Rod Richards
| Rod Richards | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Welsh Assembly for North Wales |
|
|
In office 6 May 1999 – 10 September 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | New Assembly |
| Succeeded by | David Jones |
| Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly | |
|
In office 1999–1999 |
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| Preceded by | (new post) |
| Succeeded by | Nick Bourne |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | |
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In office 20 July 1994 – 2 June 1996 |
|
| Preceded by | Nicholas Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Evans |
| Member of Parliament for Clwyd North West |
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In office 9 April 1992 – 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Anthony Meyer |
| Succeeded by | (constituency abolished) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
12 March 1947 Llanelli, Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | UK Independence Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Conservative (until 2013) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Llandovery College, Aberystwyth University |
| Occupation | Royal Marines, Ministry of Defence, Journalist, Broadcaster |
Roderick Richards (born 12 March 1947) is a British former politician who was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Clwyd North West, in Wales, from 1992 to 1997, when he lost his seat in the Labour Party landslide. He was also the Conservative leader in the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, after being elected as an Assembly Member for North Wales.
Richards was born in Llanelli to the late Ivor George Richards and Lizzie Jane Richards (née Evans). Welsh speaking Richards was educated at Llandovery College and at Swansea University where he gained a first Class honours degree in economics and statistics. He first rose to public prominence in the 1980s as a Welsh-language newsreader for BBC Wales. Before that, he had spent some time in the Royal Marines, including service in Northern Ireland. He also served on the intelligence staff of the Ministry of Defence, and worked as an economic forecaster. Richards, at one point, worked for MI-6
He first tried to enter parliament at the 1987 general election, when he stood unsuccessfully for the Carmarthen seat, giving up his job with the BBC to do so. He was unsuccessful again two years later at a by-election for the Vale of Glamorgan, again giving up his work as a broadcaster: but at the 1992 general election he was elected as MP for the former parliamentary seat of Clwyd North West. During John Major's government he was appointed Parliamentar Private Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 and Welsh Office junior minister in 1994, but was forced to resign in 1996 when revelations about his private life appeared in a Sunday tabloid newspaper.
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