Llanfair Caereinon resident, Tom Jones, has been re-elected as the head of European Rural Community Alliance.

A leading figure in agriculture in the Montgomeryshire area, Mr Jones has been re-elected to the position he first gained in April 2021.

He was-elected on April 6, 2022, saying: “It is a great privilege to be re-elected as President of the European Rural Communities Alliance.”

Mr Jones has played a prominent role in public life in Wales for more than 40 years, holding senior level positions in the voluntary sector, broadcasting, agriculture and rural development.

He currently lives in Dolanog, near Llanfair Caereinon.

The European Rural Community Alliance is an organisation committed to support the rural communities of Europe.

The group aims to use the connections between different rural communities to develop connections, share experience, mutual learning and take collective action to strengthen their position.

It began as an informal network in2033, before becoming an official organisation in 2009.

In 2013 European Rural Community Association and European Rural Alliance merged under the new name European Rural Community Alliance.

Mr Jones is no stranger to this kind of work, having represented Wales on the European Economic and Social Committee for the last 13 years as lead spokesman on rural matters.

A member of the Edwards Review of National Parks in the early 1990s, he was the first Chair of the National Lottery Charities Board in Wales and founding Chair of the Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust.

He has held senior office in the Farmers Union of Wales, served as President of the Wales Young Farmers Movement, and a Governor of the Welsh Agricultural College, prior to its incorporation into Aberystwyth University.

When he was first elected President of the European Rural Community Alliance, he said: “The challenges are numerous, not just in Europe but across the world.

“There remains a lot of good practice to be shared, as well as support for communities to make their own decisions, and the role of European Rural Community Alliance is to facilitate this.”