Alun Ffred Jones (born 29 October 1949) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

politician and member of

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

and former television producer, writer and director. Jones was 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 ...

Member for

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...

2003–07 and for the newly created Arfon constituency from

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

until he stood down in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. He served as Minister for Heritage between 2008 and 2011 as part of the One Wales Government. In 2008 he made history by being the first UK representative to speak in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

at a meeting of the European Union. He was Chairman of Plaid Cymru from October 2019 until he resigned in July 2022.

Background

Jones was born in Brynamman and is the brother of former Plaid Cymru President and folk singer

Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which a ...

. He is also the brother of the actor, the late

Huw Ceredig Huw Ceredig Jones (22 June 1942 – 16 August 2011) was a Welsh actor, best known for portraying Reg Harries in the Welsh-language soap opera ''Pobol y Cwm''. Early life Huw Ceredig was born in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, in 1942, the son of ...

. He was educated at the

University of Wales, Bangor , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. Before his election, he was a television director and producer for ''Ffilmiau'r Nant'' and a

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

winner as co-writer of the

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

Welsh language comedy series, ''C’mon Midffild!''. Before that he was a Welsh teacher and Head of Department and then a journalist with HTV. Jones speaks Welsh, English and French.

Political career

Jones is the former Leader of

Gwynedd County Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...

and is the chair of Nantlle Vale

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

Club. His main political interests are in broadcasting, community development and the economy. On 22 July 2008 he was appointed Minister for Heritage in the Welsh Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

, and in this role he was active in obtaining approval for the

Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 Welsh language 2011 in Wales Measures of the National Assembly for Wales The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 made Welsh an official language of Wales and treated no less favourably than English. The Act allowed people to live their lives thro ...

. On 20 November 2008, Jones became the first person to use the

as a representative of the UK government at a European Union meeting in Brussels. Jones resigned as Plaid chairman in July 2022 over the party's handling of Jonathan Edwards readmission to the party after being suspended for two years.

References

External links

Alun Ffred Jones AM websitePlaid Cymru Website

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Alun Ffred 1949 births Living people Councillors in Wales Plaid Cymru politicians Alumni of Bangor University Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Welsh-speaking politicians People from Brynamman