[1] His father, widely known as Harri Hughes, had left school at the age of twelve to work in the Dinorwic quarry, as several generations of his family had done.

Aged 21, he resumed his education and entered the Calvinistic Methodist ministry, serving as the minister of Disgwylfa Chapel in Holyhead from 1915 until his death in 1947.

[1] Cledwyn Hughes was educated at the Holyhead Grammar School and at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he studied Law and became president of the Liberal Society.

During the Second World War, Hughes served in the RAFVR in an administrative role, achieving the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

[1] In 1944, local Labour activists urged him to stand in the post-war general election against Lady Megan Lloyd George, who had served as Liberal MP for the Anglesey constituency since 1929.

[7] In his maiden speech on 8 November 1951, Hughes addressed a number of issues that would recur during his parliamentary career, including the deficiencies of housing on Anglesey, the case for devolution in Wales, and his concerns about the future of the Welsh language.

He was acutely aware that a large proportion of the young people were obliged to leave Anglesey to look for work, and Hughes was active in the process of securing the Wylfa nuclear power station and later an aluminium smelter project to be located on the island.

Following the failure of this campaign, Hughes supported efforts to secure a Secretary of State for Wales and this became Labour's official policy by the 1959 General Election.

[4] During his two years in post Hughes was heavily involved with decolonization and represented the British Government at the independence celebrations of Malta, Kenya and the Gambia.

On 14 July 1966, Gwynfor Evans won the Carmarthen by-election to become the first Plaid Cymru MP leading to an upsurge in support for political nationalism, which was also reflected in the Welsh Language Society's active campaign for bilingual road tax licences.

At the same time many of Hughes's Labour colleagues, particularly veteran MPs in the industrial south, were fiercely opposed to any form of devolution.

In 1968 Hughes was succeeded as Secretary of State by George Thomas, whose views on the subject were fundamentally opposed to those of his predecessor.

Hughes's term of office was also deeply affected by the tragedy at Aberfan in October 1966, when a colliery spoil heap engulfed the primary school, leaving 144 dead, the vast majority of them children.

Hughes immediately flew to the scene, and helped direct the rescue effort and ensure the well-being of survivors.

[1] He spent much of his time developing the nascent Welsh Office, creating a new civil service structure in Wales and seeking to build the economic base.

[4] In 1967, Hughes was successful in securing that the Royal Mint be located at Llantrisant in south Wales rather than in Scotland or Durham, as argued by his cabinet colleagues William Ross and Anthony Greenwood respectively.

[4] He also dealt effectively with the consequences of a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease by ensuring that the recommendations of an enquiry chaired by the Duke of Northumberland were implemented.

However he successfully challenged Ian Mikardo for the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and held the post throughout the parliament.

Hughes was close politically not only to Roy Jenkins but also to James Callaghan who he had first met in 1949 at the home of Glenys Kinnock's parents in Holyhead.

[1] In late 1978 he was once again despatched as an envoy to Rhodesia, seeking to accelerate the handover of power to the majority population, but as in 1965, he made little headway in persuading Ian Smith to co-operate.

Weeks later, he stood down from his Anglesey seat and was succeeded as Labour candidate by his close ally, Elystan Morgan.

Most notably, in 1980, he played a leading part in persuading William Whitelaw to change government policy and to establish a Welsh language television service.

From 1955 until 1959 the family lived in London, but in 1959 decided that they move back to Anglesey where the children could be brought up in a Welsh speaking community.

'[2] Cledwyn Hughes was regarded primarily as an efficient administrator, but also as a person of great warmth and humour, with a considerable talent for storytelling.