Edward Christopher Rees (5 January 1931 – 1 December 2001), known as Chris Rees, was a

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 ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Rees grew up 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 ...

and joined

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 ...

at an early age. In 1951, he refused to do

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, on the grounds that he was Welsh, and was sentenced to a year in prison. While imprisoned again later, he stood for the party in

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

at the 1955 general election, taking just over 10% of the vote. He later stood at the 1963 Swansea East by-election, and again in the seat in 1964 and 1966, then in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, but was never elected.Knut Diekmann, ''Die Nationalistische Bewegung in Wales'', p.640 In 1964, Rees was elected as Vice President of Plaid, unexpectedly beating

Elystan Morgan Dafydd Elystan Elystan-Morgan, Baron Elystan-Morgan (7 December 1932 – 7 July 2021), known as Elystan Morgan, was a Welsh politician. He sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords from 1981 to 2020, and served as a Labour MP from 1966 to 197 ...

, who was seen as the more conservative candidate. In 1966, Rees instead became the first Chairman of the party, serving until 1970. Although Rees grew up in an

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 ...

-speaking family, he learned

as an adult, and it became his main language. He became a college lecturer, and by 1970 was Director of Policy for Plaid. In this role, he produced a detailed language policy which was adopted by the party. In 1973, Rees adapted the

Ulpan An ulpan ( he, אולפן), plural ''ulpanim'', is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning "studio", "teaching", or "instruction". The ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the b ...

system of language learning for Welsh learners, renaming it

Wlpan Wlpan is the name of an intensive Welsh course for beginners used by some Welsh for Adults courses in Wales. On the course, basic patterns are taught in as short a time as possible. The first ''Wlpan'' course was organized by the Extramural Dep ...

, and from 1975, he focused on running the Centre for Teaching the Welsh Language to Adults, based at what became

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 ...

. He died in Cardiff in December 2001 at the age of 70.Ancestry: Mr Edward Christopher Rees in the England and Wales, Death Index, 1989-2018
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Chris 1931 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Welsh criminals Academics of Cardiff University Plaid Cymru politicians Politicians from Swansea Welsh conscientious objectors Welsh politicians convicted of crimes Welsh-speaking politicians