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Steffan Lewis (30 May 1984 – 11 January 2019) was a Welsh politician, who was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in the
2016 election The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...
. He represented the electoral region of South Wales East, as 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 ...
. In December 2017, Lewis was diagnosed with terminal
bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...
. He died on 11 January 2019, aged 34.


Early life

Steffan Lewis was brought up in a bilingual household in
Crosskeys Crosskeys ( cy, Pont-y-cymer) is a village, community and an electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales. Etymology The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains the official Welsh name for the village. The name me ...
and
Tredegar Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the ...
. He first attended Swffryd Primary School in
Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, E ...
before moving to the Welsh-medium primary school Ysgol Gymraeg Cwm Gwyddon in
Abercarn Abercarn is a small town and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Newport on the A467 between Cwmcarn and Newbridge, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. History An estate at ...
and later Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in
Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ...
. He first became interested in politics with the 1995 Islwyn by-election, and became an active
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 ...
campaigner at the 1999 Welsh assembly election. He then worked at a call centre before briefly studying Religious Studies and Ethics at
Cardiff University , 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 ...
.


Political career

Lewis was a town councillor in
Blackwood Blackwood may refer to: Botany * African blackwood ('' Dalbergia melanoxylon''), a timber tree of Africa * African blackwood (''Erythrophleum africanum''), ('' Peltophorum africanum'') also Rhodesian blackwood, trees from Africa * Australian bla ...
and was the Plaid candidate for the 2006 Blaenau Gwent by-election to the House of Commons, coming third with 6.5% of the vote. He then worked with the party in 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 ...
, and wrote speeches for Leanne Wood during her leadership of the party. He stood for election in
Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, E ...
again in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
and came fourth of six candidates with 9% of the vote. In 2015, he was chosen as the top candidate for Plaid Cymru in the South East Wales region and was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in the 2016 election as its youngest-ever member. He succeeded
Jocelyn Davies Jocelyn Davies (born 18 June 1959, Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales) is a Plaid Cymru politician who was a member of the Welsh Assembly (AM), for the South Wales East region from 1999 until 2016. She was Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration ...
, for whom he had previously worked as a communications officer. He was made the party's Secretary for External Affairs and led the response to
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...
.


Illness and death

Just one year after having taken his seat in the National Assembly, Lewis was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2017. It was found that the disease had already spread to other parts of his body, and he was not expected to recover. Despite his illness, he continued his work as a minister and as Plaid Cymru's Brexit spokesman. He also spoke openly about fighting the illness and how he was coping. He died at Ystrad Fawr Hospital in
Ystrad Mynach Ystrad Mynach is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, within the ancient county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is north of the town of Caerphilly. The urban area has a population of 19,204, and stands in the Rhymney Valley. Before the Industrial R ...
on 11 January 2019. Tributes were paid to him from all parties in the Assembly.
Adam Price Adam Robert Price (born 23 September 1968) is a Welsh politician serving as the Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. , he has sat in the Senedd for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, having previously been a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Carmarth ...
, leader of Plaid Cymru said: He was succeeded by Delyth Jewell, who had been second on Plaid's list in the region at the 2016 election. His funeral was scheduled for 25 January at St Luke's Church,
Abercarn Abercarn is a small town and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Newport on the A467 between Cwmcarn and Newbridge, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. History An estate at ...
, followed by burial at the local cemetery.


Personal life

Lewis married Shona, who is from
Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...
, in 2009. They lived in Blackwood and had a son, Celyn, aged three years at the time of his father's death. He was a noted fan of
Celtic Football Club The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional association football, football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating po ...
.


Offices held


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Steffan 1984 births 2019 deaths Deaths from cancer in Wales Deaths from colorectal cancer Wales MSs 2016–2021 Welsh-speaking politicians People from Caerphilly County Borough