Famous Welsh Leaders

Born into a working-class family, Aneurin Bevan quit school at 13 to start working at a colliery. He later won a scholarship to study in London and rose to become a Labour MP. He led the ministries of labor and health, and the left-wing of the Labour Party, the Bevanites.

British politician Stephen Crabb, who represents the Welsh Conservatives, had initially worked as a marketing consultant and had also been associated with the London Chamber of Commerce. The first elected MP from Preseli Pembrokeshire, his home constituency, he was named the 2014 Welsh Politician of the Year.

Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones has held many significant political posts, including that of the First Minister of Wales. A qualified lawyer, he practiced for a decade and then also taught a law course at Cardiff University. He met his wife, a fellow student, while studying at the Aberystwyth University.

Sixteenth-century English nobleman Walter Devereux, 1st earl of Essex is known for his infamous and unsuccessful attempt to colonize Ulster, an Irish province. His brutal raids included the murders of numerous people, including the families of top officials and the women and children he found hiding in caves.

Henry Morgan was a Welsh privateer who later served as lieutenant governor of Jamaica. He is best remembered for raiding settlements on the Spanish Main. From the wealth acquired through his raids, Morgan became a plantation owner, buying three large sugar plantations in the Caribbean. His life and career inspired several films, such as Captain Blood and Morgan, the Pirate.

Born to Conservative MP Leslie Pym, Francis Pym was also the grandson of Walter Pym, the colonial bishop of Bombay. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, he began his political journey as a Conservative MP, following in his father’s footsteps, and then rose to be the foreign affairs Secretary of State.

Greville Janner had it all, a successful career as a barrister and an equally successful career as a Labour politician and MP, until he got embroiled in a dirty child abuse case. Though he was accused by 40 people, he eventually got away without a trial, due to dementia, and died at 87.

A qualified lawyer, Gwynfor Evans later rose to lead the Plaid Cymru party as its president and later also became an MP. He focused on full-time writing after his retirement from politics. His full-fledged history of Wales, Aros Mae, or Land of my Fathers, became a bestseller.

Former Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones was once the Deputy First Minister of Wales. Born to a Baptist minister, he later grew up to be a lawyer but later switched to politics. He has also supported organizations promoting democracy and Welsh culture, and penned books such as Y Llinyn Arian.

Welsh-born Samuel M. Jones moved to the US with his family at age 3. Poverty forced him to work, first in a sawmill and then on a steamship. He later opened an oil-pumping machine factory and became well-liked for his Golden Rule. He also served as a Republican mayor of Toledo.

Plaid Cymru politician Elfyn Llwyd has not just been an MP representing Dwyfor Meirionnydd but has also had a successful career as a solicitor and a barrister. He has also led the Gwynedd Law Society as its president. He made headlines in 2004, when he joined the Impeach Blair campaign.

Born to a Canadian physician in Wales, John Savage followed in his father’s footsteps to study medicine. He later gained the name "hippie doctor" for his beard and unconventional treatments. He later led the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and also became the Premier of Nova Scotia.

Thomas Button was a Welsh officer of the Royal Navy who was also a prominent explorer. In 1612–13, he commanded an expedition that unsuccessfully attempted to locate lost explorer Henry Hudson. During his travels, he discovered and named Mansel Island. Later on,  he was appointed Admiral of the Irish Coasts and was knighted by the Lord Deputy of Ireland. 

Former Labour MP representing Cardiff Central, Jon Owen Jones had initially studied ecology and was a teacher of biology. He was later embroiled in the UK parliamentary expenses scandal. He has previously also been part of the Environmental Audit Committee and the Health Committee, and been the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales.

Welsh coal magnate D. A. Thomas expanded his family’s coal business and created Consolidated Cambrian, Ltd. He had a 22-year stint as a Liberal MP in the UK and introduced food rationing in Britain during World War I. He also survived a torpedoed ship with his swimming skills.

Born in Scotland, James Thomas Walker grew up in New South Wales in Australia before moving back to Scotland to study and then moving to Australia again. He worked at the Bank of New South Wales and the Royal Bank of Queensland before joining politics and becoming the Senator for New South Wales.