Today (28 November), Welsh Language Board Chair, Rhodri Williams, announced that Meirion Prys Jones has been appointed as the Board's new Chief Executive. Mr Prys Jones will take up the post in April next year.
"We are delighted that Meirion has been appointed as the Board's new Chief Executive. Meirion has played a substantial part in the Board's work, as Chief Education Officer, Head of the Language Planning Team, and more recently as the Board's Deputy Chief Executive. We as a Board look forward to working with him in his new post."
Meirion Prys Jones said:
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of leading the Welsh Language Board. This is an exciting time for the Board – and for the language itself. The recent census results were encouraging, and the Assembly's strategic plan for the Welsh language, Iaith Pawb, includes a number of ambitious targets. Our task now is to increase the number of people of every age who speak Welsh. We've also got to provide many more opportunities for people to use the language in their everyday life – at work and in their leisure time.
"As someone who's spent many years working in education, I believe that this has to be one of the Board's greatest priorities over the next few years, to enable us to increase the number of those – not only able to speak Welsh – but choosing to use the language. Educating parents is also a vital part of our work, and the TWF project plays a key role in this, as we have to encourage parents to use the language with their children. I'm also a firm believer in projects which bring local communities together, and the network of mentrau iaith across the whole of Wales is an excellent example of promoting the language at grassroots level.
Meirion Prys Jones succeeds John Walter Jones as the Board's Chief Executive, and according to Rhodri Williams:
"John Walter Jones has been the Board's Chief Executive since the staff, and has provided both staff and members with strong leadership. John's contribution to the Board – and the language generally – has been enormous, and I am confident that Meirion is a worthy successor, who will build on the secure foundations already in place.
"Meirion is already well respected by staff and Board members alike, and I know that we are all looking forward to working with him for the benefit of the Welsh language. This is an important period, a period when the Board is able to substantially increase its activities for the language, opening offices in other parts of Wales, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government."
Mr Prys Jones joined the Board in 1994 as Chief Officer of the Education and Training Department. He was appointed Team Leader of the Board's Language Planning Team in 2001, and was responsible for establishing a number of pioneering projects to increase the use of Welsh in the community.
Before joining the Board, he was head of Welsh at Castell Alun, Hope, and Glan Clwyd School, St Asaph. Mr Prys Jones then moved to work for West Glamorgan County Council as a Senior Advisor for Welsh. He also spent a period as a Registered Inspector of Schools.
Originally from Pontycymer near Bridgend, he spent his early years in Llangadog in the Tywi Valley, before moving to Wrexham. Now living near Carmarthen, he is married and has two teenage daughters.