Llŷr Huws Gruffydd, (born 25 September 1970) is a Welsh

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 ...

politician, serving as a

Member of the Senedd 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 ...

(MS) for the

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

region since 2011.

Background

Gruffydd attended

Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin ( en, Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive school) is a Welsh-medium school in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated near the village of Croesyceiliog, about 1 miles (2 km) south of Carmarthen. Myrddin, the ...

and

Aberystwyth University , 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 = ...

where he graduated with a BA degree in Welsh. He started his career as a youth worker, becoming Senior Development Officer with the Wales Youth Agency and the chief officer for the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services. He was elected to Carmarthen Town Council in 1995 and was mayor in 2001–02. He lives near

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 ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

and, until his election as AM, worked as the Wales Communications Officer for the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. He was previously a manager with the economic development company, Menter a Busnes.

Politics

From 1999 to 2003 Gruffydd worked as a researcher and press officer for Plaid's

Members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

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 ...

MEP and Eurig Wyn MEP. He was also national campaign co-ordinator for

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 ...

, in the run-up to the 1999 National Assembly elections, at which time Wigley was president of Plaid Cymru. He was Plaid Cymru's Senedd candidate for Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire in 2003 when he came within 400 votes of taking the seat from

Christine Gwyther Christine Margery Gwyther (born 1959) is a Welsh Labour politician. She won the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire constituency seat in the first National Assembly for Wales elections in1999 and held it until 2007. She lost her seat in the ...

. After moving back to Denbighshire in 2004, Gruffydd was the 2010 Westminster Election candidate for Clwyd West, increasing the party's vote by over 50% and securing the second biggest swing to Plaid in the country. In the 2011 Senedd election, he was returned as one of the four members of the Senedd for the North Wales region, being the first placed candidate on the Plaid Cymru list. He is currently the party's Shadow Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs and is Chair of the National Assembly's Finance Committee.

References

External links

Llyr Huws Gruffydd
profile at the site of Plaid Cymru official site

Offices held

1970 births Living people Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2021–2026 People from Ruthin Welsh-speaking politicians Welsh republicans {{Wales-AM-stub