Cynog Glyndwr Dafis (born 1 April 1938) 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 ...
. Born Cynog Glyndwr Davies at
Treboeth in
Swansea,
Glamorganshire
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Mo ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, he was initially a school teacher and researcher before entering politics.
Education
Dafis was educated at the
University College 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 = ...
. During his teaching career he worked in a number of secondary schools at
Pontardawe
Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...
,
Newcastle Emlyn
Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenart ...
,
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 of th ...
and
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town and Community (Wales), community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Llandysul, Capel Dewi, Horeb, Ceredigion, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen an ...
.
Political career
Member of Parliament
Cynog Dafis first contested
Ceredigion and Pembroke North in 1983 and finished in fourth place, a result repeated in 1987. His victory in 1992 was a notable one as he more than doubled his vote.
Dafis was a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
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. C ...
from 1992 until 2000, having been supported by a coalition of local
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
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...
activists, the latter of which had worked with him on a number of environmental initiatives.
During this eight-year period as an MP, Dafis voted for homosexual law reform, against greater autonomy for schools, and for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
Assembly Member
In 2000 he resigned as an MP to devote more time as a member of the
National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...
, to which he had been
elected in 1999.
In a speech at the
2000 National Eisteddfod at
Llanelli
Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...
, Dafis called for a new
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 has ...
movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels.
Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure a dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed.
In his speech Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work closer together creating a more favourable climate in which using Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength".
Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
and the
Basque country as successful examples to emulate.
Lord Elis-Thomas, former Plaid Cymru president, disagreed with Dafis' assessment, however. At the
Urdd
Urdd Gobaith Cymru () (known as the Urdd) is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25 years old. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part ...
Eisteddfod, Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, claiming that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future".
His controversial comments prompted ''
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg
The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every as ...
'' to join a chorus calling for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.
In 2002, Dafis announced he would step down from the Assembly at the 2003 elections, despite party leader
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the Senedd for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013, and he was also leader of P ...
having asked him not to do so. Soon after the elections in 2003, he announced his candidacy for Presidency of the party, but lost to
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 ad ...
.
Personal life
He married Llinos Iorwerth Jones in 1964, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. For many years he and his family lived in
Talgarreg, before moving to
Llandre.
He was made an Honorary Fellow of Aberystwyth University on 15 July 2010.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafis, Cynog
1938 births
Living people
Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd
Wales AMs 1999–2003
Plaid Cymru MPs
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
Bards of the Gorsedd
People educated at Neath Grammar School for Boys
Welsh-speaking politicians