Gwenllian Lansdown Davies (born 1979) is a former 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, a former

County Councillor A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

for Riverside, and

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Plaid Cymru between 2007 and 2011. She is currently the Chief Executive of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (the "Nursery Schools Movement").

Background

Lansdown-Davies was born in

St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...

, grew up in Bangor, Gwynedd and was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she was an

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of scholarship award or bursary. United Kingdom and Ireland At the universities of Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield, at some public schools, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a sma ...

. In 2001, she was awarded her BA (Hons) in Modern Languages (French and Spanish). She later studied at Cardiff University for a Master of Sciences in economics and later a PhD in Political Theory researching liberalism, communitarianism and multiculturalism. She worked as a tutor in Politics during research for her PhD.

Political career

Vice-President of Union whilst at College and Chair of Plaid Cymru Student Federation in 2003, Lansdown's political interests include community development, international relations and the environment. Lansdown was elected as County Borough Councillor on the Cardiff County Council on 10 June 2004, for the Riverside Electoral Division. The Riverside electoral division has an electorate of 9,513 (1 December 2005) and has 3 seats. She stood as number 3 on the Plaid Cymru regional list for

South Wales Central South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

at the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election. Lansdown was Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru between September 2007, replacing Dr Dafydd Trystan, and June 2011, when Rhuanedd Richards was appointed to the role. After the 2011 'Yes for Wales' referendum campaign, she resigned as Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru and as County Councillor for Riverside in order to move to Montgomeryshire with her new husband. She worked as Assistant Editor for the Welsh-language academic journal, ''Gwerddon'' and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in Aberystwyth University until 2014. Since 2014, Gwenllian Lansdown Davies has been the Chief Executive of Mudiad Meithrin, which represents Welsh-medium childcare and early years providers and also delivers several Welsh-government funded projects relating to the transfer and use of the Welsh language in families. She sits on various government-sponsored committees in a number of policy fields. In 2019, she joined the Board of Trustees at the National Library of Wales.https://www.library.wales/about-nlw/press-and-news/press-releases/2020-press-releases/three-new-trustees-appointed-to-the-national-library-of-wales-board She also serves as Responsible Individual at her local Cylch Meithrin in a voluntary capacity. She has 4 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdown, Gwenllian 1979 births Living people People from St Asaph Plaid Cymru politicians Councillors in Cardiff Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Welsh-speaking politicians Date of birth missing (living people) Women councillors in Wales