Heledd Fychan (born 20 September 1980) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

politician and a former director of

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

and political education for

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

. She was elected to 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, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

for the

South Wales Central South Wales Central () is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects 12 members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, ...

region in May 2021.

Early life and education

Fychan is originally from

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, and is the daughter of the late , a broadcaster, journalist and local councillor — and Angharad Anwyl. Heledd attended and

Ysgol David Hughes Ysgol David Hughes (meaning: ''David Hughes School'') is a bilingual secondary school on Anglesey, Wales. The school building was completed and opened in Menai Bridge in 1963 by Anglesey County Council which, ten years earlier (in 1953), had bec ...

and then studied History and Politics at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

where she served as Education Sabbatical Officer at the Trinity College Students' Union, and later as Education Sabbatical Officer for the

Union of Students in Ireland Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

. After completing a master's degree in Medieval History 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 ...

, Fychan worked for the Plaid Cymru group in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Fychan worked for 12 years at the

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, serving as Head of Policy and Public Affairs, and was also a lead for governance, strategy, internal communications, international relations and stakeholder engagement. In 2009, Fychan was elected to the board of the

Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals and organisations of the United Kingdom. It also offers international membership. History The association w ...

. She chaired the Ethics Committee and the Nations Committee, attending multiple international conferences.

Political career

Fychan contested

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

in the 2010 general election and

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

in the

2011 National Assembly for Wales election The 2011 National Assembly for Wales election was an election for the Senedd, National Assembly. The poll was held on 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the Assembly's seats. It was the fourth election for seats in the National Assemb ...

. She later unsuccessfully sought the Plaid Cymru nomination ahead of the

2013 Ynys Môn by-election A by-election for the Welsh Assembly constituency of Ynys Môn (Assembly constituency), Ynys Môn was held on 1 August 2013, The by-election was triggered following the resignation on 20 June 2013 of its sitting Assembly Member, Ieuan Wyn Jones. ...

In May 2017, Fychan was elected for

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

Town ward on

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council () is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council headquarters are at the Llys Cadwyn development in Pontypridd. History The council was established on 1 Ap ...

and also Pontypridd Town Council. As a local councillor, Fychan was a vocal community activist. In 2017 she successfully campaigned to reopen Mill Street Post Office and in 2018 she campaigned to save the

Muni Arts Centre Muni or Munni may refer to: Municipal * A common US abbreviation for municipal, municipal services, and the like *Municipal bond *Municipal Bridge, the former name of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky *"Muni", slang ...

in Pontypridd, of which she was a volunteer trustee. In 2020 she dealt with severe flooding in Pontypridd and led calls for an independent inquiry. Fychan was selected in May 2020 to be the Plaid Cymru candidate for the

constituency for the

2021 Senedd election The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). It was the sixth Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for ...

. She came second in the election, behind Labour's

Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw (; born 1 September 1954) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, who was Counsel General for Wales from 2021 to 2024, having previously served in the position from 2016 to 2017. He previously served as Minister for the C ...

, with 22.4% of the vote but was elected to the Senedd from the

regional list. Following the election Fychan became Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on culture, sport and international affairs. Fychan is the current Plaid Cymru director of

and political education. As MS for South Wales Central, Heledd Fychan called for a full investigation into the deaths of two boys after a police chase in

Ely, Cardiff Ely ( from ''tref'', town + , River Ely) is a district and community in Cardiff, Wales. It is to the north of Cowbridge Road West. Caerau defines the boundary to the south as does River Ely to the east and in part to the north. Roman era In R ...

and the events following the incident. Fychan currently serves on the Senedd business committee; children, young people and education committee, and the

Reform Bill The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

committee. She chairs the Wales International cross party group and is vice-chair of the

Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the eighth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...

group. She is further a member of the following cross-party groups: academic staff in universities, arts and health,

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, children and families, children in our care, clean air, friends of Ukraine, lung health, music, peace and reconciliation, poverty, public transport, school food, tourism, universities, and women.

Personal life

Ms Fychan lives in Pontypridd with her husband and son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fychan, Heledd 1980 births Living people Plaid Cymru councillors Welsh women activists Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2021–2026 Female members of the Senedd Welsh-speaking politicians Alumni of Bangor University