Rhun ap Iorwerth (born 27 August 1972) is a Welsh journalist and politician serving as the Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Early and personal life

Born in Tonteg, he was educated at Ysgol Rhyd-y-Main and Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan before going to Ysgol David Hughes in

Menai Bridge Menai Bridge ( cy, Porthaethwy; usually referred to colloquially as Y Borth) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thom ...

. He studied politics and Welsh at Cardiff University. He is married with three children, he and his family reside on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

Career

In 1994, he joined

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

, and worked as a journalist at BBC Westminster. Returning to Wales after the 1997 devolution referendum, he became BBC Wales' Chief Political Correspondent in 2001, a post he held for five years, before moving into presenting roles. He has been presenter of ''The Politics Show Wales'', '' Dragon's Eye'', ampm, BBC Radio Wales' ''Good Morning Wales'', BBC Radio Cymru's ''Post Cyntaf'' breakfast news programme and weekly political discussion programme ''Dau o'r Bae'', and the BBC's main evening news programme for S4C ''Newyddion''. He has also been a regular correspondent for BBC Network news, featuring on all

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

channels. Outside news, he has presented numerous series for S4C, including its coverage of the National Eisteddfod, Y Rhufeiniaid, and arts series ''Pethe''. In January 2012, he was announced as one of the patrons of the Cronfa Betsi Fund, the charitable arm of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Political career

On 20 June 2013, former Plaid Cymru leader

Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the Senedd for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013, and he was also leader of P ...

resigned from 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 ...

seat in order to take a post leading the new Menai Science Park, triggering a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the constituency. After gaining special dispensation from the Plaid national executive committee (as a serving political journalist, he could not nominally be a member of a political party and Plaid Cymru rules stipulated that candidates had to have been a member for 12 months), he was accepted as a nominee, and immediately stepped down from his role at BBC Cymru Wales on 26 June. The by-election provoked a local debate, in which

Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Wylfa nuclear power station ( cy, Atomfa'r Wylfa) is a Magnox nuclear power station undergoing decommissioning. Wylfa is situated west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. Construction of the two 490MW ...

became a key issue. The by-election was seen as key – had

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 ...

won then they would have had an outright majority in the Assembly with 31 out of the 60 seats. The election on 1 August 2013 saw ap Iorwerth gain 12,601 votes, over the second-placed candidate Tal Michael (Labour), on a turnout of 42.45%. Ap Iorwerth held his seat in 2016 and in 2018 unsuccessfully ran for the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of Plaid Cymru. He was later appointed as joint deputy leader. Rhun ap Iorwerth's office

Ap Iorwerth has served as Plaid Cymru's spokesperson (Shadow Minister) for Economy and Transport and currently serves as their Shadow Minister for Health and Finance. In July 2022, he announced his candidacy to become Plaid Cymru's prospective parliamentary candidate in Ynys Môn for the next British general election.

References

External links

Plaid Cymru website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:ap Iorwerth, Rhun 1972 births Living people BBC Cymru Wales newsreaders and journalists Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd People educated at Ysgol David Hughes Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2016–2021 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Welsh-speaking politicians