It has been announced that Alun Ffred Jones, the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for Arfon, is to be the new Minister for Heritage and Culture in the Welsh Assembly Government. He replaces Rhodri Glyn Thomas, the gaffe-prone member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, who felt obliged to resign for smoking a cigar in a Cardiff pub. See ( voir notre article ).
Mr Jones has been a member of the Assembly since 2003. Previously he was leader of Gwynedd County Council – at that time controlled by Plaid Cymru.
His appointment has been welcomed by members of all parties. One of his pressing and immediate responsibilities will be to develop the Assembly's new plans for the Welsh language.
Although lacking the flamboyancy of Rhodri Glyn Thomas, Mr Jones has a background in television having set up his own successful independent TV company in Caernarfon. His brother is Dafydd Iwan, one of Wales's best-known language activists and protest singer who also set up his own successful business – a music recording company. He also has a brother who is a well-known actor and another who is an artist.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7520023.stm in English : New heritage minister announced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/welsh/hi/newsid_7520000/newsid_7520100/7520121.stm in Welsh : Pwy yw Alun Ffred Jones?
http://www.plaidcymru.org/content.php?nID=14 of Plaid Cymru.
http://www.alunffredjones.org/ personal website of Alun Ffred Jones in Welsh and English.
Gwyn Griffiths