Meri Huws (born September 1957) is a Welsh academic and public official and formerly the

Welsh Language Commissioner The Welsh Language Commissioner () is a Welsh Government officer, overseeing an independent advisory body of the same name. The position was created following the passing of the ''Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011'', effective on 1 April 201 ...

. Born in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, she was educated at Ysgol Bro Gwaun, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where she studied law and politics, and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where she studied to be a social worker. She was the head of the Lifelong Learning Department at

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

, and deputy vice-chancellor. She was chair of The Welsh Language Society from 1981 to 1983, and was a member of the Welsh Language Board between 1993 and 1997. She is a member of the Labour Party. She was Chairman of the Welsh Language Board from 2004 until the Board was abolished in March 2012. Her appointment in this role caused some controversy when it was revealed that she was a former partner of Andrew Davies, who at the time was Minister for Economic Development in the Welsh Government. The matter was raised by Plaid Cymru Representative Owen John Thomas, who complained that Ms Huws had failed to declare a conflict of interest and had been favoured by Culture Minister Alun Pugh over other interviewees. In 2012, Meri Huws was appointed the first Welsh Language Commissioner and her appointment came to an end in March 2019. In April 2020 Huws was appointed interim President of the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

, becoming the first woman to hold the post of President in the Library's history. She resigned from the position in August 2021.

References

1957 births Living people Ombudsmen in Wales Alumni of the University of Wales Alumni of the University of Oxford People from Carmarthenshire Welsh language {{Wales-bio-stub