Elin Jones

In the first Assembly elections in 1999 Elin Jones was elected as Assembly Member for Ceredigion and served as Shadow Economic Development Minister during the Assembly’s first term. Following the Assembly election in 2003, she retained this portfolio until 2006 when she became Shadow Minister for Environment, Planning & Countryside. On 9 July 2007 the One Wales government was formed and Elin Jones was made Minister for Rural Affairs. Elin Jones continued in this position until Plaid Cymru left Government at the 2011 elections. Her record was criticized by George Monbiot in his 2013 book Feral.

Elin Jones served on Aberystwyth Town Council from 1992 - 1999 and was the youngest-ever Mayor of Aberystwyth from 1997 to 1998. She was the National Chair of Plaid Cymru between 2000 and 2002.

She attended Llanwnnen Primary School and Lampeter Comprehensive. She graduated from University of Wales, Cardiff with a BSc in Economics and took a post-graduate MSc in Agricultural Economics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1989. Previously she was employed as an Economic Development officer for the Development Board for Rural Wales. She is a former Shadow Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister.

Elin Jones MS (born 1 September 1966), is a Welsh politician, born in Lampeter, who has represented Ceredigion for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the Senedd since 1999, and has been the Llywydd of the Senedd since 2016.