Honorary Fellowship conferred upon former senior civil servant

12 July 2023

An honorary fellowship has been conferred upon Margaret Evans, a former senior civil servant who worked for John Major a Michael Portillo. Margaret Evans was also a longstanding member of the University of Wales and University of Wales Trinity Saint David Councils.

With short violet hair and a pink coat, Margaret Evans stands smiling between Medwin Hughes and Arwel Ellis Owen.

Margaret Evans was introduced to the assembly by Arwel Ellis Owen, who is also a member of the Council and is a former Chief Executive of S4C.

Born in Treorchy, Margaret Evans grew up in Cwmafan and the Port Talbot area at a time when the town’s steel works was making a significant contribution to the economy and lifestyle of the area.

Margaret spent her formative years at Ysgol Glanafan and Capel Dyffryn and pays tribute to her teachers at the school and Sunday school for their influence upon her. An early indication of her contribution to Welsh life in her area was her selection as Merch y Fro (Woman of the Region) in the Aberavan Eisteddfod, and for her to greet Dic Jones when he won the bardic chair.

Margaret Evans studied History at University College London (UCL) with the distinguished Welsh medievalist Rees Davies, AJP Taylor and CV Wedgewood, the latter using the initials CV to disguise her gender, such was the prejudice against women historians at the time, and Margaret recalls her own shock on meeting Wedgewood for the first time, having assumed wrongly that she was a man. A lesson learnt, she noted at the time.

She joined the civil service, at a new Welsh Office in Whitehall after graduating, before moving on to work with John Major and Michael Portillo. After twenty years of living in London, political developments in Wales proved an irresistible pull to her and her husband Howard, a distinguished international medical research academic who was invited to lead a specialist team at the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute in Cardiff.

Margaret was head hunted to join the Prince’s Trust, a charity helping unemployed and disadvantaged youngsters, an experience which taught her more about the reality of the challenges of life than any of her other positions of power.

With the establishment of the National Assembly of Wales, Margaret joined the Department of Culture, Welsh and Sports, and assisted the new administration to draft a culture strategy for the first time in the history of Wales. She worked closely with the First Minister at the time, Rhodri Morgan, assisting to present a strategy for Welsh language and the coining of the term Iaith Pawb (a language for all).

In his address to the graduation assembly, Arwel Ellis Owen, a fellow member of the University Councils said: “It was this depth of experience that made Margaret one of the most influential and respected members of the Council of the University of Wales and later this institution. Her strategic thinking was expansive and challenging. Her attention to detail awesome.”

In accepting her Honorary Fellowship, Margaret Evans said: “It is a great honour for me today to receive an Honorary Fellowship. I am most grateful to the University, and for all the opportunities over more than a decade to contribute to its success.

“My warmest thanks to the Chair and Vice-Chancellor and also to Sarah Clark and the team for all their hard work, friendship and support.

“For today’s graduands, I look over Swansea Bay to my home town, Port Talbot. My journey from there to university, a career in London and Wales and travelling the world with my husband’s job illustrates the importance to us all of opportunities, hard work and challenge. I’m sure that you experience all of these in your bright futures. Many congratulations and best wishes to you all!”