ALED EIRUG TO CHAIR THE COLEG CYMRAEG CENEDLAETHOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, the organisation responsible for developing Welsh-medium and bilingual post-compulsory education in Wales, has announced that Dr Aled Eirug will be the Board’s new Chair from 1 September 2022.

He will succeed the current acting Chair, Llinos Roberts, who took over following the sudden death of the Coleg’s former-Chair, Gareth Pierce, in July 2022.

Aled is well known in the field of higher education, politics and broadcasting in Wales and has extensive experience chairing public and third sector organisations. 

He began his career as a journalist before being promoted to Head of News and Current Affairs at BBC Cymru Wales. He spent five years as Special Adviser to the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales before going on to advise the then Minister for Education. In more recent years Aled has worked at Swansea University as a Senior Lecturer and as Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor until 2017. 

Aled has held a number of public appointments including being a member of the Senedd Audit and Risk Committee, and a member of Ofcom’s Wales Advisory Board. He also chaired the Wales Refugee Council, the British Council in Wales and was a member of S4C’s Board.

After graduating in History and Welsh History from Aberystwyth University Aled went on to gain a Masters degree at the London School of Economics. More recently he has completed a PhD at Cardiff University in the History of the Conscientious Objection to the First World War and is an Honourary Research Fellow at Cardiff University.

Aled said:

“I’m very pleased to have been appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Coleg Cymraeg. It is an exciting period to be joining the organisation as it reflects upon and celebrates the achievements of its first decade. 

“The Coleg makes a vital contribution towards the success of the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy by creating more confident Welsh speakers and increasing the use of the language in workplaces across our economic sectors. I look forward to working with the directors, staff and partners and to building on the success of the first decade by supporting the Coleg to move on to the next decade with confidence.”

Rhian Huws Williams, Chair of the Coleg’s Appointments and Governance Standards Committee said: 

“It is a pleasure to appoint Aled as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. He has extensive experience in a number of different and relevant fields and is an experienced and strategic leader. On behalf of the Appointments Committee I’d like to wish him well for the next period and we look forward to working with him.” 

Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg said:

“I’d like to welcome Aled as the new chair of the Board of Directors. His extensive experience in the fields of higher education, broadcasting and politics will be an asset to the Coleg as we implement our plans. Aled’s commitment to promoting the interests of learners, apprentices and students is clear and this will be vital as we continue to develop Welsh-medium and bilingual provision in the post-compulsory sector and attract more learners to benefit from those opportunities.

“I’d like to thank Llinos Roberts for her work as acting Chair and for taking on this role following the sudden death of our former-Chair, Gareth Pierce, last year. During a challenging year, Llinos’ advice, support and leadership was vital, and this during a difficult time for her personally.”