Gwenda Thomas (born 22 January 1942 in Neath) is a

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 192 ...

politician. Thomas was first elected to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

in 1999 and re-elected in 2003, having almost doubled her majority. She is a fluent

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 ...

speaker. She is a member of the GMB Union. She was re-elected as

's Assembly Member for Neath on 3 May 2007 for a third 4-year term in office, with a majority reduced from 4,946 to 1,944, and a loss of 398 votes from the 2003 Assembly election. In the 2011 Assembly election, Thomas increased her majority to 6,390.

Responsibilities in the Welsh Assembly

She was Chair of the assembly's Equality of Opportunity Committee and was appointed in December 2003 by the

First Minister for Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...

Rhodri Morgan Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and ...

, to chair a review into safeguarding vulnerable children in Wales. The review's report - ''Keeping Us Safe'' - was published on 3 May 2006. She was also a member of the Local Government and Public Services, Voluntary Sector Partnership, South Wales West Regional, and Standards committees in the National Assembly. In the Third Assembly she was appointed Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services (31 May 2007). She has special responsibility for social services. She retained the position of Deputy Minister for Social Services when the coalition government of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and

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 ...

was announced on 19 July. In the Fourth Assembly, she held the position of Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services, with her responsibilities amongst others being childcare, child trust funds and parenting programmes.

History

In the first Assembly (1999-2003), she was Chair of the Local Government and Housing committee. Mrs Thomas served on West Glamorgan County Council as Chair of the Social Services Committee - the first female councillor to chair such a major committee. She later served in the same position on

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid ...

following local government reorganisation in 1995. Educated at

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...

Grammar School, she worked in the County Courts Division of the Lord Chancellor's Department and at the Benefits Agency as an Executive officer for many years. Mrs Thomas is a campaigner for carers' rights and a past member of the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

's Advisory Committee. Her interests include health, social services, children's issues, local government and the voluntary sector.

Personal life

Thomas was educated at Pontardawe Grammar School, she lives in

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen ( cy, Gwauncaegurwen) is a village and community in the borough of Neath Port Talbot, South West Wales. Historically a part of Glamorgan, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower ...

. Thomas was married to her late husband Morgan (1939-2013) for nearly 50 years and they have one son, Geraint and a granddaughter, Charlotte. On 10 January 2017 she received an honorary doctorate from

Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...

External links

Welsh Labour Party WebsiteWebsite of the Welsh Assembly Government

Offices held

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Gwenda 1942 births Living people Councillors in Wales Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Female members of the Senedd People from Neath Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Members of the Welsh Assembly Government 20th-century British women politicians Women members of the Welsh Assembly Government Women councillors in Wales Civil servants in the Lord Chancellor's Department