Aneurin Rhys "Nye" Hughes (11 February 1937 – 27 March 2020) was a British diplomat known for his long involvement with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. He was the EU Ambassador to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

from 1987 to 1995 and to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from 1995 to 2002. Hughes was born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

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

, and was fluent in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

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 ...

. He attended Swansea Grammar School, and also spent a year abroad in the U.S. at

Oregon City High School Oregon City High School is a public high school in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States in Oregon City, Oregon, a suburb south of Portland, Oregon, Portland. History Oregon City High School was established in 1885 on the lower ...

, on an AFS exchange. Hughes went on to the

University College Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, graduating in 1961 with a double degree in

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histor ...

and philosophy. He was president of the

Aberystwyth University Students' Union , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. He later began a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

on the subject of higher education in South America, which he did not complete. From 1962 to 1964, Hughes was president of the National Union of Students. He succeeded another Welshman,

Gwyn Morgan Gwyn Morgan (born 4 November 1945) is a Canadian retired engineer and oilman. Morgan joined the Alberta Energy Company in 1975, and in 1994 succeeded David E. Mitchell to become the company's second president. In 2002, Morgan negotiated the AEC' ...

. Hughes joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in 1966. He was first secretary to the British High Commissioner to Singapore from 1968 to 1970, and then first secretary to the Ambassador to Italy from 1972 to 1973. In 1973, Hughes joined the

European Civil Service The European Civil Service is a generic term applied to all staff serving the institutions and agencies of the European Union (EU). Although recruitment is sometimes done jointly, each institution is responsible for its own internal structures a ...

. He was head of the Division for Internal Coordination until 1976, and then served as an advisor to the Director-General for Information from 1977 to 1980. From 1981 to 1985, Hughes was chief of staff to

Ivor Richard Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, (30 May 1932 – 18 March 2018) was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life peer ...

, the

European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion The Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights is a member of the European Commission. The position was previously titled as the ''Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility'' until 2019. The portfolio is responsible for ...

. He was then EU Ambassador to Norway and Iceland from 1987 to 1995, and EU Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand from 1995 to 2002.Aneurin Rhys Hughes
Archive of European Integration. To coincide with the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

, the

Government of the Australian Capital Territory The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lead ...

appointed him as a liaison officer for visiting European businesspeople. In 2005, Hughes published a biography of

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

(no relation), the seventh

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

and a fellow Welshman. John Button, writing for '' Eureka Street'', called it "a thought-provoking account of an extraordinary figure about whom we now know a great deal more than before". John Button
Getting to know Billy better
''Eureka Street'', 14 May 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Aneurin 1937 births 2020 deaths Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the University of London European civil servants People educated at Bishop Gore School People from Swansea Presidents of the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) Welsh biographers Welsh emigrants to Australia Ambassadors of the European Union to Norway Ambassadors of the European Union to Iceland Ambassadors of the European Union to Australia Ambassadors of the European Union to New Zealand British officials of the European Union

See also

References