Geraint Wyn Howells, Baron Geraint
Geraint Wyn Howells, Baron Geraint (born April 15, 1925 in Ponterwyd in Cardiganshire , † April 17, 2004 in Aberystwyth ) was a leading Welsh politician of the Liberal Democrats .
Education
Howells was the son of farmers David John and Mary Blodwen Howells. He attended Ponterwyd Primary School and Ardwyn Grammar School in Aberystwyth. He later maintained close contacts with the universities of Aberystwyth and Lampeter Universities.
Career
Howells was a farmer at Glennydd, Ponterwyd in Cardiganshire. He owned about 750 acres with about 3,000 sheep in particular of Speckled Faces . Howells was also a champion as a sheep shearer. He held high positions on the British Wool Marketing Board and was Chairman of the Wool Producers of Wales from 1977-1983 . He was elected to Cardiganshire County Council as a member of the Independent Party in 1952, as it was customary at the time for Liberal Party members to run for Independents in rural areas.
Parliamentary career
Howells was nominated as a parliamentary candidate for Brecon and Radnor in 1968. He was the first post-war liberal to apply for a seat in parliament as a liberal. He was in third place with 18.9% of the votes cast. During this time he became one of the main actors in the Welsh Liberal Party.
Howells was nominated as a candidate for Parliament in 1972 for Cardiganshire, a constituency with a long Liberal tradition. The seat there was held by the Liberal MP Roderic Bowen until he lost it in 1966 to Elystan Morgan of the Labor Party . In the elections of February 1974 Howells won against Morgan and held the constituency in various forms until 1992. Therefore, he was 1974-1983 Member of Parliament for Cardigan and after changes in the constituency boundaries 1983-1992 for Ceredigion and Pembroke North . Howells was Liberal Party spokesman for Welsh Affairs from 1979-1987 and Agriculture from 1987-1992. His secretary and agent in Westminster was Judi Lewis (1992-1997 Chief Executive of the Welsh Liberal Democrats) and one of his researchers was Mark Williams , who won the 2005 Liberal Democratic seat. In 1992 Howells lost his parliamentary seat unexpectedly to Plaid Cymru (which comes from fourth to first place were) and was as Baron Geraint , of Ponterwyd in the County of Dyfed for Life Peer appointed.
He was a close friend of Richard Livsey and Emlyn Hooson , with whom he was in the House of Commons and the House of Lords .
Howells was a past believer in devolution . He played a leading role in the devolution campaign in Wales in 1979. He also received recognition from the Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) as a leading trade unionist for negotiating with the government during the Liberal-Labor coalition in the 1970s.
Private life
Howells married Mary Olwen Hughes on September 7, 1957. They had two children: Gaenor was born in 1961, a news anchor for BBC World Service , and Mari in 1965.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Howells, Geraint Wyn, Baron Geraint |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British Independent and Liberal Democrats politician, member of the House of Commons |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 15, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ponterwyd , Cardiganshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 17, 2004 |
| Place of death | Aberystwyth |