Who are Wales' new AMs?

  • Published
The SeneddImage source, PA

Meet Wales' new assembly members - all 22 of them.

The new Senedd term marks the largest turnover of assembly members since the institution began in 1999.

More than a third of the intake is completely new to the assembly, with only nine of the current group of 60 AMs having been in the chamber when it was formed.

Not all of new AMs are unknown to politics - with four former MPs and one former MEP, as well as one former AM who has returned.

None of the new group are Conservatives, with 10 new Labour AMs, five new Plaid AMs and seven UKIP members.

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Hannah Blythyn - Labour, Delyn

Hannah Blythyn

Hannah Blythyn is the new Labour AM for Delyn after the previous assembly representative, Sandy Mewies, stood down.

She won the seat with a majority of more than 3,500 votes.

Ms Blythyn is from Flintshire and before becoming an AM she worked as a political and policy officer for the Unite union.

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Dawn Bowden - Labour, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

Dawn BowdenImage source, Labour Party

Dawn Bowden began her working life as a secretary in the NHS before progressing through the trade union movement to become head of health for Unison Cymru in 2012.

She spent five years as a former borough councillor in Kingswood, near Bristol. Ms Bowdon was selected for Labour in Merthyr after former education minister Huw Lewis stood down at the May elections.

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Rhianon Passmore - Labour, Islwyn

Rhianon PassmoreImage source, Labour Party

Rhianon Passmore is a former teacher and lecturer.

A former Caerphilly county councillor and cabinet member responsible for education, she has also led voluntary organisations and won awards for community regeneration work.

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Jayne Bryant - Labour, Newport West

Jayne BryantImage source, Labour Party

Born in Newport and a member of the Labour Party since the age of 17, Ms Bryant is a former staff member for Newport West MP Paul Flynn.

She has been involved in the annual Caerleon Arts Festival and the local Fairtrade group.

She succeeds former presiding officer Dame Rosemary Butler, who stepped down after 17 years in the assembly.

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Vikki Howells - Labour, Cynon Valley

Vikki HowellsImage source, Labour Party

Vikki Howells is Labour's new AM for Cynon Valley after the Christine Chapman stood down.

Ms Howells was educated at St John Baptist Church in Wales High school, Aberdare, before studying International and Welsh History at Cardiff University.

She has worked as a history teacher at St Cenydd Community School, Caerphilly, since 2000.

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Jeremy Miles - Labour, Neath

Jeremy MilesImage source, Labour Party

A Welsh-speaking lawyer from Pontarddulais, he is also one of three openly gay members of the assembly.

He succeeds former deputy minister Gwenda Thomas, who stood down at the election.

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Hefin David - Labour, Caerphilly

Hefin DavidImage source, Labour Party

A senior lecturer in human resource management at Cardiff Metropolitan University, he is a county councillor in Caerphilly where he chairs the policy and resources scrutiny committee.

He succeeds former communities minister Jeff Cuthbert, who stood down from the assembly and was elected police and crime commissioner for Gwent.

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Lee Waters - Labour, Llanelli

Lee WatersImage source, Labour Party

The new Labour AM for Llanelli won the seat with a majority of 382 over Plaid Cymru.

Mr Waters, who is from Ammanford, was previously director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs think tank and a journalist with ITV Wales and BBC Wales.

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Huw Irranca-Davies - Labour, Ogmore

Huw Irranca-DaviesImage source, Labour Party

Mr Irranca-Davies was previously the MP for the same constituency and a UK minister.

Born in Gowerton, Swansea, he stepped down from the House of Commons to stand for the assembly seat and won with a majority of 9,468 over Plaid Cymru.

Mr Irranca-Davies succeeds Labour's Janice Gregory, who stepped down at the assembly election.

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Adam Price - Plaid Cymru, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr

Adam PriceImage source, Plaid Cymru

Mr Price was MP for the constituency between 2001 and 2010.

After standing down from parliament he worked as a research fellow at Harvard University in the United States and then as an adviser to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood.

Born in Carmarthen he took the assembly seat with an 8,700 majority over Labour, retaining a seat for Plaid previously held by Rhodri Glyn Thomas.

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Sian Gwenllian - Plaid Cymru, Arfon

Sian GwenllianImage source, Plaid Cymru

Ms Gwenllian is the new Plaid Cymru AM for Arfon. She won the seat with a majority of just over 4,000 votes.

She is from Gwynedd and a former journalist with BBC Wales and HTV.

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Nathan Gill - UKIP, North Wales

Nathan GillImage source, UKIP

Mr Gill is UKIP Wales leader and also a member of the European Parliament, after being elected as an MEP in 2014.

He was previously an assistant to the former UKIP MEP John Bufton and before that the director of a number of family businesses provided care services.

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Michelle Brown - UKIP, North Wales

Michelle BrownImage source, UKIP

A law graduate, Ms Brown has most recently been working as a legal adviser to an engineering company, after previously working in the recruitment sector, mainly advising on contracts and employment law.

She grew up in Mostyn and went to school in Holywell and Flint.

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Mark Reckless - UKIP, South Wales East

Mark RecklessImage source, UKIP

Mr Reckless was previously the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood in Kent.

A former City lawyer, Mr Reckless defected to UKIP in 2014, forcing a by-election which he won but he went on to lose the seat at the 2015 general election.

Mr Reckless was born in 1970 in Eltham, south-east London and has been an economist for an investment bank and a barrister.

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David Rowlands - UKIP, South Wales East

David Rowlands

Mr Rowlands is from the Sirhowy Valley. He has run several small businesses and is a former chairman of UKIP Wales.

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Steffan Lewis - Plaid Cymru, South Wales East

Steffan LewisImage source, Plaid Cymru

Mr Lewis, from Crosskeys, is a former communications and research officer at the National Assembly.

He previously worked for Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood.

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Caroline Jones - UKIP, South Wales West

Caroline Jones

Ms Jones is a former teacher and prison service manager.

She once stood as a Conservative police and crime commissioner candidate and currently sits on UKIP's national executive committee.

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Dai Lloyd - Plaid Cymru, South Wales West

Dai LloydImage source, Plaid Cymru

Mr Lloyd is one of two Plaid AMs elected in the South Wales West region.

Born in Gwynedd, he is a GP with a practice in Swansea.

Dr Lloyd is not new to the assembly - he was an AM from 1999 to 2011.

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Neil Hamilton - UKIP, Mid and West Wales

Neil HamiltonImage source, UKIP

Mr Hamilton, a former Conservative MP for Tatton, was born in Fleur De Lis near Blackwood, and grew up in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

He is leader of the UKIP group in the assembly.

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Eluned Morgan - Labour, Mid and West Wales

Eluned MorganImage source, Labour

Ms Morgan is also a member of the House of Lords and was previously an MEP from 1994 to 2009.

Ms Morgan grew up in Ely in Cardiff and worked as a researcher for S4C and the BBC before becoming the youngest member of the European Parliament aged 27.

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Gareth Bennett - UKIP, South Wales Central

Gareth BennettImage source, Media Wales

Mr Bennett is a former newspaper reporter and Cardiff City fan who has written books about the club.

He said he has also worked in "quite an array" of different jobs, including call centres, pubs, shops and on building sites.

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Neil McEvoy - Plaid, South Wales Central

Neil McEvoyImage source, Plaid Cymru

Mr McEvoy is a modern languages teacher and and Cardiff councillor.

He was deputy leader of the authority as part of a Lib Dem-Plaid Cymru coalition from 2008 to 2012.