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Victoria Kirstyn Williams (born 19 March 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the
Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...
(MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of the
Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...
from December 2008 to May 2016 and subsequently from June 2017 to November 2017 in an acting capacity.


Early and personal life

Williams was born in
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset to Welsh parents, whilst her librarian father was working there. After moving to
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, in 1974 the family moved to the village of Bynea,
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, where she grew up. Educated at the independent
St Michael's School, Llanelli St. Michael's School (Welsh: ) is a private day and boarding school for pupils aged from 3 to 18 years old in Llanelli, Wales. The school is divided into four sections, comprising the Pre-Preparatory School, Preparatory School, Senior School and S ...
, she then graduated from the
Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...
with an honours degree in American studies, including a period studying at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
. She then returned to work for the learning resources department of Carmarthenshire College in Llanelli, before taking up a post as a marketing and public relations executive for a small business in Cardiff. She is married to a farmer; the couple have three daughters and live on the family farm outside
Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...
.


Political career

Williams joined the
Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...
at the age of 15. In the 1997 general election, she contested the constituency of Ogmore, coming third. For a long time she was a keen advocate of a Welsh Assembly, and she campaigned hard in the 1997 referendum for the creation of the
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
. She was subsequently appointed to the National Assembly Advisory Group by Welsh Secretary Ron Davies. She was elected as an Assembly Member of the National Assembly of Wales for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire in May 1999. In her first term she became her party's health spokesman. She also served as Chair of the Welsh Assembly Health and Social Care Committee between 1999 and 2003. In the 2006 Welsh Yearbook Political Awards, she was voted "Member to Watch 2006" In a poll at the end of 2006, Williams was voted "Sexiest Female Liberal Democrat" on Stephen Tall's ''Liberal Goes a Long Way'' blog. On 8 December 2008, Williams became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, having defeated Cardiff Central Assembly Member
Jenny Randerson Jennifer Elizabeth Randerson, Baroness Randerson (born 26 May 1948) is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is former junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the Cameron–Clegg coalition. Prior to her peerage she ...
. In 2011, as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, she agreed to support the Welsh Labour Government's 2012–2013 £14.5bn Budget on the basis, amongst other things, of securing the Welsh
Pupil Premium The pupil premium is a grant given by the government to schools in England to decrease the attainment gap for the most disadvantaged children, whether by income or by family upheaval. For each pupil who is eligible for free school meals, or has clai ...
: an extra £20m to spend on the education of the poorest pupils. Teaching Unions welcomed the deal, with ATL Cymru director Philip Dixon saying, "Our children are our future and investment in them is investment for all. Labour and the Lib Dems deserve credit for ensuring that our children, especially those in most need, will now get a better start in life." In 2013, Williams and the Welsh Liberal Democrats more than doubled investment for the Welsh Pupil Premium in exchange for abstaining on the Welsh government's annual budget. Williams has gained a reputation for campaigning on health issues. In 2012, the Welsh Government agreed to take forward the Welsh Liberal Democrat idea of a Health Technology Fund to allow patients better access to innovative treatments. The following year, the Welsh Liberal Democrats achieved a further £9.5m investment into the Health Technology Fund as well as the establishment of a £50m Intermediate Care Fund to drive integration of health, social services and housing. In December 2012, Williams won ITV Wales' Assembly Member of the Year Award in a ceremony at Cardiff's City Hall. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2013, Williams was appointed
Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
''for public and political service''. Williams has been part of a long-runnin
‘More Nurses’
campaign for a law requiring minimum staffing levels for nurses in Welsh hospitals. Kirsty Williams was successful in a legislative ballot (a bill proposed by an individual member is rare) on 11 December 2013, and given leave to proceed with her Bill In 2014, Nurse Staffing Levels Bill. It was passed and became law in Wales on 21 March 2016. She was made an honorary fellow of the
Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...
in 2016. In the elections to the Welsh Assembly on 5 May 2016 Williams retained her Brecon and Radnorshire seat with an increased majority. However, as the sole Liberal Democrat representative in the new Assembly, she stood down as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats the day after the election. On the first day of plenary she voted with the Government on the appointment of the First Minister. First Minister
Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...
appointed her to the
Welsh Cabinet , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...
as Education Secretary; 31 seats are needed for a majority in the Welsh Assembly, Labour had 29, so Williams joining with the Labour administration created a working majority. On 16 June 2017, Williams once again became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, on an acting basis, after the defeat of the previous leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Mark Williams MP, in the 2017 general election. She is at the forefront of curriculum reform in Wales and introduced the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill on 6 July 2020. On 27 October 2020 she announced that she would not be seeking re-election in the
2021 Senedd election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...
, saying that she was "looking forward to spending more time with my family and I remain committed to my role in Brecon and Radnorshire and look forward to continuing to campaign with my successor to ensure Brecon and Radnorshire returns a Welsh Liberal Democrat voice."


References


External links

*
Kirsty Williams AM
Profile at the site of Welsh Liberal Democrats
National Assembly for Wales WebsiteProfile on BBC website September 1999
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Kirsty 1971 births 20th-century British women politicians Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Female members of the Senedd Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrat members of the Senedd Living people People from Taunton University of Missouri alumni Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2016–2021 People educated at St Michael's School, Llanelli