Elin Jones (born 1 September 1966) is a Welsh politician who has served as the Llywydd of the Senedd since 2016. A 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 ...

, Jones has been the

Member of the Senedd A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

(MS) for

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Background

Jones attended Llanwnnen Primary School and

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigio ...

Comprehensive. She graduated from

University of Wales, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

with a BSc in Economics and took a post-graduate MSc in Agricultural Economics at the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

in 1989. Previously she was employed as an Economic Development officer for the Development Board for Rural Wales. She is a former Shadow Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister. Jones speaks Welsh and English. She is also a former director of Radio Ceredigion and of Wes Glei Cyf, a television production company. She lives in

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth o ...

and enjoys music, film, reading and formerly sang with the Welsh singing group Cwlwm.

Political career

Elin Jones served on Aberystwyth Town Council from 1992 to 1999 and was the youngest-ever Mayor of Aberystwyth from 1997 to 1998. She was the National Chair of

between 2000 and 2002. In the first Assembly elections in 1999 Elin Jones was elected as Assembly Member for

and served as Shadow Economic Development Minister during the Assembly’s first term. Following the Assembly election in 2003, she retained this portfolio until 2006 when she became Shadow Minister for Environment, Planning & Countryside. On 9 July 2007 the One Wales government was formed and Elin Jones was made

Minister for Rural Affairs The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, commonly referred to as the Rural Affairs Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for rural Scotland and its islands, agriculture, fo ...

. Elin Jones continued in this position until Plaid Cymru left Government at the 2011 elections. Her record was criticized by

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...

in his 2013 book ''Feral''. In the fourth Assembly she became Plaid's health spokesperson and unsuccessfully contested the leadership election following the resignation of Ieuan Wyn Jones. In the fifth Assembly she beat fellow Plaid Cymru AM

Dafydd Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-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. Born in Carmar ...

to become

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales , unofficial_names = Presiding Officer of the SeneddLlywydd / Presiding Officer of the Welsh Parliament , insignia = , insigniasize = 150px , insigniacaption = , image = File:Elin Jones AM (27889497280).jpg , imagesize = 220px , incum ...

by 34 votes to his 25. In June 2021, Jones attempted to ban Members of the Senedd from displaying flags in their offices.

References

External links

Elin Jones' Official websitePlaid Cymru's Official website

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Elin 1966 births Living people Councillors in Wales Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of Aberystwyth University Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Mayors of places in Wales Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd Plaid Cymru politicians Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Welsh-speaking politicians Women mayors of places in Wales Female members of the Senedd Presiding Officers of the Senedd 20th-century British women politicians Women members of the Welsh Assembly Government People from Ceredigion Government ministers of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Welsh politicians People from Lampeter Women councillors in Wales