Welsh Government has announced the appointment of Ashok Ahir as interim president and trustee of the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
Mr Ahir, 52, is deputy director of Cabinet Office communications for the UK Government. He joined the UK Government in Wales in July 2018 as the director of communications, having previously ran a successful bilingual communications agency based in Cardiff.
Before that, he worked for the BBC as a journalist, editor and programme maker in London and Cardiff. For more than a decade, he was responsible for BBC Cymru Wales’ politics team, overseeing coverage of Welsh politics on television, radio and on digital services.
Pedr ap Llwyd, the national library’s chief executive and librarian, welcomed the “excellent appointment” and thanked Meri Huws, the former interim president, for her contribution to the library.
“We are really looking forward to Ashok joining us, to benefiting from his broad experience and knowledge and to working with him over the coming months,” he said.
“In welcoming Ashok, I would like to thank Meri Huws, the former interim president, for the enormous contribution she has made to the library during the past two years and wish her, and the organisations she serves, well for the future.
“Ashok joins us at the start of a new and exciting chapter in our history as we launch our new Strategic Plan 2021-2026 – A library for Wales and the World – in a few weeks’ time.
“Regardless of the significant progress made during the last few years, we enter this new chapter with hunger and determination to achieve even more.
“Our plan points to a future where we will continue to use our unique range of skills and expertise to cultivate and care for the nation’s memory, lay the foundation for a knowledge economy, empower learning and research, be at the heart of national life and support Welsh Government’s public policy objectives.
“Ashok’s appointment will help us achieve our aims and strengthen the relationships with our partners around Wales for the benefit of everyone we serve. Today is certainly a day of celebration at the National Library of Wales.”
