17 Facts About Dafydd Elis-Thomas

Dafydd Elis-Thomas represented Merioneth and later Meirionnydd Nant Conwy as a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1992, and was Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales from the office's inception in 1999 to 2011.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas joined the Welsh government in November 2017 and was Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism until May 2021.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas applied to rejoin Plaid Cymru in August 2023, but withdrew his application later in the year.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas Elis Thomas was born on 18 October 1946 at Priory Hospital, Carmarthen, and brought up in the Llandysul area of Ceredigion, and in Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was the chairman of the Welsh Language Board between 1994 and 1999, and was a member of the Arts Council of Wales, governor of the British Film Institute and chairman of Screen Wales between 1992 and 1999.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was a director and vice-chairman of Cynefin Environmental Ltd.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was an honorary president of the anti-fascist organisation Searchlight Cymru.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was created a life peer on 18 September 1992 as Baron Elis-Thomas, of Nant Conwy in the County of Gwynedd, with a change of his surname from Thomas to Elis-Thomas.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas sat as a crossbench peer because at that time he had taken on the non-political role of chair of the Welsh Language Board; upon leaving that post in 1999, he took the Plaid Cymru whip in the Lords until leaving the party in 2016.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected to the newly established National Assembly for Wales in 1999, representing the Meirionnydd Nant Conwy constituency until the 2007 election, and then the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas held the position of Presiding Officer from the Assembly's inception in 1999 until 2011.

From 2011, Dafydd Elis-Thomas was Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for Environment, Energy and Planning before transferring to Rural Affairs, Fisheries and Food in 2012.

In November 2017, as part of a Welsh Government reshuffle, Dafydd Elis-Thomas was appointed as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas announced on Dewi Llwyd's BBC Radio Cymru programme on 12 April 2020 that after long consideration and realising that there were many other ways to serve society, he would not be standing for Dwyfor Meirionnydd in the 2021 Senedd election.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas died peacefully at his home after a short illness, on 7 February 2025, at the age of 78.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas was a true giant of Welsh politics and a passionate champion of our nation, our language, and our culture.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas' funeral was held at Llandaff Cathedral on 14 March 2025 and attended by hundreds of mourners.