales (now called "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", or simply Senedd) in 1999, representing the Meirionnydd Nant Conwy constituency until the 2007 election, and then the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.[3] He also held the position of Presiding Officer from the Assembly's inception in 1999 until 2011.[3] During his tenure as Presiding Officer, he expelled Assembly member Leanne Wood from the Assembly chamber during a December 2004 debate after Wood referred to Queen Elizabeth II as "Mrs Windsor" during a debate and refused to withdraw the remark, the first time an AM was ordered out of the chamber on those grounds.[10]
From 2011, Elis-Thomas was Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for Environment, Energy and Planning before transferring to Rural Affairs, Fisheries and Food in 2012.[3] In October 2016 he left Plaid Cymru, but remained in the Assembly as an Independent member.[11] In November 2017, as part of a Welsh Government reshuffle, Elis-Thomas was appointed as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport.[12]
Elis-Thomas is also Honorary President of the anti-fascist organisation Searchlight Cymru.[4]
He announced on Dewi Llwyd's BBC Radio Cymru programme on 12 April 2020 that he will not be standing in the 2021 Senedd election. After long consideration he said that he will not be standing in Dwyfor Meirionnydd in 2021, but said that there are many other ways to serve society. [13]
References
edit- ^ Masters, Adrian (18 August 2023). "Ex-Senedd Presiding Officer Dafydd Elis-Thomas rejoins Plaid Cymru nearly seven years after quitting". ITV News. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (6 November 2023). "Dafydd Elis-Thomas abandons bid to rejoin Plaid Cymru". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM". BBC Democracy Live website. BBC. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM". Plaid Cymru website. Plaid Cymru. 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ Annual Review 1 April 1999 – 31 March 2000 (PDF). British Film Institute. 2000. p. 2.
- ^ "People in the Assembly - Dafydd Elis-Thomas". BBC News. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Orders of the Day – Thursday 14 March 1974". Hansard. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "No. 53056". The London Gazette. 23 September 1992. p. 15921.
- ^ Bodden, Tom (8 February 2012). "Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas hits out at Plaid leadership rival's 'back room deal'". northwales.
- ^ "Leanne Wood expelled from chamber". BBC News Democracy Live website. BBC. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ "Plaid Cymru AM Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas quits party". BBC News. 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Ex-Plaid leader Lord Elis-Thomas gets Labour Welsh Government job". bbc.co.uk. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Lord Elis-Thomas vows not to stand in 2021 election". BBC News. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
External links
edit- National Assembly for Wales Member profile
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Dafydd Elis-Thomas