Rhys ab Owen
MS
Rhys ab Owen AS - Senedd Cymru.jpg
ab Owen in 2021
Member of the Senedd
for South Wales Central
Assumed office
8 May 2021
Personal details
NationalityWelsh
Political partyPlaid Cymru
RelationsOwen John Thomas (father)
Alma materOxford University
ProfessionBarrister

Rhys ab Owen, also sometimes referred to as Rhys ab Owen Thomas[1] is a Plaid Cymru politician. He was elected to the Senedd in the South Wales Central region in the 2021 Senedd election.[2] Rhys is currently Plaid Cymru's spokesperson in the Senedd for the constitution and justice.[3] He is a barrister.[4] His father Owen John Thomas represented the same region for the same party.[1]

Background

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Rhys ab Owen was born and raised in Cardiff and is the son of Sian Wyn Thomas a former headteacher of Ysgol Glan Morfa, Splott and Owen John Thomas, a former Plaid Cymru politician who represented the South Wales Central region in the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2007. He attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in Llandaff North before reading law at the University of Oxford. ab Owen then undertook the Barrister Training Course at Cardiff University and has practiced as a barrister since 2010.

Political career

Rhys stood for Plaid Cymru in the 2017 Cardiff Council election in the Canton ward, where he increased the Plaid Cymru vote from 910 to 2,105, narrowly losing to the victorious Labour candidates.

Later, ab Owen stood in the 2021 Senedd election, standing for Plaid Cymru in Cardiff West, standing against the incumbent MS and First Minister Mark Drakeford for Welsh Labour. Drakeford retained his seat in Cardiff West, with ab Owen finishing third behind the victorious Drakeford and Conservative candidate, Sean Driscoll. ab Owen however was elected as a Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central alongside fellow regional Plaid Cymru candidate Heledd Fychan by virtue of topping the regional list of Plaid Cymru candidates in the region[5]

On reaching the Senedd, ab Owen became Plaid Cymru's constitution and justice spokesperson[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Gupwell, Katie Ann (6 August 2020). "'The Royal Family can visit my father's care home, but I'm not allowed'". Wales Online. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. ^ Williams, Rhys (8 May 2021). "Regional Senedd Members for South Wales East confirmed". Caerphilly Observer. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Senedd - Plaid Cymru". Plaid Cymru. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Rhys ab Owen Thomas". Institute of Welsh Affairs. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Plaid Cymru announce regional candidates for 2021 Senedd election". Nation.Cymru. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Welsh election: New Plaid Cymru Senedd members get frontbench roles". BBC News. 21 May 2021.
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