George Winston Roddick, (born 2 October 1940 in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

barrister, and the former

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner The North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by North Wales Police in the Welsh principal areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flints ...

. At the time he was a member of the Liberal Democrats, but ran as an independent and on election resigned from the Party. Roddick was the first person to hold the post.

Early life

Roddick was born and raised in

, educated at the

Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq The Royal Naval School Tal Handaq was a school for children of personnel of the British Armed Forces posted to Malta between January 1947 and July 1978. Formerly known as the Naval Children's School and HM Dockyard Children's School, it had occu ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and the Sir Hugh Owen Grammar School, Caernarfon. After training and working as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, he undertook a law degree at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

Career

Legal career

He then trained as a barrister, appointed to the bar in 1968, and then became a Crown Court recorder. One of Wales's leading barristers, he

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...

in 1986, and was appointed as the first Counsel General for Wales in 1998, the most senior legal adviser to the

Welsh Assembly 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 ...

, during which time he advised on the creation and legislative passing of the

Welsh Language Act 1993 The Welsh Language Act 1993, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales. The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 had made English the only language of publ ...

Political career

Roddick has twice stood for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

unsuccessfully in Parliamentary elections: in

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 ...

at the 1970 general election, and in Cardiff South and Penarth in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Welsh Liberal Party in the early 1980s.

Police and Crime Commissioner

In November 2012, he sought election as the Police and Crime Commissioner for

North Wales Police North Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community suppor ...

, beating Labour's Tal Michael on the second count. After his election, he was criticised for running as an independent even though he is a member of the Liberal Democrats, with the

Welsh Labour Party 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 ...

accusing him of 'hiding' his allegiance for political reasons. Roddick stood down at the 2016 elections and the seat was won by Arfon Jones of

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 ...

Other

In 1997, Roddick was appointed a member of the

Independent Television Commission The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003. History The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...

, and between 2004 and 2012 was a member of the S4C Authority.

Personal life

He is a member of the

Gorsedd of Bards A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually ...

, patron of Caernarfon Rugby Club, an Honorary Life Member of Caernarfon Town F.C. Supporters Club, the Honorary President of GISDA (Gwynedd charity for homeless young people), and the Vice President of the Caernarfon Male Voice Choir.

Honours

Roddick is a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and an Honorary Fellow of the

University of Aberystwyth , 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 = ...

References

External links

Professional profilePersonal websiteBio at Debretts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roddick, Winston Living people category:Liverpool City Police officers People from Caernarfon Welsh police officers Welsh barristers 21st-century Welsh lawyers 20th-century Welsh lawyers Police and crime commissioners in Wales Welsh King's Counsel Alumni of University College London Welsh civil servants 20th-century King's Counsel Companions of the Order of the Bath Bards of the Gorsedd 1940 births Liberal Democrats (UK) people Independent police and crime commissioners Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates