The Lord Elis-Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Official portrait, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1stPresiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 May 1999 – 11 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Jane Davidson John Marek Rosemary Butler | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rosemary Butler | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 November 2017 – 13 May 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones Mark Drakeford | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ken Skates | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Dawn Bowden | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Assembly Member forDwyfor Meirionnydd Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (1999–2007) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 May 1999 – 29 April 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mabon ap Gwynfor | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of Plaid Cymru | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1984–1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Dafydd Wigley | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Dafydd Wigley | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Dafydd Elis Thomas (1946-10-18)18 October 1946 Carmarthen,Carmarthenshire, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 7 February 2025(2025-02-07) (aged 78) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Independent (2016–2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Plaid Cymru (1970–2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas,PC (né Thomas; 18 October 1946 – 7 February 2025) was a Welsh politician who served as the leader ofPlaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented theDwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in theSenedd from 1999 to 2021.
Born inCarmarthen, Wales, he was raised inCeredigion and theConwy Valley. He representedMerioneth and laterMeirionnydd Nant Conwy as amember of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1992, and wasPresiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales from the office's inception in 1999 to 2011. Elis-Thomas was a member of theHouse of Lords and aprivy counsellor from 1992 and 2004, respectively, until his death.
From 2007 to 2017 he was theChancellor of Bangor University. In 2016, he left Plaid Cymru to supportCarwyn Jones's government in the Senedd, sitting as an independent. He joined the Welsh government in November 2017 and wasMinister for Culture, Sport and Tourism until May 2021. Elis-Thomas applied to rejoin Plaid Cymru in August 2023,[1] but withdrew his application later in the year.[2]
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Dafydd Elis Thomas was born on 18 October 1946 at Priory Hospital, Carmarthen, and brought up in theLlandysul area of Ceredigion, and inLlanrwst in the Conwy Valley.[3][4] In 1970, he married Elen Williams and had three sons. They later divorced. From the mid-1980s until 1992 his partner was Marjorie Thompson, the chairwoman of theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). In 1993, he married Mair Parry-Jones.[5] Between 1993 and his death, he lived inLlandaff,Cardiff (when working at the Senedd), andBetws-y-Coed (which was in his constituency of Meirionnydd Nant Conwy prior to the2010 boundary changes).[citation needed]
Elis-Thomas was the chairman of theWelsh Language Board between 1994 and 1999, and was a member of theArts Council of Wales, governor of theBritish Film Institute and chairman of Screen Wales between 1992 and 1999.[6][7] He was a director and vice-chairman of Cynefin Environmental Ltd. between 1992 and 1999. A former university lecturer, he was the chancellor and chair of Council atBangor University between 2000 and 2017, as well as being a member of the governing body of theChurch in Wales.[5] He was an honorary president of the anti-fascist organisationSearchlight Cymru.[4]
Having come third atConwy in the1970 general election, Thomas served as MP forMerioneth between 1974 and 1983, initially as theBaby of the House, and subsequently as MP forMeirionnydd Nant Conwy from 1983 to 1992.[3][4] On entering the House of Commons after theFebruary 1974 election, he became one of the first MPs to be allowed to take theoath of allegiance inWelsh as well as in English.[8] For most of his time in the House of Commons, he was one of only two Plaid Cymru MPs, alongsideDafydd Wigley. In 1981, Thomas moved the writ in the Westminster Parliament that allowed for the election ofProvisional Irish Republican Armyhunger strikerBobby Sands inFermanagh South Tyrone.[9] Thomas was noted for the number of questions he tabled during his time in parliament, through which he secured economic support for Wales, bolstered the status of theWelsh language and played a leading role in thwarting the closure of theCambrian Coast railway. In 1991 he announced that he would not stand for parliament at the next election.[5]
He was created alife peer on 18 September 1992 asBaron Elis-Thomas,of Nant Conwy in the County of Gwynedd, with a change of his surname fromThomas toElis-Thomas.[10] He sat as acrossbench peer because at that time he had taken on the non-political role of chair of the Welsh Language Board;[11] upon leaving that post in 1999, he took the Plaid Cymruwhip in the Lords until leaving the party in 2016.[5]
Elis-Thomas was elected to the newly establishedNational Assembly for Wales (now called "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", or simplySenedd) in 1999, representing theMeirionnydd Nant Conwy constituency until the 2007 election, and then theDwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.[3] He also held the position ofPresiding Officer from the Assembly's inception in 1999 until 2011.[3] In the early Assembly he successfully expanded the role of the Office of the Presiding Officer, playing a significant role in establishingde facto separation of powers between the Welsh Assembly and the Welsh Assembly government, despite the lack of separation prescribed by theGovernment of Wales Act 1998 and the corporate structure of the Assembly.[12]
During his tenure as Presiding Officer, he also expelled Assembly memberLeanne Wood from the Assembly chamber during a December 2004 debate after Wood referred to QueenElizabeth II as "MrsWindsor" during a debate and refused to withdraw the remark, the first time an AM was ordered out of the chamber.[13]
From 2011, Elis-Thomas was Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for Environment, Energy and Planning before transferring to Rural Affairs, Fisheries and Food in 2012.[3] In October 2016 he left Plaid Cymru, alleging that they were 'not willing to seriously participate in government', describing Brexit as a 'serious constitutional challenge' and a threat to the powers of the Assembly.[14] He remained in the Assembly as an Independent member.[15] In November 2017, as part of aWelsh Government reshuffle, Elis-Thomas was appointed asMinister for Culture, Tourism and Sport.[16]
He announced on Dewi Llwyd'sBBC 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 forDwyfor Meirionnydd in the2021 Senedd election.[17]
Thomas, in line with Plaid Cymru policy,[18] was a strong supporter of a "no" vote in the1975 European Communities referendum. Fourteen years later, he contended unsuccessfully for theNorth WalesEuropean Parliament seat in the1989 election.[5] On the eve of the2016 EU referendum, he and two Labour AMs sponsored a Senedd debate on the motion "The National Assembly believes Wales would be stronger, safer and more prosperous if it were to remain a member of the European Union"; it passed by 44 votes to 9. During the discussion, Elis-Thomas said his stance in the 1975 referendum was something he had "regretted ever since".[19]
Elis-Thomas died peacefully at his home after a short illness, on 7 February 2025, at the age of 78.[20][21][22]
Following his death First MinisterEluned Morgan paid tribute saying: "Wales has lost one of its greatest servants, and many of us have lost an irreplaceable friend. Dafydd was a true giant of Welsh politics and a passionate champion of our nation, our language, and our culture."[23]
In a letter to his widowKing Charles III wrote: "Our public life will be so very much the poorer without his thoughtful and stimulating presence. There can be few people who have contributed so much to the lives of their nation, in so many fields, for so long."[24]
Elis-Thomas' funeral was held atLlandaff Cathedral on 14 March 2025 and attended by hundreds of mourners. Following the funeral as part of the procession his body was taken past the WelshSenedd.[25]
A biography of Elis-Thomas by Aled Eirug was published on 22 September 2025.[26]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMeirionnydd 1974–1983 | Constituency renamed |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forMeirionnydd Nant Conwy 1983–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Baby of the House 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Senedd | ||
| New constituency | Assembly Member forMeirionnydd Nant Conwy 1999–2007 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of the Senedd forDwyfor Meirionnydd 2007–2021 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales 1999–2011 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Assembly Commission 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vice-President ofPlaid Cymru 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Plaid Cymru 1984–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Bangor University 2000–2017 | Succeeded by George Meyrick |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
