Jill Evans (born 8 May 1959) is a

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 ...

politician who served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

from 1999 to 2020. She was the first person to use the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

in debate at the European Parliament. In June 1999, Evans was elected as one of the first Plaid Cymru MEPs, and was re-elected every five years until the last occasion in 2019. From 2009 until 2014, she was the Vice-President of the Greens/

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, or some ...

Group, and is a member of the Committee on Culture and Education. She also deputised on the Transport and Tourism Committee and was a member of the Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Background

Evans was born in Ystrad,

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

. She was educated at Tonypandy Grammar School before attending the Polytechnic of Wales, Trefforest (now the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

) where she earned an M.Phil.

Professional career

Evans worked as a research assistant at the former Polytechnic of Wales. She later worked as public affairs officer for the

National Federation of Women's Institutes 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 ...

in Wales for six years. Following her first election to public office, she took up the post of Wales Organiser for CHILD - the infertility support network.

Political career

Evans was a

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

before being elected to

public office Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

, and participated in the

Greenham Common Royal Air Force Greenham Common or more simply RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about west of Lo ...

campaign. She first stood in

Torfaen Torfaen (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Newport, Wales, Newport to t ...

in the general election of 1987. She was later elected to Rhondda Borough Council in 1992, Mid Glamorgan County Council in 1993, and, following the abolition of these, to the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in 1995, from which she stood down in 1999. During her time as a councillor, she was elected as Plaid Cymru's Alternate Member of the Committee of the Regions in 1993 and served for four years, and was also the party's representative on the European Free Alliance, working with Plaid Cymru's sister parties throughout the continent. In 2004 she became the first member of the European Parliament to use the Welsh language in debate, following a change in the rules, permitting the use of a non-official EU language, though without the benefit of translation. After making most of her speech in English, she reiterated the key points in Welsh, saying that it was a step forward towards a Europe of the peoples and a Europe that celebrates its diversity. Evans was Chair of Plaid Cymru between 1994 and 1996. In June 1999 she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for Wales, becoming one of the Party's first MEPs. She was re-elected in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. During the 2009 – 2014 Parliament, Evans was a member of the Green / European Free Alliance (EFA) Group - the fourth largest group in the Parliament. She was the President of EFA, and the first Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. She also deputised on the Delegation for Relations with the Palestine Legislative Council. She was a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Delegation for relations with Iraq. She deputised on the Agriculture Committee. In the parliament (2014–2019), Evans was the Vice-President of the EFA Group, and a member of the Committee on Culture and Education. She deputised on the Transport and Tourism Committee. She was also a member of the Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee, and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee. Evans is a former President of Plaid Cymru, and was the Chair of CND Cymru from 2001 to 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Jill 1959 births Living people Alumni of Aberystwyth University People from Ystrad Plaid Cymru councillors Plaid Cymru MEPs MEPs for Wales 1999–2004 MEPs for Wales 2004–2009 MEPs for Wales 2009–2014 MEPs for Wales 2014–2019 MEPs for Wales 2019–2020 20th-century women MEPs for Wales 21st-century women MEPs for Wales Articles containing video clips Alumni of the University of South Wales Alumni of the University of Glamorgan British anti–nuclear weapons activists Welsh-speaking politicians Members of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidates Women councillors in Wales