Elizabeth Gwendoline Nerys Evans (born 1980) is a Welsh politician. She was a member 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 ...

representing

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 ...

in the

Mid and West Wales Mid and West Wales or Mid and South West Wales refers to an ambiguous region of Wales that is sometimes used, consisting broadly of the preserved counties of Dyfed and Powys, sometimes Swansea and sometimes parts of Gwynedd. It is also used ...

region. She contested the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire seat for the 2011 National Assembly for Wales elections, finishing in third place, and thus lost her seat in the Assembly.

Background

Evans was born in

Llangain Llangain is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, in the south-west of Wales. Located to the west of the River Towy, and south of the town of Carmarthen, the community contains three standing stones, and two chambered tombs as well as the ...

near

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

. She was educated at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

where she obtained a BA in Government and Political Theory, followed by

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 ...

where she was awarded a

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

in Welsh Politics in 2004.

Political career

She became an organiser for

in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr and worked as press officer for the Plaid Cymru group on

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

County Council. More recently she worked as a Political Officer for Plaid Cymru in the

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. In 2006, Evans was chosen to head the Plaid Cymru list in

for the 2007 Assembly election. On election day she took the seat vacated by

Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018 until 29 April 2021. Background Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colches ...

, who succeeded in winning the Llanelli constituency. Her political interests include rural affairs, voter apathy and workers' rights. She was Plaid Cymru’s Education Spokesperson from 2009 – 2011. She was chair of the Assembly Cross Party group for Broadband in rural Wales, she sat on the Assembly's Enterprise and Learning committee and is a former chair of the Broadcasting Sub Committee. In 2008 Nerys won the annual ITV Wales Campaigner of The Year award for her campaigning work on domestic abuse issues. She is Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales' Director of Policy and sits on the party's National Executive Committee.

References

External links

Biography
on Plaid Cymru site
Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales Website

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Nerys 1980 births Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Cardiff University Wales AMs 2007–2011 Plaid Cymru politicians Living people Welsh-speaking politicians