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Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the previous chief of Plaid Cymru, has died on the age of 78.
Lord Elis-Thomas additionally served because the Welsh authorities’s tradition, sport and tourism minister from 2017 to 2021.
He served as his get together’s chief between 1984 and 1991 and as MP for Merioneth, later Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, from 1974 to 1992.
He grew to become a member of the House of Lords when he was made a life peer the identical 12 months.
Lord Elis-Thomas was a member of the primary Senedd, then generally known as the Welsh Assembly, in 1999 and performed a key position as its first presiding officer – a job he held till 2011.
He give up Plaid Cymru in 2016 and continued to sit down as an impartial member of the Senedd for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, till he stepped down on the 2021 election.
Plaid’s present chief Rhun ap Iorwerth stated Lord Elis-Thomas’s loss of life was “a huge loss to Welsh politics and the civic life of Wales”.
Mr ap Iorwerth stated his predecessor was “unquestionably one of the most influential figures of his generation”.
As the inaugural presiding officer, he made “a priceless contribution in laying the firm foundations of devolution”, Mr ap Iorwerth added.
He stated the get together’s “sincerest condolences” have been with Lord Elis-Thomas’s household.
Elin Jones, the Senedd’s present presiding officer, generally known as the Llywydd, stated it was “hard to imagine Welsh political life without [him]”.
She stated he was “omnipresent” in Welsh politics, having served within the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Senedd.
Ms Jones stated he was “keen to establish a modern democracy from the start” in his position as presiding officer and will “rightly be called [the] Senedd’s founding father”.
Former Welsh Conservative chief Andrew RT Davies stated he “admired” the previous minister as “a man who was never afraid to speak his mind”.
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