George Thomas, Viscount Tonypandy

George Thomas, Viscount Tonypandy (1909-1997) was a Labour politician and statesman; MP for Cardiff Central 1945-83. A deeply religious man and a former teacher, he was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster, which occurred while he was a Minister at the Welsh Office. As Secretary of State for Wales 1968-70, he presided over the Prince of Wales' Investiture arrangements of 1969. During his term of office as Speaker of the House of Commons (1976-1983), the first broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention, but he proved more impartial than party colleagues had expected. In 1983, he was created Viscount Tonypandy. Always an anti-Nationalist, one of his final political acts was his public opposition to the devolution proposals of 1997.