The 2000

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 ...

leadership election was held following the resignation on health grounds of

Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley, (born David Wigley; 1 April 1943) is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He wa ...

. Wigley had led the party since 1991 and saw them make a surprise breakthrough in the 1999 Assembly elections winning 17 seats and almost a third of the popular vote. The role of leader, at this point, was combined with the role of Party President. Three candidates stood. MEP for Wales

Jill Evans Jill Evans (born 8 May 1959) is a Plaid Cymru politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 1999 to 2020. She was the first person to use the Welsh language in debate at the European Parliament. In June 199 ...

, Ynys Mon AM and MP

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 ...

and Llanelli AM

Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018 until 29 April 2021. Background Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colches ...

The contest was won by Ieuan Wyn Jones with 77.6% of the vote in the first round.Plaid Cymru picks Ieuan Wyn Jones by a landslide
The Independent, 3 August 2000

Results

References

{{Plaid Cymru

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000 elections in the United Kingdom 2000 in Wales 2000s elections in Wales Plaid Cymru leadership election