Rhun ap Iorwerth — Plaid Cymru Leader, First Minister of Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Rhun ap Iorwerth — Plaid Cymru Leader, First Minister of Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 
 
 
 
 Detail 
 Info 
 
 
 
 
 Full name 
 Rhun ap Iorwerth 
 
 
 Role 
 Leader of Plaid Cymru, First Minister of Wales (from May 2026), MS for Ynys Môn 
 
 
 Born 
 1972 
 
 
 Education 
 University of Wales, Cardiff 
 
 
 Previous career 
 Journalist (BBC Wales) 
 
 
 
 Celtic Alliance Position 
 Proponent — active. Rhun ap Iorwerth is the most current high-profile advocate of Celtic cooperation. He drove the October 2025 "Progressive Alliance" talks with SNP leader John Swinney at Bute House, Edinburgh, discussing election coordination and policy sharing. 
 Following the May 2026 Senedd election , Plaid Cymru won 43 of 96 seats (45%) and ap Iorwerth became Plaid Cymru's first ever First Minister of Wales , forming a minority government with Green Party confidence-and-supply. 
 Key actions: 
 
 Met John Swinney at Bute House (30 Oct 2025) to discuss 2026 election coordination 
 Proposed modelling Welsh social policy on Scotland's Scottish Child Payment 
 Framed Plaid-SNP cooperation as a "progressive alliance" against Westminster 
 Led Plaid Cymru to historic Senedd victory (May 2026) 
 Has maintained regular contact with SNP leadership since 
 Now leads Wales with a pro-independence, Celtic cooperation mandate 
 
 Sources 
 
 BBC — SNP and Plaid Cymru to join forces (Oct 2025) 
 Nation.Cymru — Plaid Cymru and SNP to join forces 
 The National — SNP Plaid wins serve as wake-up call 
 Nation.Cymru — Rhun ap Iorwerth set to become first premier (May 2026) 
 Wikipedia — Rhun ap Iorwerth