Alun John Pugh (born 9 June 1955) is a Welsh politician who served as the

Member of the National Assembly for Wales A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

(AM) for Clwyd West from 1999 to 2007. A member of

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922 ...

, he is a former

Welsh Assembly Government 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 ...

Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport. Pugh lives in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

but resided in

Deganwy Deganwy (Middle Welsh ''Degannwy'', Brythonic *''Decantouion'') is a town and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,936 (2011). It lies in the Creuddyn Peninsula alongside Llandudno (to the north) and Rhos-on-Se ...

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

for much of his time in North Wales. He has learnt

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 peop ...

as an adult.

Early life

Pugh was born in

Llwynypia Llwynypia ( cy, Llwynypia ) is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a popu ...

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

, into a poor

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

family. He has a degree in business finance and

post-graduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

qualifications in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, and moved to North Wales from Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Professional career

Pugh was Head of Business Studies at

Coleg Llandrillo Cymru Coleg Llandrillo (English meaning: Llandrillo College) is a college in the north of Wales. After its merger in 2012, Grwp Llandrillo Menai became Wales' largest further education institution. History The college (which originally only included ...

, a large

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

college. Four years later, he was promoted to an associate principalship at

West Cheshire College West Cheshire College was a further education, vocational college in the North West of England. It had over 20,000 students at its two main campuses in Ellesmere Port and Chester as well as in workplaces and community venues. In March 2017 i ...

. Following the 2007 elections he took a mountaineering sabbatical in the Himalayas, and on his return to Wales was appointed as Director of the

Snowdonia Society The Snowdonia Society ( cy, Cymdeithas Eryri) is a members based environmental charity working to protect and enhance the beauty and special qualities of Snowdonia and to promote their enjoyment in the interests of all who live in, work in or vis ...

, a campaigning environmental charity. He was a columnist for the

Daily Post (North Wales) The ''Daily Post'' is a daily newspaper for the North Wales region of Wales. Its website is branded ''North Wales Live''. The newspaper gained independence from the ''Liverpool Daily Post'' in 2003 which later ceased production in December 2013 ...

and ran consultancy projects before his re selection for the 2015 general election.

Political career

Pugh was elected in the National Assembly for Wales election in 1999 to the marginal Clwyd West seat 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 ...

. Became the Deputy Minister for Economic Development in October 2000. He was re-elected in 2003 as well as being appointed to the post of Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport in the

. Pugh remained an Assembly Member until his 2007 election defeat by Conservative

Darren Millar Darren David Millar (born 1976) is a British politician who has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Clwyd West since 2007. He is a member of the Welsh Conservatives. Political career From 2000 to 2001, Millar was mayor of the townsh ...

by a margin of 1,596 votes. Pugh stood in the new constituency of Arfon in the 2010 Westminster election but narrowly lost to

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 ...

Hywel Williams Hywel Williams (born 1953) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Arfon (UK Parliament constituency), Arfon, previously Caernarfon (UK Parliament constituency), Caer ...

by a margin of 1,455 votes. He also contested the seat at the 2015 general election, again against

, where he was defeated by a larger margin of 3,668 votes.

References

BBC Website September 1999Alun Pugh
Welsh Labour Party profile

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Alun 1955 births Living people Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 People from Llwynypia Welsh-speaking politicians Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates