Jillian Evans
Encyclopedia
Jillian Evans is Plaid Cymru
Member of the European Parliament
for Wales
and First Vice President of The Greens–European Free Alliance group - the fourth largest in the European Parliament. She is also President of Plaid Cymru
and chair of CND Cymru.
In June 1999, she and fellow candidate Eurig Wyn
were elected as the first MEPs in Plaid Cymru's history. She was re-elected to the European Parliament
in 2009. She is a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Delegation for relations with Iraq. She deputises on the Agriculture Committee. She is also Plaid Cymru spokesperson for European and International issues.
where she gained a BA, and the Polytechnic of Wales, Trefforest (now Glamorgan University) where she earned an M.Phil. She speaks both Welsh
and English, having learned the former as a second language in Tonypandy GS being taught by Penri Jones, now a Gwynedd county councillor.
Her party posts include national Chair of Plaid Cymru
from 1994 to 1996. She is a long-standing supporter and member of the European Free Alliance
(EFA), the pan-European grouping of Plaid Cymru's sister parties, which campaigns for independence for the historic nations of Europe and linguistic rights for minority languages.
She was elected to Rhondda Borough Council in 1992, Mid-Glamorgan County Council in 1993, and, following the abolition of these, to the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in 1996. She was elected to the European Parliament
at the 1999 elections, becoming the first Plaid Cymru MEP. Evans was re-elected at the 2004 elections and again in June 2009
. She stood for the Rhondda constituency in the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007
and came second with votes.
In her first parliamentary term, Evans was vice president of the Women's Rights & Equal Opportunities Committee, a member of the Environment Committee and the Palestinian Delegation. She is currently the President of the European Free Alliance (EFA) group of MEPs and First Vice President of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament. Her main political interests are the environment
and international affairs
.
On 4 November 2011 she was fined £575 after refusing to pay her TV licence fee
in protest over changes to the Welsh language channel S4C
.
Media
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Wales
Wales (European Parliament constituency)
Wales is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 4 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
and First Vice President of The Greens–European Free Alliance group - the fourth largest in the European Parliament. She is also President of Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
and chair of CND Cymru.
In June 1999, she and fellow candidate Eurig Wyn
Eurig Wyn
Eurig Wyn is a Welsh politician. He was a Plaid Cymru Member of the European Parliament for Wales from 1999 to 2004, when he lost his seat in part due to a reduction of the number of seats that Wales had....
were elected as the first MEPs in Plaid Cymru's history. She was re-elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 2009. She is a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Delegation for relations with Iraq. She deputises on the Agriculture Committee. She is also Plaid Cymru spokesperson for European and International issues.
Background
She was educated at Bodringallt Infants' and Junior schools, Ystrad, where her head-teacher was John Haydn Davies, conductor of Treorci Male Voice Choir. Evans later attended Tonypandy Grammar School, the University of Wales, AberystwythUniversity of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
where she gained a BA, and the Polytechnic of Wales, Trefforest (now Glamorgan University) where she earned an M.Phil. She speaks both Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and English, having learned the former as a second language in Tonypandy GS being taught by Penri Jones, now a Gwynedd county councillor.
Professional career
Evans worked as a Research Assistant at the former Polytechnic of Wales where she also gained her M.Phil. degree. She later worked for the National Federation of Women's Institutes in Wales for six years with the late Rhiannon Bevan. She continues to be an associate member of Glamorgan WI. Following her first election to public office, she took up the post of Wales Organiser for CHILD - the infertility support network.Political career
Evans has long been a political activist and community campaigner before being elected to public office. Her political credits include- participation in August 1981 in the first leg of the march from Cardiff City Hall which led to Greenham Common,
- the campaign against the nuclear bomb-making factory in Llanisien, Cardiff,
- supported miners and their families during the 1984-1985 miners' strike; she was the first woman to go down MaerdyMaerdyMaerdy is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley.- History :...
colliery, - leading the successful closure of the infamous Nant Y Gwyddon landfill site in GelliGelli, RhonddaGelli is a village in the Rhondda Fawr valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, situated on the southern bank of the Rhondda Fawr River...
, - active support of the Friction Dynamics workers in CaernarfonCaernarfonCaernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
, - supporting the BurberryBurberryBurberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
workers in their 2006-2007 campaign to prevent the closure of their TreorchyTreorchyTreorchy is a village, although it used to be and still has characteristics of a town, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr valley...
factory; she secured the support of international Welsh baritone, Bryn TerfelBryn TerfelBryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
and led the picketing of the flagship Burberry store in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Her party posts include national Chair of Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
from 1994 to 1996. She is a long-standing supporter and member of the European Free Alliance
European Free Alliance
The European Free Alliance is a European political party. It consists of various national-level political parties in Europe which advocate either full political independence , or some form of devolution or self-governance for their country or region...
(EFA), the pan-European grouping of Plaid Cymru's sister parties, which campaigns for independence for the historic nations of Europe and linguistic rights for minority languages.
She was elected to Rhondda Borough Council in 1992, Mid-Glamorgan County Council in 1993, and, following the abolition of these, to the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in 1996. She was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
at the 1999 elections, becoming the first Plaid Cymru MEP. Evans was re-elected at the 2004 elections and again in June 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
. She stood for the Rhondda constituency in the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007
National Assembly for Wales election, 2007
The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...
and came second with votes.
In her first parliamentary term, Evans was vice president of the Women's Rights & Equal Opportunities Committee, a member of the Environment Committee and the Palestinian Delegation. She is currently the President of the European Free Alliance (EFA) group of MEPs and First Vice President of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament. Her main political interests are the environment
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and international affairs
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
.
On 4 November 2011 she was fined £575 after refusing to pay her TV licence fee
Television licensing in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions is required to purchase a television licence every year. As of 2010, this costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white. The licence is required to receive any live...
in protest over changes to the Welsh language channel S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
.
External links
- Evans' profile at Plaid Cymru website
- Jillian Evans's official website and biography
- Profile on European Parliament website
- Jill Evans Blog and Twitter
- GREENS/EFA Group profile
- BBC Democracy Live
Media
- A week in the life of Jill Evans
- 2009 speech on Human Rights, Democracy and Governance, about the right of self-determination for the people of Wales, at the Convention on Modern Liberty.