Roger Hugh Williams,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 22 January 1948) is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician who was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire from 2001 to

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Early life

Born in the town of

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...

, Williams studied at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

, and

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

. On graduating in Natural Sciences he returned to Breconshire becoming a livestock farmer on the family farm at Llanfilo. During the mid-1980s he was elected Chairman of the Brecon and Radnorshire branch of the National Farmers Union.

Political career

Williams joined the Labour Party in 1969, but left to join the SDP at the formation of the party in 1981, representing it and subsequently the Liberal Democrats on

Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Governme ...

. In 1990, he was elected Chairman of

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain ...

. At the

1999 Welsh Assembly election The first National Assembly for Wales elections were held on 6 May 1999. The overall turnout of voters was 46.3%. Although Welsh Labour were the biggest party, they did not gain enough seats to form a majority government and instead entered into ...

Williams contested Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire but finished a distant fifth. In 2001, he was elected to represent the constituency of Brecon & Radnorshire, subsequently holding the seat with a majority of 751 following the retirement of fellow Liberal Democrat

Richard Livsey Richard Arthur Lloyd Livsey, Baron Livsey of Talgarth (2 May 1935 – 16 September 2010) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire from 1985 to 1992, and again from 1997 to ...

. At the 2005 election, Williams was returned with an improved majority of 3,905. He served as Shadow Welsh Secretary in the Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team in the 2005-10 Parliament and was re-elected at the 2010 election with a majority of 3,747. Williams was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 2013 New Years Honours List for public and political service. In 2017, he rejoined

, winning the seat of Felin-fach.

Personal life

He married Penelope James in 1973 in Devon. They have a son (born 1975) and daughter (born 1976).

Footnotes

External links

Profile
at the Liberal Democrats
Profile
at the Welsh Liberal Democrats
Brecon and Radnorshire Liberal Democrats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Roger 1948 births Living people People educated at Christ College, Brecon Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge People from Crickhowell Councillors in Wales Members of Powys County Council Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors