George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy

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Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy (29 January 1909 – 22 September 1997) was a Welsh politician who served as a member of parliament (MP) and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1976 to 1983. He was first elected as a Labour MP in the 1945 general election. Born in Port Talbot, South Wales, he initially worked as a teacher in both London and Cardiff. An MP from 1945 to 1983, he held office in Harold Wilson's 1964–1970 Labour administration, notably as Secretary of State for Wales from 1968 to 1970. As a junior minister at the Welsh Office, he was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster (21 October 1966), and was later involved in the controversial government decision to use money from the Aberfan Charity Fund to clear remaining National Coal Board waste tips from around the village. In 1976 Thomas was elected Speaker, in which role the first broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention. He is the most recent Speaker to have...

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